Implicit bias within public reporting: a virtual reality experiment examining “suspicious” activity
Campaigns like that of the Department of Homeland Security’s “See Something, Say Something” are intended to increase public reporting of “terrorism-related behaviors.” Yet given prior research on whom the general public considers to be a terrorist, it is likely these types of programs are instead af...
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
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In: |
Crime & delinquency
Year: 2021, Volume: 67, Issue: 12, Pages: 2135-2162 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | Campaigns like that of the Department of Homeland Security’s “See Something, Say Something” are intended to increase public reporting of “terrorism-related behaviors.” Yet given prior research on whom the general public considers to be a terrorist, it is likely these types of programs are instead affected by pejorative automatic associations. With this in mind, we inquire: Does implicit bias affect public reporting within a suspicious activity scenario? Through a randomized experiment using virtual reality technology, we find evidence of such bias, as manifested in whether participants indicated they would call the police when presented with a Middle Eastern male. We conclude effective counterterrorism programming should involve an awareness campaign component detailing what terrorism truly looks like in the United States. |
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ISSN: | 1552-387X |
DOI: | 10.1177/0011128720981897 |