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Article Review In his article Study Finds Roots of Prejudice in Association With Apes, which can be found on The Daily Californian web site, Tim Dunn provides us with the insight on the essence of White racism. Author refers to a recent six-part psychology study, conducted at Stanford University, which point out to the fact that White people subconsciously associate Blacks with apes: In the first experiment, researchers primed an ethnically mixed population of undergraduates with either a White or Black face on a screen. The images were presented to the students at a rate undetectable by the conscious mind. Students who were subliminally primed with a Black face were quicker to identify a blurry ape picture afterwards. This signaled a clear, non-conscious association of Black faces with apes (Dunn). According to the author, studys findings suggest that the ending of racial discrimination cannot be thought of within a context of education alone, because it is not their rational mind that causes White people to become racially arrogant, but the way their subconsciousness works.
Therefore, the promotion of various social programs that are supposed to increase the levels of racial tolerance in our society, on the part of government, cannot be effective by definition. Despite the fact that todays Medias strive hard to improve the public image of African-Americans, the majority of Whites are simply incapable of riding their mind of associative sequence: Black-Ape. Dunn quotes the author of the study, Stanford University professor Jennifer Eberhardt, who thinks that our society is still a long way off from becoming truly egalitarian: We think it is (racism) relegated to history, that we " ve moved beyond it. But the work is showing that we are still haunted by those 19 th century images (Dunn). In his article, author also suggests that it is not a pure coincidence that Black convicts are more likely to be described as bestial, barbaric, inhuman, savage and wild. According to Dunn, this can serve as another proof that our society is racially biased, especially that the factor of experimenters badness was being fully eliminated, during the course of the study.
It is very hard to disagree with the author when he indirectly implies that the ideological premises, upon which the doctrine of political correctness is built, do not correspond to the objective reality. We can also talk about Dunn's article as such that provides us with better understanding as to why theory does not always correlate with empirical experiences. Apparently, the number of independent variables, which affect the validity of just about any sociological concept, increases drastically, once the irrational factors comes into play. We cannot be absolutely sure as to what triggers previously mentioned association, in the mind of students who participated in the study. However, it would only be logical to think of it as something that has to do with the process of species biological evolution.
After all, Black people proved to be incapable of advancing beyond the Stone Age, before being discovered by European explorers. It is also a fact that certain anthropological features of Black mans body provide scientists with valid grounds to suggest that Black race falls behind the White race, in evolutionary context of this word, and provides them with understanding why African-Americans generally score lower, during IQ tests. Thus, the findings of a study might serve as the proof that the mechanics of peoples subconsciousness may not be quite as irrational, as it is being commonly assumed now. This might have far-reaching implications. On one hand, the empirical data, obtained during the course of a study, may be used by promoters of political correctness to push their agenda to even greater extent, because it provides them with a valid reasons to suggest that White people are inner wicked, therefore they simply cannot be re-educated, on the subject of racism, and should always be treated with suspicion. In fact, studys findings may be used to speed up the process of instilling While people with the complex of historical guilt.
On the other hand, the results of a study may be used to substantiate the criticism of multiculturalism, as policy that does not correspond to the objective reality. Apparently, White peoples existential mode is best defined by their tendency to view world through racial lenses and it is very doubtful whether anything can be done about it. Bibliography: Dunn, Tim. Study Finds Roots of Prejudice in Association With Apes. 15 Feb. 2008. The Daily Californian. 18 Feb. 2008. web
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Research essay sample on Objective Reality African Americans
