Study: Time seems to move slower for some whites when blacks are approaching
For some white Americans, time may actually appear to move more slowly when they are approached by a black person, according to a new study by the American Psychological Association.
During the study, white adults saw the faces of both black and white people who appeared to be moving toward them and were asked to rate the speed as well as the length of time that the person was on the screen.
“People tend to think that if you felt threatened, you’d think someone was approaching more quickly,” said lead researcher Andreana Kenrick, PhD. “But in the moment, the anxiety of the experience may cause heightened attention and time expansion where the passage of time seems to slow down, similar to car crash survivors who say the accident seemed to take place in slow motion.”
Kenrick also noted that this did not necessarily mean that people who experienced racial anxiety were racist. “The study is not necessarily measuring racial bias but some of the effects of discomfort around people of another race,” Kenrick said.
Kenrick also noted that this perceived time difference could account for things like inaccurate witness statements or the perception of black people as more threatening.
“If you perceive time as slowing down, then you may feel overconfident about identifying the approaching person later or interpreting their actions,” she said. “However, more research is needed to reach firm conclusions.”
The experiment focused on 500 white adults who were evenly split in gender. The study didn’t discern whether black anxiety around whites resulted in a similar effect.
