Neutral facial expression recognition and racial bias against African Americans among Caucasian college students

This descriptive comparative study explored the relationship between neutral facial expression recognition and racial bias. The researcher obtained a convenience sample of 99 participants (42 men, 57 women) from a private university in the Midwestern United States. Participants\u27 ages ranged from 18 to 39 years old (M =22.07, SD =4.18). Sixty participants identified themselves as Caucasian/White and 39 participants identified themselves as African American/Black. Participants completed a facial expression recognition measurement, the Symbolic Racism 2000 Scale (Henry & Sears, 2002), and a demographic survey. The researcher hypothesized that Caucasian participants would rate the neutral facial expressions of African American men as more negative than the neutral facial expressions of Caucasian men. The researcher further hypothesized that a negative correlation exists between neutral facial expression recognition and racial bias. The results of the study did not support the researcher\u27s hypotheses