Researchers from the Oxford University have found that people consuming a common heart disease drug, propranolol (40 mg), show less implicit racism than those who don’t consume the medicine. The drug acts on the mechanisms that activate fear, which, according to the scientists, is the main cause of racism.
The research was made on 36 people, who were separated into two groups: one received the medicine and the other was treated with a placebo pill. Then, they were asked to take tests on implicit and explicit racial prejudice. The results showed that people treated with propranolol tended to exhibit less implicit racial prejudice, while the explicit prejudice was similar in both cases.
“Our results offer new evidence about the processes in the brain that shape implicit racial bias,” says Sylvia Terbeck, co-author of the study. “Implicit racial bias can occur even in people with a sincere belief in equality. Given the key role that such implicit attitudes appear to play in discrimination against other ethnic groups, and the widespread use of propranolol for medical purposes, our findings are also of considerable ethical interest.”
In any event, it seems clear that further research is needed to draw any conclusions.
Source: Telegraph, The Independent
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Terbeck, S., Kahane, G., McTavish, S., Savulescu, J., Cowen, P., & Hewstone, M. (2012). Propranolol reduces implicit negative racial bias Psychopharmacology DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2657-5
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Pingback: ResearchBlogging.org News » Blog Archive » Editor’s Selections: Military Training, Combating Racism, Neuroscience of Cake