Racial Bias in Sport Medical Staff's Perceptions of Others' Pain (WP-17-08)
James Druckman, Sophie Trawalter, Ivonne Montes, Alexandria Fredendall, Noah Kanter, Allison Rubenstein
Racial disparities in higher education and healthcare have a long history and are well documented. In the present work, the researchers examine racial bias at the intersection of these domains: racial bias in pain-related perceptions among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 sport medical staff. Using experimental vignettes about a student-athlete who injured his/her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), they find, like prior work, that respondents perceived Black (vs. White) targets as having higher initial pain tolerance. Moreover, this bias was mediated by perceptions of social class. The researchers extend prior work by showing racial bias was not evident on other outcome measures including perception of recovery process pain, likelihood of over-reporting pain, and over-use of drugs to combat pain. This suggests stricter boundary conditions on bias in pain perceptions than had been previously recognized.