Critical Health Review #2: Implicit Attitudes Essay

My IAT results indicated that I have a strong preference for European American as opposed to African American. This preference is labeled as automatic and it is described as strong while the other options are: slight, moderate or no preference. I was surprised with the result, but I found the explanation that followed the results.
I believe that the results were accurate in a way that they show subconscious thoughts and that they reflect the exposure to a certain culture. If a person spend much time with one race and does not have much personal and direct interaction with another race, than they are bound to have preference for this race even though it is not clear to them. People may have preference for the cultural group they belong to but at the same time have no prejudice for another culture or race. This is possible and preference only means that a person prefers one culture instead of another. Moreover, I believe that the specific faces that were presented in the test had influence on my responses. I pressed the keys according to my personal taste and I tended to prefer the faces that looked nicer to me no matter whether they were black or white.
When I learned my results, my reaction was that I was surprised because I do not think that I have strong preference because I can see myself surrounded by African Americans as well. I find beauty in all of the races and that is what I value apart from personal characteristics. Perhaps the white faces were more attractive for me than the black ones in this specific test and that might be the reason for the result I got. Also, my exposure to the culture makes a difference as well because I have subconscious preferences based on people I interact the most.
I do not think that I have hidden racial biases because most of the African Americans are of mixed race. There are many mulattos and the truth is that most people are half black and half white, so they should not be treated as being completely black. Moreover, there are twins who could be of different skin color, one might be white, while the other one is black. I think that people of different races have mixed so much in America that it is impossible to prefer one race to another because most of the people are of mixed race and that is a great advantage for them. These people can find a place anywhere and a sense of belonging because they have to be accepted in multiple places. This is what enriches these people and makes them special, intelligent and physically beautiful.
Among the general public, there are hidden racial biases because people are narrow-minded and accept only people of their own skin color. This influences the way we address public health concerns because white people might have advantage because of their skin color and because of prejudice. There are many issues to be resolved regarding racial problems and it is a public matter which should be dealt on the state level. People need to be educated and mixed with people of other races and from other cultures at early age. This could be the solution to the problem that is caused by racial prejudice. Moreover, it is the truth that African Americans are in a worse position than European Americans and that is because of prejudice.