Everyday Research Methods

How can we reduce racial biases?

One of the studies randomly assigned White college freshmen to have a White or a Black roommate, and measured the students' bias long term. Credit: ©Syracuse Newspapers / N. Lisi / The Image Works

The year 2016 provided multiple references to implicit and explicit racial biases, especially in politics. So you might be wondering, What does it mean to hold "implicit biases?" Why are people biased against some ethnic groups, and what can we do about it?

It turns out there is a strong research tradition concerned with measuring and correcting implicit bias. There's a series of short videos grouped under the title, What, me biased? Each presents a real-world situation relevant to racial bias and discusses a research study. 

One of the videos, "The life-changing power of hanging out," contains a simple experiment. As you watch this video (it's less than 3 min), ask yourself these questions:  

a) In the opening minute, TV host Heather McGhee poses a theory about how to reduce racism to the caller. What is the theory? How did the researchers use data to test the theory?

b) What was the independent (manipulated) variable in the study? What was the dependent variable?

c) How do you know the study was an experiment? Was it an independent groups or within groups design? 

d) Sketch a graph of the result, labelling your axes mindfully. 

e) Work through the theory-data cycle: Did the data support Ms. McGhee's theory, or not?

 

More Resources for Instructors:

There are seven videos in this series, providing other opportunities to practice research methods concepts. For example, students can practice an individualized version of the theory-data cycle (Chapter 1), where Dr. Dolly Chugh discusses the idea of an "audit" in the video, Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias.

There's also a 2x5 factorial design (Chapter 12) in the video, Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias. 

There's a reference to the Bias Blind Spot (Chapter 2) in the video, Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism. 

 

Safe drivers spot hazards

Evidence shows that visual attention to road hazards can be trained. Photo credit: Shutterstock

Here's a package of correlational and experimental research that illustrates the importance of spotting hazards while driving. This summary, from the Association for Psychological Science website,  introduces the issue like this: 

[H]azard perception...involves visually scanning the road ahead for clues that a dangerous situation may be developing, such as a pedestrian getting ready to cross the street or cars up ahead starting to brake. This sounds simple enough, but research suggests that a knack for this kind of visual scanning actually takes years – even decades – to learn.

Here's a research finding quoted in the article:

[N]ovice drivers, particularly teens, are so much more accident prone compared to older, more experienced drivers. Eye-tracking studies have shown that less experienced drivers tend to look at the road right in front of them, while more experienced drivers tend to automatically look far ahead, scanning all around the road for signs of trouble.

a) Is the finding above from a correlational or experimental study? What are the two main variables in the result? If it's an experimental study, what is its design? 

Here is a second research finding quoted in the article:

...research has also demonstrated that even very short interventions can lead to major improvements in driving safety.

In one California study, drivers who had just passed an on-road driving test were randomly assigned to either receive a 17-minute hazard perception training or to receive no additional training. Over the course of the following year, male drivers who received the training had a rate that was nearly 25% lower than the group of untrained males. However, there was no such drop in accident for female drivers who had received the training.

b) Is the finding above from a correlational or experimental study? What are the two main variables in the result? If it's an experimental study, what is its design? 

Here's a final research result:

However, unlike other driving skills, hazard perception has been empirically linked to crash risk.

c) Is the finding above from a correlational or experimental study? What are the two main variables in the result? If it's an experimental study, what is its design? 

To read more, visit: 

Horswill, M. S. (2016). Hazard Perception in Driving. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(6), 425-430. doi: 10.1177/0963721416663186

 

Suggested Answers

a) This is a correlational study, and the two measured variables are driver experience (or driver age) and how far ahead drivers train their eyes while driving.

b) This is an experimental study. It appears to be a post-test only design. The independent variable is whether drivers received the 17 minute training or whether they received no training. The dependent variable is accident rate. This study had a participant variable, gender. You read that the training affected males but not females. Therefore, you could also consider this a factorial design (IVxPV) design with an interaction.

c) This is a correlational study, and the two measured variables are skill at hazard perception and crash risk.