Citation

Aydin N, Gula B, Albrecht J, Obermeier M, Lermer E, Pfundmair M. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 2019; 49(2): 439-446.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, European Association of Experimental Social Psychology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ejsp.2545

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the current study we extend previous findings on the shooter bias toward targets with Arab ethnicity. In an adapted shooter task, we presented stereotypically oriental-looking targets without explicit symbols of Islam (e.g., a turban) and additionally tested if presenting a "harmless" companion dog, together with Arab versus White targets, would affect the shooter bias. Participants responded faster and made fewer errors for armed Arab than for armed White targets. Moreover, compared to the "neutral" no dog condition, the presence of a dog triggered fewer false alarms for White than for Arab targets and slowed down (correct) responses in general. Implications and potential underlying mechanisms are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

anti-Arab attitudes; companion dog; prejudice; shooter bias; stereotypical processing