New teachers mistakenly assume Black students are angry
The big idea
College students who are training to become teachers are 36% more likely to mistakenly believe that a Black child is angry when that child isn’t making an angry face than if a white child makes the same facial expression, according to our new study.
We determined this by having a group of 72 Black and white child actors trained by experts to make specific facial muscle movements. For example, to come across as surprised, the children raised their eyebrows and widened their eyes. To convey anger, the children furrowed their eyebrows and tightened their lips.
We designed our study this way to make sure that no one could say maybe the Black children were making angry faces more often than the white children. They absolutely were not.
Then we had teachers-in-training watch vide...