Study: White People Think Black People Are More Likely to Be Magic
Ever wonder why some white people are so mortally afraid of black bodies? One possible, research-supported answer: they think black people are legit warlocks.
According to a recent paper published by Social Psychological and Personality Science, whites demonstrated a "superhumanization bias" toward blacks, believing them more likely to have supernatural abilities and associating them with words like "mystical," "magic," and "wizard."
In one study, researchers found that white people were significantly more likely to attribute a number of magic powers to black people, including "hav[ing] superhuman skin that is thick enough that it can withstand the pain of burning hot coals" and "hav[ing] supernatural strength that makes them capable of lifting up a tank."
Whites were also found to believe black people more capable of "read[ing] a person's mind by touching the person's head," but not to a statistically significant degree.
However, the paper's authors theorize that this bias might not be limited to white perceptions of black others, writing, "superhumanization of Asians might center on enhanced intelligence consistent with stereotypes of Chinese and Japanese. We welcome future research on this topic."
