Protecting Whiteness: White Phenotypic Racial Stereotypicality Reduces Police Use of Force
Abstract
Focusing on intergroup anti-non-White bias in the criminal justice system, little attention is given to how Whites may additionally be protected from negative police treatment. This study examines intragroup bias via perceived suspect phenotypic racial stereotypicality (e.g., how strongly members possess physical features typical of their racial group) on severity of police use of force. It is hypothesized that the Whiter one appears, the more the suspect will be protected from police force. Internal use of force case files from a large police department were coded for severity of police force, and suspects’ booking photographs were scored for phenotypic racial stereotypicality. Regression analyses confirmed that police used less force with highly stereotypical Whites, and this protective effect was stronger than the effect for non-Whites. Results suggest that intragroup bias is a protective factor for Whites, but not for non-Whites, providing an additional route through which racial disparities in policing operate.
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Appearing physically 'Whiter' is associated with experiencing less police force.
“In contrast, appearing physically ' Whiter ' is associated with experiencing less police force”
From A call to dismantle systemic racism in criminal legal systems. (2022) · cites this paper as Kahn et al., 2016
Cites
The essence of innocence: Consequences of dehumanizing Black children.
Goff, P. A., Jackson, M. C., Di Leone, B. A. L., Culotta, C. M., & DiTomasso, N. A. (2014) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035663 · Cited by 1,134 · see citing works
Self-citationAssessing the Effect of Race Bias in Post-traffic Stop Outcomes Using Propensity Scores
Ridgeway, G. (2006) · Journal of Quantitative Criminology · doi:10.1007/s10940-005-9000-9 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Kahn, K. B., & Davies, P. G. (2011) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430210374609 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
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Police brutality and black health: Setting the agenda for public health scholars
Alang, S., McAlpine, D., McCreedy, E., & Hardeman, R. (2017) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2017.303691 · Cited by 400 · see citing works
A call to dismantle systemic racism in criminal legal systems.
Najdowski, C. J., & Stevenson, M. C. (2022) · Law and Human Behavior · doi:10.1037/lhb0000510 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kahn, K. B., Goff, P. A., Lee, J. K., & Motamed, D.
- Affiliations
- Portland State University (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kahn, Kimberly Barsamian
- Venue
- Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-02-23
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 403-411
- ISSN
- 1948-5506 (ISSN-L)
- 1948-5514
- OpenAlex
- W2284631792
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 36.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Psychological and Personality Science (publishedVersion)
- PDXScholar (Portland State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Keywords
- police use of force, racial disparities in policing, criminal justice system, whiteness, racial bias
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