Clothing, it seems, can make us colour blind, because whether we perceive someone as ‘white’ or ‘black’ depends not just on skin tone – but also how smartly they are dressed, according to researchers.

    研究者声称，似乎，衣服能让我们变成色盲，因为我们不会仅仅依靠肤色来辨认一个认识黑人还是白人，而是他们穿了什么样的衣服。

    Volunteers in a U.S. study tended to label someone as white if they were dressed in a suit – even if the face had dark skin – and labelled someone black if they were dressed in working overalls.

    在美国的一项研究中，一些志愿者倾向于选择那些穿西装的人为白人，即使这个人的肤色偏深，或是选择穿工作服的人为黑人。

    The scientists revealed that perception of race is shaped by prejudices that we already hold - and that racism runs deeper than we think.

    科学家们说我们所持有的种族的概念已经非常深了，甚至比我们想象的还要深。

    In the study, conducted by a team of researchers from Tufts University, Stanford University and the University of California, participants, of various races, were shown a series of computerised faces, with different skin colours and clothing.

    在由塔夫斯大学，斯坦福大学和加利福尼亚大学联合进行研究中，来自不同种族的参与者都被电脑记录了其面貌，尽管他们拥有不同的肤色或是穿着不同的衣服。

    Some wore business attire and some working overalls - similar to what a caretaker might wear.

    一些穿着商务装，一些穿着就如那些看门人穿的一样的工作装。

    Not only were the faces dressed in suits more likely to be seen as white, and those in scruffier clothes black, but even when a white face was dressed down, the volunteers’ hand movements showed that they were at first instinctively drawn to labelling it black.

    不仅仅是那些穿着西装的人看起来像白人，穿着破烂的像黑人，甚至要是一个白人穿着棕色的衣服，那些志愿者一开始都会将他们认为是黑人。

    This was recorded by a hand-tracking technique that followed the trajectory of the mouse.

    这些都被一个能记录鼠标踪迹的软件记录下来了。

    The study revealed how racism can be subconscious, because it comes from preconceived ideas.

    这项研究说明了潜意识中人们存在多么严重的种族歧视。

    The study’s lead author, Jonathan B Freeman, from Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences said: ‘The study shows how the perception of a face is always a compromise between the visual cues before our eyes and the baggage we bring to the table, like the stereotypes we hold.

    这项研究的发起者，来自塔夫斯艺术科学研究生院的乔纳森·弗里曼说，“这项研究说明了其实我们所看到的是一种视觉上和思想上的妥协，就如我们所一直持有的成见一样。”

    ‘Racial stereotypes are powerful enough to trickle down to affect even basic visual processing of other people, systematically skewing the way we view our social world.’

    “种族成见存在的太深了，以至于会影响到我们正常的观察别人，甚至是观察整个世界。”

    编译：刘佩琰