Name (required):

  Expression ^{(Optional mood/title along with your name) Examples: (happy, sad, The Joyful, etc.) help)}

  E-mail address (optional):

* Type your message here:
>There is a very interesting article in the October, >2009 issue of Scientific American titled "Birth of a >Notion." It addresses the cognitive dissonance that a >black president has caused in the minds of many and >especially the birthers who found a solution: "Obama >isn't really president! Because he really wasn't born >in the USA!" A recent poll found that 58% of >Republicans---mostly concentrated in the >South---either don't believe or aren't sure Obama is a >citizen. > >The article states that part of the answer may lie in >what's called implicit social cognition, involving >deep-rooted assumptions we all carry around and even >act on without realizing it. Harvard U psychologist >Mahzarin Banaji is a leader in the research of >implicit social cognition research and she has >excavated the hidden beliefs people hold by measuring >how fast they make value judgments when shown a >fleeting succession of stimuli such as photographs of >faces. She and an associate from San Diego State >examined bias against Asians and found that volunteers >linked white Americans more strongly than >Asian-Americans with--America. They then had people >gauge the "American-ness" of famous Asian-Americans >like Connie Chung and tennis player Michael Chang >versus European whites such as Hugh Grant. The study >found that white Europeans are more "American" than >are nonwhite Americans in most minds. > >In a study done in the 2008 election campaign, it was >no surprise when it was found that McCain was seen as >more "American" than Obama and even British ex-prime >minister Tony Blair was seen as more "American" than >Obama.

Notice: Copies of your message may remain on this and other systems on internet. Please be respectful.
The Voy.com User Agreement applies to all visitors.