Race is an interesting phenomenon in large part because the different levels of explanation for it are numerous. In my posts, I will try to explain and comment on race at the different relative levels in which it can be explained. In other words, I am going to try to explain its aspects as a psychological phenomenon, an economic phenomenon, and a sociological phenomenon. From there, I hope to propose an ethical opinion (as in what I believe should be done if anything) on race/ racial perspectives which takes into account these different levels of explanation. In order to do this, I will support my intuitions by referencing discussions that I have had as well as any study or professional opinion that I find interesting and relevant.

Today and with my next post I plan to start by examining race on a very small scale, at the psychological level. In order to do this two conversations that I have had one with a cab driver and one with my Father. Hope that you enjoy.

For geographic reference I grew up in Pelham, a town in New York that boarders the Bronx. While I am only limitedly interested in the broader phenomenon of racist cab drivers, it is a common and frequently truthful fact to most New Yorkers that cab drivers will often avoid picking up African Americans especially after nightfall. Now this belief (which I have just said is truthful to a degree) is in large part the result of racial oversensitivity. As in, the best explanation is often not that the cab driver is racist but that the cab driver did not see the person, had forgot to put his/her off duty sign up, or was simply not picking anyone up at the given street. After all, I have had a cab driver ignore me before, and I was, at least at the time, a well dressed, well shaved Caucasian male. Regardless, some cab drivers do pick their occupants with attention to race and I happened to meet one who was anxious to talk about it.

I think his name was Eric and he gave me a ten minute drive from the Pelham train station to my house. After introducing himself, complaining about his long work day hours, and then the crabby weather, he told me that he was happy that I had arrived at the station. I asked why and he explained without flinching that he was worried that a black man waiting at the station was going to ask for a ride. After I questioned him on the subject he revealed to me that he did not pick up young African American men because, as he put it, “they don't tip, hardly ever pay, and they will rob you.” He then explained to me that this was not racism. After all, he had been robbed before by two young African American men. He wanted me to justify his position with agreement, and I wanted to get home, so for the majority of the ride, I mumbled and nodded avoiding any potential argument.

Before I analyze this in any detail, I want to make a couple comments about how we, human beings, think and organize information. We are predictors. Our minds are made to seek out answers and understandings so that when confronted with a familiar situation we can more appropriately deal with it. We do this unconsciously with almost everything we encounter. Take for example the fact that when you are reading what someone has written or talking with someone you are always predicting what he or she is going to. At the end of the last sentence, you probably filled in the missing segment with the word “say” or maybe “say next.” You were predicting, and in order to predict individuals look for anything that will tell them about what will happen next (in this case the context and commonplace of the sentence informed you that “say” belonged at the end of the sentence). Usually, however, the explanation for an event is complex or not observable in the given situation, and, as a result, we anchor ourselves to false explanations or even superstitions. Especially in regards to human behavior we frequently make these mistakes, called cognitive biases.

In this light, I want to argue that the Cab driver's understanding is the result of a fundamental attribution error. A fundamental attribution error is a common cognitive mistake in which an individual falsely attributes another individuals behavior to physical characteristics or personality traits when context would better suffice. In this case, the cab driver is falsely explaining behavior in terms of the physical characteristics (skin color) of his occupants. But this is not the entirety of the point that I am making; this irrational characterization is a mistake that we are all susceptible to and probably one that we each make often.

While I think that this certainly helps to explain the source of racial profiling and many racial characterizations, it is also insufficient in many ways. If for example I were to rob the cab driver it is unlikely that he would stop picking up young Caucasian men, and, in this way, it is insufficient to suggest that this cognitive mistake is the soul source of his racial understanding. Next post I will examine the social psychological basis and internal justifications that may validate this cognitive explanation; therefor, more adequately explaining why racial explanation is such a common phenomenon.