ABSTRACT
In 1922, Walter Lippman famously referred to stereotypes as “pictures in our heads.” His comment presaged nearly a century of research on how perceptions of stigmatized social groups are represented in the mind. In this chapter, we describe how the most recent addition to the prejudice researcher’s methodological toolbox-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)—allows researchers to measure patterns of neural activity associated with prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (Figure 17.1). fMRI is a technique for measuring changes in blood ow in the brain. As neurons in the brain re, their energy is depleted. Tiny capillaries throughout the brain deliver oxygenated blood supplies to replenish the neuron’s energy stores. Oxygenated blood contains more ionized hemoglobin molecules, and changes in blood oxygen-dependent (BOLD) signal can be detected using magnetic resonance technology (see Huettel, Song, & McCarthy, 2004, for an in-depth description of fMRI methodology). The assumption in fMRI research is that increases in blood ow to a particular region of the brain are associated with a greater degree of neuronal activity in the preceding seconds. When placed in the hands of prejudice researchers, fMRI provides a way to study Lippman’s “pictures in our heads” by examining patterns of activity in our brains (i.e., pictures of inside our heads).
