Seeing Them Differently: How Social Norm Violations Alter Face Perception

Authors: Myra Bryant, Dave Brocker

SUNY Campus: Farmingdale State College

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: UU 111

Presentation #: 70

Timeslot: Session C 1:45-2:45 PM

Abstract: Perceptual dehumanization occurs when the faces of perceived outgroup members are not fully processed, potentially leading to stereotype endorsement, bias, prejudice, and even harm. Prior research by Fincher and Tetlock (2016) found that norm-violators (outgroup members) are processed differently than norm-followers (ingroup members), suggesting that moral deviance may contribute to dehumanization. This study seeks to replicate their findings while examining whether race influences perceptual dehumanization—both as an independent variable and in relation to the participant’s own racial identity. To investigate this, participants will view and categorize faces paired with negative (norm-violating), positive, or neutral information. They will then attempt to identify target faces from an array while response times and accuracy are measured. If results align with previous findings, norm-violators will be identified more accurately when faces are inverted or blurry, indicating differences in encoding. Additionally, the study will manipulate face-race to determine whether perceptual dehumanization is mitigated or amplified when targets match the participant’s racial identity. This research contributes to understanding how cognitive biases shape social perception, with implications for prejudice reduction, criminal justice reform, and policy development. Future work will explore interventions to mitigate these biases and examine both subtle and blatant forms of dehumanization. This study is currently under IRB review.