Racism is a learned behavior. So when a study was conducted to evaluate how we can become more sympathetic to others of a different race or even age group, the results were very supportive.
A study ‘Changing bodies changes minds: owning another body affects social cognition,’ was conducted in a virtual world to decipher how our body reacts when presented with a different identity to take on as our own. Written by London and Barcelona researchers, the results were published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
According to the researchers when a white person is made to live in a black person’s body they become more sympathetic and less racist. Even if it is for a short period of time. It was also observed that if an adult were to take on the persona of a child in the virtual room study, a more sympathetic approach towards the child was discovered.
The way this experiment was achieved was to hook up the participant to sensory indicators that would in turn register their feelings as they lived in dark-skinned bodies through the virtual reality.
The conclusion of this study, according to Professor Manos Tsakiris of the Royal Holloway University of London stated in a press release about this study, that he hoped the methods would assist in understanding our social behaviors.
“Our methods and findings might help us understand how to approach phenomena such as racism, religious hatred, and gender inequality discrimination, since the methods offer the opportunity for people to experience the world from the perspective of someone different from themselves.”[1]
Here is the Video:
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[1] Almendrala, A., & Cooper-White, M. Huffington Post. (2014, 15 December) When white people see themselves with black skin, something interesting happens. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15/virtual-body-swapping-racism_n_6328654.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular (Retrieved 2015, 8 January)
Really amazing results, sad you had to do an expensive study to prove such an obvious thing. Money that could have fed or bathed the homeless, to help them not be homeless. Or educated someone without one so they wouldn’t commit murders.
maybe you need to see a VR of yourself as a scientist so you’ll stop being against studies!
holy shit steves a fucking genius(not sarcasm, very serious) the educated murder as well just not over crack sales districts
why are white people always being portrayed as being racist? or even the only ones that are? the whites don’t have an al Sharpton. any pro-white person is made to believe they’re wrong. but saying you’re pro-white or pro-black, people think you’re saying your anti-everything-other-than-you. just because you have pride in your ancestors and the culture doesn’t mean you’re a racist or wrong. people in America HAVE NO culture. and the only one that’s considered a culture by whites is considered racist to all the others because they’re not in it. all racism is to me is either fear or jealousy. fear that a black guy’s going to take your daughter and spit on your fore-fathers by mixing a race that’s been around since the beginning but all of a sudden your daughter gets taken advantage of and thousands of years of pure breeding are all over because you get taken advantage of because you’re too afraid that if you’re not WITH one then you’re AGAINST them. or the fear that you’re always going to be judged by your color by police or employers for stereotypes. but theres a reason there are stereo types, for EVERY color. I am what I am, you are what you are, they are what they are. theres no changing it. this article is beyond insulting to the progress of eliminated of racism. like being a color is some “experience”. you don’t “experience” culture and say all of a sudden it’s you, you either ARE the culture or you AREN’T.
Dude that is so Racist. . .
He has a point and waving the race care is easier then actually looking into it
‘pure breeding’
No, he doesn’t have a point, he’s a fucking racist prick.
Right. It’s not like we’re some species of mammal or something.
you obviously picked and chose certain points in my comment. instead of looking at apples in the barrel, why not look at the barrel with apples in it?
White people are made out to be racist because whites have a history of killing off other cultures and races. Racism is a system put in place to keep non white people behind/beneath whites. Plus whites have a history of violence against several different groups of people
dude. EVERY race has “a history of killing off other cultures and races”. what part of the ENTIRE white people killed off either one? do the few instances of the “killing” mean that ALL have? racism is NOT a system. it’s FEAR! its JEALOUSY! its a BELIEF!
“whites have a history of violence against several different groups of people”. several different groups of people have a history of violence against whites, as well.
instead of looking at the general white people as enemies and giving into the divide that the government wants, why not look at us and yourselves as being colored red, white, and blue?
you see cops killing blacks, but not cops killing whites. its not a race war, you easily fooled person. its the government (that happens to be PRIMARILY white) attacking its people.
YOU are making this a race war by only seeing the smaller part of a much bigger plan. don’t you know this is what “they” want? mass mayhem of race violence by minorities attacking “white” police giving the government the right to take away YOUR rights as well as MINE. What do you think leads to martial law? What do you think “they” want if for?
Stop looking at “us” as the enemy. They want to dehumanize me just as much as they want to dehumanize you. Currency knows no color, neither does power or corruption.
Reading your reply made me very happy 🙂 *two thumbs up*
On the flip side you also have to consider black on black crime. Hell slavery started because the tribe leaders were selling out their enemies (and occasionally tribe members) for weapons and other goods.
Racism is stupid. You can’t justify a program like this by saying oh well “it’s because whites have a history”. So does every other race. No Name is right, you are what you are. You have to start looking at people as exactly that, people, humans. If a cop kills a kid walking down the street it shouldn’t matter what race they belong to but the fact that a cop killed a kid walking down the street.
Excuse me but saying that white people are made out to be racist is so wrong. I bet you don’t travel much. I’m white and, like many others, i’m not racist at all, I had friends, girlfriends and colleagues from all around the world and i think it’s a wonderful thing.
Are you serious?
I can’t believe you just said that. What about the Turkish, they killed off millions of whites in genocide, and sold them as slaves. It was empires that killed others. They didn’t kill foreign cultures because they were different, they killed them off because they engaged in war, and when you’re up against an empire you have no chance. It’s a coincidence that they’re white, that’s simply because of chance.
White people are made out to be racist by African Americans because they treated them badly, now the whole world see’s them that way. Also, did you notice how I put ‘white’ in commas? That is because we are not white, and black people are not black. In fact we are both brown, ‘white’ people are a cream colour, a lighter shade of brown. I see It like hating someone because they have a different hair colour, It’s just stupid. I’m white, but I had nothing to do with the slavery of Africans and only part of the blood of a country linked to it.
Racism is not a ‘system’ stupid. It’s a mechanism in the brain that everyone has, even babies! It’s made to keep people who are similar together, that’s why it shows up in religions, ideologies and even gamers. Humans naturally dislike others who are different to strengthen bonds between people who are similar. It’s natures way of organising humans. Some people have a tendency towards it more than others, we’re all different. Racism isn’t something we develop, It’s something we’re all born with that we must learn to get past. The fact we say ‘black’ and ‘white’ causes racism. If we categorise ourselves as ‘human’ then we all fit into the same group. Racism solved, your welcome.
While not technically correct, you were close. Racism is a social construct more so than anything else. Genetic divergence is what “races” are. We remember behavioral patterns and tie them in with visual cues as a defense mechanism. Humans are tribal. Racism is the marketing term for the product that businessmen, such as Al Sharpton, are selling. They’re taking a behavior as old as humanity, and attaching a stigma to it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and it partly the reason we’ve evolved as far as we have. What I don’t understand is why it is so important to the black race to be accepted by whites, Asians, or Hispanics (of any race). And you see it a lot in these races too, where they trip over themselves to appease black people. Weak.
You are the most racist person alive. This statement proves that:
“White people are made out to be racist because whites have a history of killing off other cultures and races.”
Looking around the world to day and back as far as history is documented, Every race has a history of killing.
I think people need to learn the definition of terms. To discriminate and be prejudice is one thing and racism is another. Racism has power attached to it the other two do not.
racism. noun.
‘the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.’
‘prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.’
You mean like saying black people are the best athletes?
“the most racist person alive”? Jesus christ man take ur finger off the trigger. Thats a pretty big title to put on a person who commented on something on the internet.
Um, well, I haven’t done anything violent against anyone. Sooooo please stop holding me responsible for things that people I never even met did. Thanks.
I’m of African American I agree with you and disagree with you. 1st almost every face in politics, television, movies, cartoons,and so on are white the reason you don’t have an al sharpton is because your selection of leaders are greater from a media perspective. African Americans selection is a lot smaller in the media eye lol plus we don’t follow al sharpton just because that guy has his trained followers don’t mean all of us follow him. 2nd i agree america has no culture, america never had its own culture its just a business, (america corp.). And only thing cultural in a business is what the employees bring to it.3rd i don’t and many African Americans don’t believe all white/ European Americans are races, its just your groups leaders and there followers, business owners, and grand fathers have or may have that ideology of “dark skin is inferior” in order for them to feel superior.
(by the way i agree with you on about 80% of your paragraph lol)
But I am Melanin man a Dark man an African man an African American man and I’m telling you the system was built incorrectly formed by warping mans most primal laws of duailty and we’re in a phase of its demise so stay humble respectful and wise; you will be ok
p.s just love and live
‘Dark skin is inferior’ comes from the idea that whiter skin meant great wealth; darker skin meant poor laborer. Not a racial assessment so much as an economic one. Skin color is not race, of course.
I agree with you that all people that might think slightly pro-white are immediately accused of being racists. Just for being loyal and proud of who you are and where you come from doesn’t have to mean that you are an intolerant person who hates all other races. It is just when someone from another race comes and commits a crime in your country you can see how intolerant that is…
You can’t “experience” a culture and immediately say “you are”. You have to BE the culture. The person who conducted this experiment and the one who wrote it obviously has their thinking in an opposite direction as to where we should all be. Stereotypes exist within every race, and for a reason: generally, it’s true. Racism, to me, is only just fear or jealousy. And they are based off of stereotypes. Do the whites have an Al Sharpton? Saying you’re pro-white or pro-black states 2 things: 1) You proud of your forefathers and the things they accomplished, and 2) you’re proud of your culture. But just because someone is “racist” doesn’t mean they’re wrong for being so. To have learned racism you have to have experienced things. Without such experiences, you’re just judging. People in the United States have the right to speak and feel however they wish. What we DON’T have the right to is to be unoffended. If what I say offends you, it makes me happy. Because it means you listened.
talking about racism creates racists ,not really that weird because when people talk about something for example races, u technically ask for the people involved with the disccusion to choose a side.This shouldnt be a problem ,,BUT,, most people just dont know how to think and just scream something bla bla bla all Whites are slave drivers and the person saying this probably doesnt even know when there where slaves etc etc . people just blind say things and other people pick it up and so on so on
I have to completely disagree with you. Racism already exist. Talking about it makes does that do not experience it uncomfortable. Talking about it gives does that live it day in and day out a platform to express their grief. How you want to interpret this is up to you but I can assure you that your comment makes no sense.
maybe all of you need to be a VR scientist so you’ll understand studies!!!
Yep, because as we all know, only white people are racist. Its not even slightly plausible for a black person to be racist because its never once happened in the history of mankind….
You know what’s just as bad as being on the receiving end of racism? Being treated like a racist just because you’re white. The race card is like the sexist card these days. They have been so overused in situations and arguments they didnt belong in that they have now lost all meaning. Im not a racist person, but im not going to be more sympathetic towards black people… just because im white.
The problem with most of you is that you’re avoiding the fact that there IS racism and it’s alive bc of your way of thinking. The only way to abolish racism is abolish separatist people’s way of thinking. Youre already a racist bc you’ve separated yourself from the truth. That there is only ONE RACE and it’s called “human” our make up is entirely the same. The humans body is engineered and created THE exact same no matter what color you are. If you’re not racist then youre a separatist bc you your mind still is registering that you’re different from another just bc your a shade lighter or darker. We all came from the same place. Actually the history of the “white man” started in a region of Africa. Where everyone is from. People migrating to other areas in which they adapted to their environment. Which is the reason some people have more melanin than others due to the hot climate. Why Asians eye became slanted because the conditions in Asia were once very cold or why people of the Amazon are able to walk around bare feet and not sustain injuries. The human body is an amazing thing with how it can adapt to its surroundings. Ignorant minded people (nigg***) which our white brothers would call their darker kin means ignorant and uneducated. Being that we’ve, as a human race have compiled so much propaganda over the course of thousands of years we’ve become brain washed of the truth which is WE ARE ALL THE SAME! Black power, white power, Latin power, Asian power ect…is all brain wash. Human power should be the new slogan to promote togetherness instead of separtist.
Hello middleman, that is a beautiful “speech”. Thank you.
That’s actually not true. African people are born with a rounder cranium, and they also have more fast twitch muscle fibers. White/ European people usually have a larger but rigid cranium.
How much funding money got thrown down the drain for this BS crap experiment?
If anyone wants to know what racism is like all they have to do is go somewhere to live where they no racists hate them in particular.
“According to the researchers when a white person is made to live in a black person’s body they become more sympathetic and less racist.”- Some racist shit right there.
Why are “White People” called white people? And why are black people called black people.? For you guys arguing about racism. Each of you are Saying White/Black people. Racism. Racism will prevail for as long as we say “Insert Your Color Here” People”
Middleman nailed it.
This entire study is racist! There is an assumption that the problem is that whites are racist because caucasians are not sympathetic to the lives of “colored” people. What isn’t addressed is that people of all races can be racist, blacks inclusive. Racism and sexism are both symptoms of a failure of society to teach others to be sympathetic to others and as racism is highly subjective it would be very difficult to prove a correlation between skin color and predisposition to bigotry towards another group of people. Try this same study with people of all race and creed and give them an avatar that appears scholarly and compare some test results to those who are more slovenly. People act how they perceive themselves as they feel society expects them to be. This is not the fault of the “white devil” and not one person alive has legally owned a slave. Get over your feelings of entitlement and move out of the ghetto to move up. “White guilt”, as well as racism is only kept alive by half-true studies and traditions. Meet someone not in your demographic and evolve already!
we need empathy rather than sympathy.
Of course it had to be a honkey trying out a black body if it was the other way around the black person trying out the white body would end up hating blacks. Duh! That was funny. So what if it is racist. Who cares. Everybody is. Chris rock is the biggest fucking racist around. But he’s funny. Get over it everybody. Quit crying about shit. That’s all anybody does is cry about shit. Bunch of full blown pussies now. Cry me a river. Shut your fucking cock holster.
Sorry to inform you my friend but you are an idiot.
(To the people who are posting the white people are racist by default and the people that think that):
I’m really tired of being told that I “don’t understand what it’s like to be discriminated against” because I’m “white.” That’s a load. I’ve been discriminated against for all kinds of lovely reasons, even told I should die for a couple of them.
I know what it’s like; I live in a place where the pre-dominant race is Mexican and I’m the “privileged white girl” (BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA). I’ve fought against racism and ACTIVELY spoken against it EVERY time I’ve heard it as LOUD as I possibly could as to embarrass the people being racist.. and this is what I get. Constantly told that I’m a privileged white girl who doesn’t understand what it’s like to be discriminated against.
How about this; you don’t know jack about most people’s lives so why don’t YOU stop being racist and presumptuous and grow a brain. That would be nice. Thanks.
women have been the most discriminated people of the whole history of humans.You are right |1ghtchas3r if JESUS was in the lives of people the world would a much better place.
I would also like to point out that NO, I don’t know what it’s like to have been discriminated against my whole life because of the color of my skin, but I do know what it’s like to experience other types of hatefulness. For everything that I do not understand, I probably understand something that you don’t understand, as well. Jesus Christ.
Stupid Niggers. End of Story
Wasted time and money
Nearly every comment here exposes exactly what is wrong in society. I won’t argue with anyone on this site because many have been conditioned for years to be this way. The only thing people of color can do is stand in their truth and resist for their struggles. White Privilege and its characteristics can be easily identified. I can predict what is going to be said on a regular basis because the arguments are always the same. They however, never hold any true weight nor do they explain and get into explaining the issues that are taking place. I am done! Best of luck to you ignorant white folks.
I’ll play your idiotic game. Healthy privileged. Straight privileged. Not mentally ill or physically ill privileged. Have a loving, helpful, supportive family privileged. Oh but I’m white. I have it all, no problems, and I never have to deal with racism or discrimination from people who think like you.. that look at me and say OH SHE’S WHITE SHE DOESN’T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS.
Your assumption that being “white” = not having problems/not knowing discrimination IS RACIST. HELLO?!
Try actually having some understanding of something other than your self-centered egocentric life, where “WOE IS ME” and “NO ONE has it worse than ME.” YOU are the one that sounds ignorant and racist.
And the best part? Then you’re a coward and can’t even have a discussion. You say your piece and run away, like a small child who doesn’t want to ever be questioned or have his world view altered. How sad. Run away little racist, run as fast as you can.
way to distinguish urself as different and in fact better than any other poster on here. Thats what really important here Jen. Thanks for ur superior out look on things and ur comment about not arguing, which is in itself an argument. Best of luck to u, though luck will not be enough.
I think Racism is semi-natural semi-learnt behaviour. If you think about it how has the human races dealt with anything that is strange or unusual? We start wars or look at it with contempt until we have properly sat down and learnt about the other and begin to appreciate the culture, race or people for what they are. I myself am proud to say I’m white and I don’t see anything wrong with it, one of my friends is black and he’s equally proud to be black. Who the hell gives a toss?
I’v seen a lot of people be racist by accusing another of being racist Ironically. I think its important to recognise and be proud of where you come from, Black, Asian or White but its folly to be consumed and obsessed by it like some activists (from all sides) are.
Just imagine if the study was done in a bad area of the deep south or a very poor area of the U.S. The statistics might change a bit.
To cease racism, you will need to do a lot. I wish everyone would just get along and set aside our races. Race is determined by where we are born, not our inner personality, and what we should really be judged on. Everywhere you look, you will always see conflict, and it’s usually because of our differences. If only everyone in the world would take a moment to just be thankful and stop judging and be nice.
theirs absolutely no proof what so ever of evolution.It is a theory.so to say racism has evolved into us is bunk.GOD made all the peoples of the world.Do you think GOD put racism in our minds so HE could witness the shame going on today.The eradication of racism can only be ousted by individual work to be eradicated.