Running head: THE POWER OF RACE

The Power of Race and Its Affect on Empathy:

Exploring Racial Views

Veronica Gibbs

University Of Central Arkansas

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Abstract

This paper explores racial views amongst cultures and its impact on an individual’s ability to

empathize with people from different ethnic backgrounds. Empathy as defined by Merriam-

Webster Online Dictionary as, “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to,

and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thought, and experiences of another of either the past

or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an

objectively explicit manner; also the capacity for this” (Webster 2010). Are we predisposition to

empathize with our race over another?

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The Power of Race and Its Affect on Empathy: Exploring Racial Views

President Obama’s criterion for picking federal judges dwelled around one word,

“empathy.” When President Obama was selecting a successor to the Supreme Court of the

United States he stated, “I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with

people's hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and

outcomes"(Garrett 2009). According to Merriam-Webster empathy means, “the action of

understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,

thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings,

thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the

capacity for this.” President Obama stated that empathy was essential in dealing with the,

“young teenage mom,” the “poor,” the “African-American,” the “gay,” the “disabled,” the “old”

(Long 2009). This world is so diverse with different cultures it is safe to say that what may be

acceptable in the Western cultural may be frowned upon in the Middle East. Does this mean that

Western culture is right? No, it simple means that we live in a diverse world and understanding is

essential when dealing with our differences. We share different experiences, we come from

different cultures, and we all share different beliefs. In order to look at the term empathy,

participants must begin to understand themselves and their feelings. For instance, if you’ve never

experienced heart break then how can you help ease the pain of someone who is going through a

breakup? Once you have allowed yourself to experience different emotions you will be better

aware of another person's feelings. As you get to know others on an emotional level, you are

likely to see similarities between your feelings and theirs. When you realize that someone else's

basic emotional needs are similar to yours, you are more able to identify with them, relate to

them and empathize with them. During the Northwestern University Commencement Speech
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President Obama stated, “The world doesn't just revolve around you. There's a lot of talk in this

country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the

ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through those who are different

from us - the child who's hungry, the laid-off steelworker, the immigrant woman cleaning your

dorm room. As you go on in life, cultivating this quality of empathy will become harder, not

easier. There's no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care.

You'll be free to live in neighborhoods with people who are exactly like yourself, and send your

kids to the same schools, and narrow your concerns to what's going in your own little

circle”(Obama 2006). This comment supports the fact that as we grow we become more self

absorbed so the mere task of empathizing with someone else may become foreign because we

are preoccupied with our own personal lives. And even harder to empathize with a culture you

know nothing about.

This study will look at the word empathy and see if it correlates with race. Is it easier for

an African American man to empathize with his Caucasian colleague who has just lost a family

member because he has went through a similar lost of his own? Or is it more difficult for a

middle class Caucasian man, who’s never committed a crime in his life, to empathize with an

Hispanic man who stands before him in court because he has stolen groceries from a convenient

store? Will racial differences impact someone’s ability to empathize? Is race an important factor

of amongst a culture? The answer is yes, race is definitely a factor of importance; in one study

948 combined African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, and multiracial

participants ranging in age from 13 to 21 were given surveys regarding their race. The theme

behind the questions included, positive regard and its subthemes, acceptance of diversity,

ambivalent regard and its subthemes, and disengagements and its subthemes. The study
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concluded, “Participants' overall levels of racial–ethnic centrality indicate that they view their

racial–ethnic backgrounds as important aspects of their identities. Open-ended responses also

indicated high levels of Positive Regard for this sample, suggesting that these adolescents have

generally positive perceptions of their racial–ethnic background, with minimal expression of

shame and internalized racism” (Charmaraman, and Grossman 2010). All groups showed high

levels of positive regard to their heritage. In addition it was noted that, “minority women tend to

report stronger ethnic identity than do men, and studies have shown that parents provide more

messages regarding cultural pride and connection to one's heritage to girls than to boys”

(Charmaraman et al. 2010). Having pride in ones heritage is great but will this impact our

judgment? Knowing that there are high levels of positive regard when looking at individuals in

their own ethnicities; one can infer that there may be racial biases amongst cultures and that there

is a predisposition amongst shared race.

In a study titled, Colorism embodied: Skin tone and psychosocial well-being in

adolescence, administrated by Charles, Fegley, Goss, Harpalani, and Spencer (2008), a

subsample out of 779 students in grades 9-11 took surveys to evaluate their perception and

attitude toward skin color. In addition, the survey included, “a 17-itme questionnaire comprised

of questions related to participants’ perception of their own skin colors, the skin color they would

most like and least like to have and questions assessing their perception of the skin colors that

‘referent others,’ such as teachers, peers, and other adults, value most” (Charles et al. 2008). The

research measured body image satisfaction with the fear calamity and concluded that, “there

were no significant differences in adolescents’ scores on measure of ethnic identity and fear of

calamity as a function of their perceived skin color” (Charles et al. 2008). In the study

adolescents views on racial perception was influenced by their own color.

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In Contrast, a study titled, Mixed Motives and Racial Bias: The Impact of Legitimate and

Illegitimate Criteria on Decision Making authors Darley, Norton, Sommers, and Vandello

“examined the psychological processes underlying such mixed-motive decision making,

demonstrating how legitimate information can be manipulated to justify preferences based on

illegitimate factors such as race”(Darley et al. 2006). Two hundred and twenty-one Princeton

University undergraduates participated in this study. Which consisted of “Fifty-six percent were

female, 43% were male, and 1% did not report gender; 63% were White, 16% were Asian, 10%

were Black, 5% were Hispanic, 4% reported ‘other,’ and 2% did not report ethnicity” (Darley et

al. 2006). In their first study: Casuistry in College Admissions Decisions The study was based

around students and their admission into college it included a hypothetical selection task in

which participants were on a university admissions board charged with the responsibility of

selecting one high school student for admission. The top two candidates were similar. Half of the

participants were given information about the race (black/white) of the candidates. After making

their selection, participants were asked to rank criteria based on how important they had been for

determining their decision. The breakdown is as follows, two control groups with no race factors,

white candidate with higher GPA, black candidate with higher GPA. There results were, “The

influence of the candidates’ qualifications depended on whether or not participants were aware

of their race. Participants showed no preference for a candidate when they were not given racial

information. When the Black candidate had the higher GPA, participants selected him 78% of

the time, whereas when the White candidate had the higher GPA, participants selected him just

22% of the time” (Darley et al. 2006). The statistics alone prove that the black candidate was

highly favored over the white candidate. I predict that these results have little external validity

due to convenience sampling. The study was given to students at an Ivy League University who
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do not represent the majority of the population; In addition, there was no random selection and

there was not an equal ethnicity distribution, 63% were white. This study would have been

different if it was presented beyond the confines of an Ivy League university with an even

distribution amongst ethnicities to a greater population. I infer that humans have a predisposition

to empathize with their shared ethnicities more than others.

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Reference

Charmaraman, L, & Grossman, J. (2010). Importance of race and ethnicity. An Exploration of

Asian,Black, Latino, 144-151.

empathy. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Retrieved June 23, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy

Garrett, Major. "FOXNews.com - Obama Pushes for 'Empathetic' Supreme Court

Justices." Breaking News | Latest News | Current News - FOXNews.com. Fox News, 01

May 2009.Web. 22 June 2010. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/01/obama-

pushesempathetic-supreme-court-justices

Long, Wendy. "What's the Matter with Empathy? - Wendy Long - National Review

Online." 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 June 2010. http://article.nationalreview.com/391487/whats-the-

matter-with-empathy/wend

Obama, B. (2006, June 16). Northwestern University Commencement Address. Retrieved

from http://www.eqi.org/obama2.htm