Preconscious categorization impacts how interracial same-sex couples are perceived by others: Implications for counseling and supervision

Abstract

Abstract Introduction In order to understand implicit biases, we examined participants’ preconscious neural activity when viewing photos of differing racial combinations of same-sex male couples. Method P200 amplitudes measured preconscious neural activity while viewing photo stimuli. Result Participants engaged in preconscious categorization of all three types of photo stimuli. The largest P200 amplitudes appeared when viewing photos of Black gay couples, followed by White-Black gay couples, then White gay couples. Conclusion Individuals begin to categorize same-sex couples by their racial makeup as early as 200 milliseconds. Evidence of preconscious categorization may be helpful in dispelling inaccuracies of using a colorblindness approach to counseling and supervision.