Perceiving social injustice during arrests of Black and White civilians by White police officers: An fMRI investigation

From social media to courts of law, recordings of interracial police officer-civilian interactions are now widespread and publicly available. People may be motivated to preferentially understand the dynamics of these interactions when they perceive injustice towards those whose communities experience disproportionate policing relative to others (e.g., non-White racial/ethnic groups). To explore these questions, two studies were conducted (study 1 neuroimaging n = 69 and study 2 behavioral n = 58). The fMRI study examined White participants' neural activity when viewing real-world videos with varying degrees of aggression or conflict of White officers arresting a Black or White civilian. Activity in brain regions supporting social cognition was greater when viewing Black (vs. White) civilians involved in more aggressive police encounters. Additionally, although an independent sample of perceivers rated videos featuring Black and White civilians as similar in overall levels of aggression when civilian race was obscured, participants in the fMRI study (where race was not obscured) rated officers as more aggressive and their use of force as less legitimate when the civilian was Black. In study 2, participants who had not viewed the videos also reported that they believe police are generally more unjustly aggressive towards Black compared with White civilians. These findings inform our understanding of how perceptions of conflict with the potential for injustice shape social cognitive engagement when viewing arrests of Black and White individuals by White police officers.

Automated summary

Recordings of interracial police officer-civilian interactions are now widely available and individuals may be more inclined to understand these dynamics when perceiving injustice towards communities that experience disproportionate policing. Two studies were conducted to explore this issue. The fMRI study found that White participants showed greater neural activity in regions supporting social cognition when viewing videos of Black civilians involved in more aggressive police encounters. Additionally, participants in the fMRI study rated officers as more aggressive and their use of force as less legitimate when the civilian was Black. In study 2, participants who had not viewed the videos also reported a belief that police are generally more unjustly aggressive towards Black civilians compared to White civilians. These findings shed light on how perceptions of conflict and injustice influence social cognitive engagement when observing arrests by White police officers of Black and White individuals.