The effects of skin tone and prototypicality on the dynamic racial categorization and stereotyping of Latine Americans

Latine people are phenotypically diverse and encompass a wide range of skin tones; however, psychological research on person perception has devoted comparatively little attention to the social-cognitive processes through which skin tone and other phenotypic cues shape the racial categorization and stereotyping of Latine individuals. The present work uses computer mouse tracking to explore how skin tone and Latine prototypicality—the degree to which an individual's physical appearance aligns with stereotypical features associated with Latine identity—affect the dynamic processes of racial categorization and stereotyping of Latine Americans. We examine how Latine individuals who appear typical (medium skin tone with prototypical features), atypical (light skin with non-prototypical features), or ambiguous (light skin with prototypical features) affect categorizations as “White American” or “Latino American” (Study 1; N = 139), and as “American” or “Foreign” (Study 2; N = 206). Results revealed that both typical and ambiguous Latine targets were more likely to be categorized as Latino and foreign, compared to atypical targets. Skin tone and prototypicality both influenced the mouse trajectories leading to these judgments. Trajectories for typical and atypical targets were fast and direct, suggesting low cognitive conflict, whereas ambiguous targets elicited more complex and indirect movements, indicating greater indecision. These findings demonstrate that both skin tone and overall Latine prototypicality affect the dynamic processes through which the largest racial minority group in the U.S.—Latine Americans—is racially and stereotypically categorized.