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. 2012;7(11):e48546.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048546. Epub 2012 Nov 14.

Racial bias in perceptions of others' pain

Sophie Trawalter  1 , Kelly M Hoffman, Adam Waytz
Affiliations

Racial bias in perceptions of others' pain

Sophie Trawalter et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Erratum in

Abstract

The present work provides evidence that people assume a priori that Blacks feel less pain than do Whites. It also demonstrates that this bias is rooted in perceptions of status and the privilege (or hardship) status confers, not race per se. Archival data from the National Football League injury reports reveal that, relative to injured White players, injured Black players are deemed more likely to play in a subsequent game, possibly because people assume they feel less pain. Experiments 1-4 show that White and Black Americans-including registered nurses and nursing students-assume that Black people feel less pain than do White people. Finally, Experiments 5 and 6 provide evidence that this bias is rooted in perceptions of status, not race per se. Taken together, these data have important implications for understanding race-related biases and healthcare disparities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Pain ratings (estimated means and standard errors) for Experiments 1–5.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mediation model for Experiment 5.
All coefficients are standardized betas. Coefficients in parentheses are betas when controlling for perceptions of hardship. †p = .06; *p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Pain ratings (estimated means and standard errors) for Experiment 6.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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