Feindel Virtual Brain and Mind Lecture Series: Psychophysiological Approaches to Understanding Racial Bias

The Feindel Virtual Brain and Mind Seminar presents "Psychophysiological Approaches to Understanding Racial Bias"

Registration available here.

Speaker: Amy R. Krosch

Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Cornell University

Abstract: Glaring disparities continue to persist between racial majority and minority group members—on economic, health, education, and carceral indicators. However, the psychological processes through which these disparities are supported at the individual level are often difficult to determine with behavior alone. Here, I’ll discuss three lines of research that leverage different psychophysiological methods to answer questions about how individuals' perceptions and decisions give rise to broader racial bias. In the first line of work, I’ll show how economic scarcity promotes discrimination by altering early visual processing of minority faces using EEG and fMRI. Next, I’ll discuss the neural underpinnings of race categorization and how fMRI can help arbitrate between opposing accounts for why some people tend to over categorize mixed-race faces as Black. Finally, I'll discuss work that capitalizes on computational and pupil dilation methods to show that white people tend to make riskier choices for Black recipients based on dampened sensitivity to Black losses. Together this talk will highlight some unique challenges of performing research on racial bias with traditional behavioral methods and will underscore the usefulness of various psychophysiological solutions. 

Bio: Dr. Amy Krosch is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Cornell University, the Director of the Social Perception and Intergroup Inequality Lab, and the Chair of the Psychology Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Amy studies how social and economic factors shape the way we see, think about, and make decisions for others—and how those processes amplify discrimination and inequality in the U.S.  She takes a multilevel approach to research, integrating ideas and methods from experimental social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral decision-making, and psychophysics.

The Feindel Virtual Brain and Mind (VBM) Seminar Series will advance the vision of Dr. William Feindel (1918–2014), Former Director of the Neuro (1972–1984), to constantly bridge the clinical and research realms. The talks will highlight the latest advances and discoveries in neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.

Speakers will include scientists from across The Neuro, as well as colleagues and collaborators locally and from around the world. The series is intended to provide a virtual forum for scientists and trainees to continue to foster interdisciplinary exchanges on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of brain and cognitive disorders.