Abstract
Since the early days of slavery a bias favoring fair skin has been a significant and discriminatory distinction made by both White and Black Americans. Recent research indicates that African Americans are considered more attractive by others if they have fair skin. Clearly, skin color exerts strong effects on many aspects of African Americans’ lives. Skin color may also affect the beauty and life chances of other non-African American groups since skin color affects perceptions in India, Israel, Korea, Japan, the West Indies, South Africa, Britain, and South America. But, until additional research examining this issue is conducted one cannot be certain that it is true. Hopefully, now that more work is being done examining skin color the public will be made aware of this and additional research examining the impact of skin color in the aforementioned cultures will also be conducted.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allen, B. P., & Wroble, S. (1975). Attractive people like themselves better than unattractive people-most of the time: Self-descriptions employing the AGT. Paper presented as the Midwestern Psychological Association Convention, Chicago, IL.
Azibo, D. (1983). Perceived attractiveness and the Black personality. Western Journal of Black Studies, 7(4), 229–238.
Banks, W. C. (1976). White preference in Blacks: A paradigm in search of a phenomenon. Psychological Bulletin, 83(6), 1179–1186.
Banks, W. C., McQuater, G. V., & Ross, J. A. (1979). On the importance of White preference and the comparative difference of Blacks and others: Reply to Williams and Morland. Psychological Bulletin, 86(1), 33–36.
Bar-Tal, D., & Saxe, L. (1976). Perceptions of similarly and dissimilarly attractive couples and individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 772–781.
Blair, I. V., Judd, C. M., & Chapleau, K. M. (2004). The influence of Afrocentric facial features in criminal sentencing. Psychological Science, 15(10), 674–679.
Blair, I. V., Judd, C. M., Sadler, M.S., & Jenkins, C. (2002). The role of Afrocentric features in person perception: Judging by features and categories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 5–25.
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York, Wiley.
Bond, C., Di Canada, C., & McKinnon, J. R. (1988). Response to violence in a psychiatric setting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 448–458.
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49.
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49.
Cash, T. F., & Kilcullen, R. N. (1985). The eye of the beholder: Susceptibility to sexism and “beautyism” in the evaluation of managerial applicants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 15, 591–605.
Chambers, J., Clark, T., Dantzler, L., & Baldwin, J. (1994). Perceived attractiveness, facial features and African self-consciousness. Journal of Black Psychology, 20(3), 305–324.
Chideya, F. (1995). Don’t believe the hype: Fighting cultural misinformation about African Americans. New York: Penguin Books, Inc.
Clark, K., & Clark, M. (1939a). The development of consciousness of self and the emergence of racial identification in negro preschool children. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 591.
Clark, K., & Clark, M. (1939b). Segregation as a factor in the racial identification of Negro preschool children: A preliminary report. Journal of Experimental Education, 8, 161.
Clark, K., & Clark, M. (1947). Racial identification and preference in Negro children. In T. Newcombe & E. C. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in social psychology (pp. 159–169). New York: Holt.
Clark., K. B., & Clark, M. P. (1980). What do Blacks think of themselves? Ebony, 11, 176–182.
Cunningham, M. R. (1986). Measuring the physical in physical attractiveness: Quasi-experiments on the sociobiology of female facial beauty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 925–935.
Cunningham, M. R., Barbee, A., & Pike, C. (1990). What do women want? Facialmetric assessments of multiple motives in the perception of male facial physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 61–72.
Cunningham, M. R., Roberts, A. R., Barbee, A. P., Druen, P. B., & Wu, C.-H. (1995). “Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole the same as ours”: Consistency and variability in the cross cultural perception of female physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 261–279.
Darwin, C. (1874). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. New York: Hurst.
Davis, A., Gardner, B. R., & Gardner, M. R. (1941). Deep South. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972). What is beautiful is good. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 285–290.
Dipboye, R. L., Arvey, R. D., & Terpstra, D. E. (1977). Sex and physical attractiveness of raters and applicants as determinants of resume evaluation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 288–294.
Dollard, J. (1957). Caste and class in southern town. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Drake, S. C., & Cayton, H. (1945). Black metropolis. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Drake, S. C., & Cayton, H. (1962). The measure of a man. In S. C. Drake and H. Cayton, (Eds.), Black metropolis: A study of Negro life in a northern city (vol. 2, pp. 495–525), New York: Harper.
Eagly, A., Ashmore, R. D., Makhijani, M. G., & Longo, L. C. (1991). What is beautiful is good, but: A meta-analytic review of research on the physical attractiveness stereotype. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 109–128.
Eberhardt, J. L., Davies, P. G., Purdie-Vaughans, V. J., & Johnson, S. L. (2006). Looking deathworthy: Perceived stereotypicality of Black defendants predicts capital-sentencing outcomes. Psychological Science, 15(5), 383–386.
Edwards, J. N. (1969). Familial behavior as social exchange. Journal of Marriage and The Family, 31, 518–526.
Ekehammar, B., & Sidanius, J. (1982). Sex differences in socio-political ideology: a replication and extension. British Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 249–257.
Elder, G. (1969). Appearance and education in marriage mobility. American Sociological Review, 34, 519–533.
Feingold, A. (1990). Gender Differences in effects of physical attractiveness on romantic attraction: A comparison across five research paradigms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 981–993.
Fine, M., & Bowers, C. (1984). Racial self-identification: The effects of social history and gender. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14(2), 136–146.
Franklin, J. H. (1968). Introduction: Color and race in the modern world. In J. H. Franklin (Ed.), Color and race. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Franklin, J. H. (1980). From slavery to freedom, 5th edition. New York: Knopf.
Franklin, J. H. (1957b). The Negro in the United States. New York: McMillan.
Gergen , K. J. (1968). The significance of skin color in human relations. In J. H. Franklin (Ed.), Color and race. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Gilmore, D. C., Beehr, T. A., & Love, K. G. (1986). Effects of applicant sex, applicant physical attractiveness, type of rater and type of job on interview decisions. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 59, 103–109.
Goodman, M. E. (1952). Race awareness in young children. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Gray, S. (1944). The wishes of Negro school children. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 64, 225–237.
Hall, R. E. (1992). Bias among African Americans regarding skin color: Implications for social work practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 2(4), 479–486.
Henik, A., Munitz, S., & Priel, B. (1985). Color, skin color preferences and self color identification among Ethiopian- and Israeli-born children. Israeli Social Science Research, 3, 74–84.
Herskovits, M. J. (1934). A critical discussion of the “mulatto hypothesis.” Journal of Negro Education, 3(3), 389–402.
Homans, G. C. (1961). Social behavior: Its elementary forms. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Hughes, M., & Hertel, B. R. (1990). The significance of color remains: A study of life chances, mate selection, and ethnic consciousness among Black Americans. Social Forces, 68(4), 1105–1120.
Johnson, C. S. (1941). Growing up in the Black belt: Negro youth in the rural south. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Keith, V. M., & Herring, C. (1991). Skin tone and stratification in the Black community. American Journal of Sociology, 97(3), 760–778.
Kenrick, D. T., & Keefe, R. C. (1992). Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in human reproductive strategies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15, 75–133.
Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., Zierk, K. L., & Krones, J. M. (1994). Evolution and social cognition: Contrast effects as a function of sex, dominance, and physical attractiveness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(2), 210–217.
Kovel, J. (1971). White racism: A psychohistory. New York: Random House.
Landry, B. (1987). The new Black middle class. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Lincoln, C. E. (1968). Color and group identity in the United States. In J. H. Franklin (Ed.), Color and race. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Maddox, K. B. (2004). Perspectives on racial phenotypicality bias. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(4), 383–401.
Maddox, K. B., & Gray, S. A. (2002). Cognitive representations of Black Americans: Reexploring the role of skin tone. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(2), 250–259.
Mathes, E., & Kahn, A. (1975). Physical attractiveness, happiness, neuroticism, and self-esteem. The Journal of Psychology, 90, 27–30.
Mazella, R., & Feingold, A. (1994). The effects of physical attractiveness, race, socioeconomic status, and gender of defendants and victims on judgments of mock jurors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(15), 1315–1338.
Merton, R. K. (1941). Intermarriage and the social structure: fact and theory. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 4, 361–374.
Morland, J. K. (1962). Racial acceptance and preference of nursery school children in a southern city. Merrill Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development, 8, 271–280.
Murstein, B. I. (1976). Who will marry whom?: Theories and research in marital choice. New York: Springer.
Murstein, B. I., Merighi, J. R., & Malloy, T. E. (1989). Physical attractiveness and exchange theory in interracial dating. Journal of Social Psychology, 129(3), 325–334.
Myrdal, G. (1944). An American dilemma. New York: Harper & Row.
Neal, A. M., & Wilson, M. L. (1989). The role of skin color and features in the Black community: Implications for Black women and therapy. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 323–333.
Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Harvesting implicit group attitudes and beliefs from a demonstration website. Group Dynamics, 6(1), 101–115.
Parrish, C. (1944). The significance of color in the Negro community. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: University of Chicago.
Powell-Hopson, D., & Hopson, D. (1988). Implications of doll color preferences among Black preschool children and White preschool children. Journal of Black Psychology, 14(2), 57–63.
Rand, C. S., & Hall, J. A. (1983). Sex differences in the accuracy of self-perceived attractiveness. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46, 359–363.
Reuter, E. B. (1918). The mulatto in the United States. (1969 reprint). New York: Negro Universities Press.
Riggs, M. (Producer/Director) (1986). Ethnic notions [Film]. San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel.
Riggs, M. (Producer/Director) (1989). Old myths die hard: The case of Black self-esteem. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 2(3), 355–365.
Ross, L. (1997). Mate selection preference among African American college students. Journal of Black Studies, 27, 554–580.
Russell, K., Wilson, M., & Hall, R. (1993). The color complex: The politics of skin color among African Americans. New York: Harcourt Brace Janovich.
Sadalla, E. K., Kenrick, D. T., & Vershure, B. (1987). Dominance and heterosexual attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 730–738.
Sandler, K. (Producer/Director) (1992). A question of color [Film] San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel.
Schulman, G. I. (1974). Race, sex and violence? A laboratory test of the sexual threat of the Black male hypothesis. American Journal of Sociology, 79, 1260–1277.
Schuman, H., Steeh, C., Bobo, L., & Krysan, M. (1997). Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Sidanius, J., Levin, S., Liu, J.H., & Pratto, F. (2000). Social dominance orientation and the political psychology of gender: An extension and cross cultural replication. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 41–67.
Sigall, H., & Landy, D. (1973). Radiating beauty: Effects of having a physically attractive partner on person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 293–307.
Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist- to- hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 293–307.
Singh, D. (1995). Female judgment of male attractiveness and desirability for relationships: Role of waist-to-hip ratio and financial status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(6), 1089–1101.
Smith, L., Burlew, A., & Lundgren, D. (1991). Black consciousness, self-esteem, and satisfaction with physical appearance among African American female college students. Journal of Black Studies, 20(1), 62–74.
Thibaut, J. W., & Kelley, H. H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley.
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell, (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man: 1871–1971 (pp. 136–179). Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Udry, J. R., & Billy, J. O. G. (1987). Initiation of coitus in early adolescence. American Sociological Review, 52, 841–855.
Udry, J. R., Bauman, K. E., & Chase, C. (1971). Skin color, status, and mate selection. American Journal of Sociology, 76, 722–733.
van den Berghe, P. L., & Frost, P. (1986). Skin color preference, sexual dimorphism and sexual selection: A case of gene culture co-evolution? Ethnic and Racial Studies, 9(1), 87–113.
Wade, T. J. (1991). Marketplace economy: The evaluation of interracial couples. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12(4), 405–422.
Wade, T. J. (1996). The relationships between skin color and self-perceived global, physical, and sexual attractiveness, and self-esteem for African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 22(3) 358–373.
Wade, T. J. (2000). Evolutionary theory and self-perception: Sex differences in body esteem predictors of physical and sexual attractiveness and self-esteem. International Journal of Psychology, 35(1), 36–46.
Wade, T. J. (2003). Evolutionary theory and African American self-perception: Sex differences in body esteem predictors of physical and sexual attractiveness, and self-esteem. Journal of Black Psychology, 29(2), 123–141.
Wade, T. J., & Bielitz, S. (2005). The differential effect of skin color on attractiveness, personality evaluations, and perceived life success of African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 31(3), 215–236.
Wade, T. J., Thompson, V., Tashakkori, A., & Valente, E. (1989). A longitudinal analysis of sex by race differences in predictors of adolescent self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 10(7), 717–729.
Wade, T. J., Milanak, M. A., Minaya, E. F., Schnure, K., & Shanley, A. (2003). Attractiveness and individual differences in men’s perceived mental health. Presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Toronto, Canada, August 2003.
Wade, T. J., Romano, M. J., & Blue, L. (2004). The influence of African American skin color on hiring decisions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(12), 2550–2558.
Zebrowitz, L. A., Montepare, J. M., & Lee, H. K. (1993). They don’t all look alike: Individuated impressions of other racial groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(1), 85–101.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wade, T.J. (2008). Skin Color Biases: Attractiveness and Halo Effects in the Evaluation of African Americans. In: Hall, R.E. (eds) Racism in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79098-5_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79098-5_8
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79097-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79098-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)