Skin Tone: An Examination of Trustworthiness and Innocence Among College Students

Abstract

Skin tone research often addresses the effects of skin tone on prejudice and discriminatory practices. Empirical research has persistently investigated skin tone and its effect on prejudice, discriminatory practices, and sentencing outcomes. Using college students as raters, the present study examined the relationship between skin tone, trustworthiness, and innocence. A total of 139 college students at a Southern University observed 417 photos of capital murderers of varying skin tones to determine whether they appeared to be trustworthy and innocent. The study results revealed that college student raters, regardless of race, were more likely to rate dark-skinned individuals higher on both the trustworthiness and innocence scales than light skin individuals. The current study demonstrated that college students, in comparison to other groups, may respond less negative to skin tone variations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Conner Birdsong

Conner Birdsong received his Master of Science Degree from the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Criminology at Florida State University. Conner’s research interests include racial discrimination in sentencing, the death penalty, recidivism rates, and sentencing alternatives.

Ida M. Johnson

Ida M. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Profession in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama. Her research interests include prisoner reentry, sexual victimization of incarcerated women, and domestic violence. Dr. Johnson has published numerous research articles and is the co-author of Forced Sexual Intercourse in Intimate Relationships.

Jane Daquin

Jane C. Daquin, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama. He research interests include prison adaptation, prison victimization, the experiences of prisoners in special populations, and the influences of prison experiences on offender reentry. Her most recent work has appeared in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Criminal Justice & Behavior, and Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.

Jimmy Williams

Jimmy Williams, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama. His research interests include an examination of extra-legal factors and decision-making in criminal cases at the trial court and the intermediate appellate court levels.