Response 2
In order to complete this response, we were asked to take the Implicit Association Test a test which measures one’s automatic, implicit racial preferences. In this test the strength of my racial preference for African American or European American (Sriram 284). Taking the test and getting my results was sort of an eye opener for me. At the end of my test, my data suggested a moderate automatic preference for African American over European American. It’s strange to think that although we’d like to think we are aware of every thought our brain filters but that’s not entirely so.
Up until taking this test, I always believed that I see people equally regardless of race. This isn’t to be confused with me saying that I’m color blind or that I don’t see race but the results did shock me. Not because I feel the results are incorrect but seeing how I am African American, I felt that would, in theory, enable me to take in other information about a person other than
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This really goes without saying in our society however, it serves as a constant reminder in our everyday lives. Race is one of the earliest social characteristics to which children are aware of despite the child’s cultural group (Woods 101). Although they don’t attach meaning to the differences amid other racial groups children become aware of race even at the ages of two or three years. This fact speaks to how we could be unware of the bias we hold within. Strong identification with an underrepresented, oppressed group may result in increased awareness of discrimination and feelings of powerlessness, which would lead to more negative developmental outcomes (Woods 105). It became a little more apparent why I preferred African American despite my humanistic perspective. Even though I believe in equality for all, the way I was socialized to notice these contrasts in racial