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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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Carson, Jennifer V. (Author) ; Politte, Hailey (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
In: Crime & delinquency
Year: 2021, Volume: 67, Issue: 12, Pages: 2135-2162
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
bystander intervention
implicit bias
Public reporting
Terrorism
Virtual Reality
Description
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.
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128720981897