Behavioral and neurophysiological indices of the racial bias modulation after virtual embodiment in other-race body

Maria Pyasik; Alice Mado Proverbio; Lorenzo Pia

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108085

Behavioral and neurophysiological indices of the racial bias modulation after virtual embodiment in other-race body

iScience. 2023 Sep 28;26(10):108085. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108085. eCollection 2023 Oct 20.

Authors

Maria Pyasik¹, Alice Mado Proverbio², Lorenzo Pia^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy.
² Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy.
³ NIT (Neuroscience Institute of Turin), 10124 Turin, Italy.

Abstract

Racial bias-nonconscious behavioral inclinations against people of other ethnic groups-heavily contributes to inequality and discrimination. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) can reduce implicit racial bias through the feeling of owning (embodying) a virtual body of a different "race"; however, it has been demonstrated only behaviorally for the implicit attitudes. Here, we investigated the implicit (racial IAT) and the neurophysiological (the N400 component of the event-related potentials for verbal stimuli that violated negative racial stereotypes) correlates of the embodiment-induced reduction of the implicit racial bias. After embodying a Black avatar, Caucasian participants had reduced implicit racial bias (IAT) but both groups showed the typical N400. This is the first evidence to suggest that virtual embodiment affects the evaluative component of the implicit biases but not the neurophysiological index of their cognitive component (i.e., stereotyping). This can inform interventions that promote inclusivity through the implicit/indirect procedures, such as embodiment.

Keywords: Behavioral neuroscience; Neuroscience; Social interaction.