In a paper published on the website of the journal Current Biology on May 27, 2010, researchers Alessio Avenanti, Angela Sirigu, and Salvatore M. Aglioti detailed a series of neuroscientific experiments that seemed to confirm that people are far more empathetic toward those of their own race. However, other aspects of the study demonstrated that this particular bias was likely culturally learned and not necessarily an innate part of human nature.
Feeling the Pain of Others
In the study, several volunteers of both Italian and African extraction were shown films of people's hands being poked with a needle, or being softly touched with a Q-Tip. While these images flashed on screen, the subjects' brains and nervous systems were monitored for signs of empathetic reactions.
Interestingly, when the Italian subjects watched images of another Italian's hand being poked with a needle, their own brains registered a reaction as though their own hands had been poked; they literally felt the pain of the person on the screen. However, when images of black African hands were shown being poked, the Italian's nervous systems showed no such reaction. The same outcome occurred when the African subjects were shown the images: Empathy for those of their own race, no reaction toward those of another race.
The Violet Skinned People
Curious as to whether these reactions were simply an innate human tendency to fear what is different, the researchers then showed films of people with unnatural purple skin being poked with needles. Intriguingly, both the white Italians and the black Africans showed the empathetic nervous system reactions toward the violet-skinned people. This suggested to the researchers that humans are innately empathetic towards others, even those different from themselves, but that less empathetic reactions toward people of different races could be a result of cultural conditioning.
Evolved For Bias?
While some neuroscientists, like Joan Chiao of Northwestern University in Illinois, admit that it's possible humans evolved a useful distrust for people unlike themselves, she and other scientists also feel that natural selection could have favored a more cooperative, empathetic attitude toward strangers. The ability to feel the pain and distress of others is a key component of altruism, and if this study is any indication, then perhaps soon researchers will have a better grasp of what factors lie at the root of racial prejudices and understand better how to overcome them.
Sources:
Avenanti, Alessio et al. "Racial Bias Reduces Empathic Sensorimotor Resonance with Other-Race Pain". Current Biology. May 27, 2010
Choi, Charles Q.. "I Feel Your Pain, Unless You're From a Different Race". LiveScience. May 27, 2010
Jenny Ashford - Jenny Ashford is a writer and graphic artist from central Florida. Her main area of interest in her Suite 101 articles is science, with a ...
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