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Selected Projects 20<strong>16</strong>-<strong>18</strong><br />
74<br />
Detail from Anna Sullivan’s study<br />
ambiguous faces as belonging to different categories<br />
when they are preceded by the word “Black”<br />
or by “White.” Therefore, semantic information (i.e.,<br />
top-down information) can interact with the stimulus<br />
characteristics (i.e., bottom-up information) to<br />
create differentiated judgments.<br />
The research question for this project was: how do<br />
different race-related words affect the categorical<br />
perception of race? This study sought to expand what<br />
is k<strong>no</strong>wn about CP of race as it is affected by race-related<br />
words. To date, <strong>no</strong> research has directly studied<br />
the categorical perception of race and language (for a<br />
review, see Timeo, Farroni, & Maass, 2017). This type<br />
of research is important because it can provide more<br />
k<strong>no</strong>wledge of how race-related words (and language<br />
more broadly) can affect our perceptions of important<br />
social categories, such as race.<br />
The objectives of this project were to examine the<br />
ways in which certain race-related words affect<br />
an individual’s processing in categorizing racially<br />
ambiguous faces. My study examined how these<br />
cognitive processes are influenced by top-down<br />
information, such as language, and work to establish<br />
an individual’s perception of race within individuals.<br />
This work can lead to a better understanding of how<br />
people “see” race in the world and how the words<br />
used to describe race can shift perception and<br />
ultimately change biases. We are all affected by ex-
Change language