When the half affects the whole: Priming identity for biracial individuals in social interactions

► Here we prime one half of a biracial Black/White individuals' racial identity. ► Behavioral changes in interactions with Black or White confederates are measured. ► We show priming biracial's racial identity significantly affects social behavior. ► Interactions were more positive when priming the same identity as the confederate. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o In two studies we investigate how the fluid identities of biracial individuals interact with contextual factors to shape behavior in interracial settings. In Study 1, biracial Black/White participants (n = 22) were primed with either their Black or White identity before having a race-related discussion with a Black confederate. Study 2 (n = 34) assessed the influence of our prime on racial self-identification and examined interactions with a White confederate. Self-reports and nonverbal behavior indicated that when the primed racial ingroup matched that of an interaction partner, biracial participants behaved much like participants in same-race interactions in previous studies, exhibiting lower levels of anxiety. Priming the opposite racial identity, however, led to greater signs of anxiety, mimicking past interracial interaction findings. These results extend previous findings regarding the influence of contextual factors on racial identification for biracial individuals, and are the first to demonstrate the implications of these effects for behavioral tendencies. Introduction It is well established that interracial interactions are fraught with the potential for anxiety and miscommunication (e. These expectations shape interracial interactions in negative and positive ways (e. But how do interracial interactions proceed for multiracial individuals whose identity is represented by multiple racial groups? Although the multiracial population in the United States has increased by 32% since 2000 (the highest percentage being biracial Black/White; U.S. Census, 2010) and is predicted to comprise 21% of the population by 2050 (Smith & Edmonston, 1997), no research to date has examined biracial individuals' behavior in interracial settings. Past studies demonstrate that social context can alter the perceptions of biracial Black/White individuals, forcing them to navigate between different racial identities (e., but comparable effects have not been studied within actual social interactions (Ross, Xun, & Wilson, 2002). Making particular social identities salient has can have behavioral effects on monoracial individuals, however. For example, in an investigation of social identity threat and math performance, Asian females' performance on math tests was found to vary depending on whether their gender or ethnicity was primed …