Implicit criminal profiling

Submitted by jayhammers on Thu, 2009-07-23 01:02

Article here. Excerpt:

"Social psychologists have shown that 'implicit' or 'unconscious' bias can effect what people perceive and do, even in people who consciously hold non-prejudiced attitudes. These associations or mental shortcuts include automatic or implicit associations between minorities, particularly African Americans, and crime.

Implicit bias might lead the officer to automatically perceive crime in the making when she observes two young Hispanic males driving in an all-white neighborhood or lead an officer to be “under-vigilant” with a female subject because he associates crime and violence with males."

Like0 Dislike0

Comments

I think this has more to do with basic psychology than profiling, (though I suppose profilinig is the 'net effect' in this case.)

This is an example of how psychologists get mired in their own feces. Certainly there must be some very good reason for not considering every possibility in every single life situation by considering all possible combinations and permutations of truths and outcomes. Or perhaps I should say, any one of us who did not take automatic mental shortcuts in life would go insane, and be paralyzed into inaction to boot.

I'm not trying to justify the stereotypes mentioned in this article. I guess the issue I'm raising is more of an aside.
-ax

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by axolotl on Thu, 2009-07-23 09:23