Understanding Racial Profiling: A Case Study on Perception Formations

In this case study we will discuss about racial profiling and below are the summaries point:- Two different perception formations in the case study: one from a security guard and the other from James. The process of perception involves selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory information. The security guard selectively locked onto James' family based on racial stereotypes, while James perceived the guard's behavior as racially biased.

Case Study 1: Racial Profiling
Si Wen Zeng
Early Childhood Education, Bow Valley College
COMM 1101: Interpersonal Relationships and Communication Skills
Raeesa Farooqi
January 03, 2023

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Case Study 1: Racial Profiling
Perception Formations
In this case, there are two different perception formations. The first is from a security
guard, and the second is from James.
First, perception is the process of experiencing your world and then making sense of what
you experience. You experience your world through your five senses. Your perceptions of
people, however, go beyond simple interpretations of sensory information. That is called
interpersonal perception which is a process of selecting, organizing and interpreting your
observations of other people. (Beebe et al., 2019, P.61). That includes the perception of selecting
stimuli that pass through our perceptual filters, are organized into our existing structures and
patterns, and are then interpreted based on previous experiences (Author Removed At Request
Of Original Publisher, 2016).
The first stage is selection. Four principles frame the process of how we select what we
see, hear, and experience: selective perception, selective attention, selective exposure, and
selective recall (Beebe et al., 2019, P.62). In this scenario, the security guard selectively locked
on James’ family to follow them around the shopping store based on his attitude to treat most of
the Blackfoot people as thieves. We called this selective perception and selective attention. Of
course, James’ family noticed them being followed by this security guard for a while. However,
they continued with their shopping because they thought that this was just a coincidence. They
selectively forgot what was unimportant to them. That was a selective recall. In this stage, we
take in information through all five of our senses, but our perceptual field (the world around us)
includes so many stimuli that our brains cannot process and make sense of it information comes
in through our senses, various factors influence what continues on through the perception process

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all. So, as information comes in through our senses, various factors influence what actually
continues on through the perception process (Fiske & Taylor, 1991).
The second stage is organization. We organize our world by creating categories, linking
together the categories we have created, and then seeking closure by filling in any missing gaps
in what we perceive. Psychologists call the framework we use to organize and categorize our
experiences a cognitive schema—a “mental basket” for sorting and identifying (Beebe et al.,
2019, P.63). For example, we link the categories through punctuation. Punctuation is the process
of making sense of stimuli by grouping, dividing, organizing, separating, and further
categorizing information (Watzlawick et al., 1967). Back to the scenario, the security guard used
a basic perceptual organizing cue to group James’ family with the Blackfoot people together
based on similarities, such as the color of skin, and braids on men. He tended to think similar-
looking or similar-acting things belong to James and the Blackfoot people together. He believed
that braids are not for men but for little girls which is different from his set of standards for
normal nice people. James punctuated this security guard’s abnormal behaviors and rude words
with different standards. He found this guard’s stereotype to their racial status. They punctuated
their perceptions differently.
The final stage is interpretation, in which we assign meaning to what we have observed
(Beebe et al., 2019, P.65). In which we assign meaning to our experiences using mental
structures known as schemata. Schemata are like databases of stored, related information that we
use to interpret new experiences. We all have fairly complicated schemata that have developed
over time as small units of information combine to make more meaningful complexes of
information. (Author Removed At Request Of Original Publisher, 2016). The encounter between
James and the security guard in a shopping center resulted in different interpretations. The

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security guard made the interpretations based on James’ family race, and cultural factors. His
stereotype schemata believed that James’ family was intended thieves similar-acting to Blackfoot
people. On the other side, James’s overall higher education schemata let him believe this security
guard’s behaviors as blatant generalization and discrimination against their racial status.
Why their perceptions of people are so different? The answer is that they use different
standpoints to interpret others’ behaviors. We could use standpoint theory to explain how we see
the world differently. Standpoint theory is that a person’s social position, power, or cultural
background influences how the person perceives the behavior of others (Beebe et al., 2019,
P.70). This security guard assumed his security role, and he thought that he was local people
from western mainstream society who had more power, so he has strong racial stereotype to the
people of color and overgeneralize the Blackfoot people group's characteristics to James’
families, without giving them a chance to truly be an individual. By contrast, James should view
this security guard’s behavior as robbing his power by injustices. Since he is sensitive about his
social status and is aware of the less power he has as a member of a minority society to face
discrimination by others. This is strong evidence to support the point what we see and hear
depends a good deal on where we are standing (Beebe et al., 2019, P.70).
The Development of Nicola’s Self-concept
Who do you think you are? As a child, Nicola should start to be curious to find her
answers after she experienced discrimination by a security guard in the nearby shopping center in
Crossfield. Her answers are also parts of her self-concept. We would discuss how the self-
concept of Nicola develops here.
First, we develop our self-concept through five basic means: (1) interactions with other
individuals, (2) associations with groups, (3) roles you assume, (4) self-labels, and (5) your

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personality (Beebe et al., 2019, P.36). We hypothesize that the first thing that would come to
Nicola’s mind is her identity-Inuit. This ethnic minority group identity plays an important role in
her whole life. Since who you are is anchored in attitudes, beliefs, and values that you hold.
However, we are not born with specific attitudes, beliefs, or values (Beebe et al., 2019, P.32).
For example Nicola’s father, James was raised by his grandparents on this land and
learned all the ways of his ancestors and about their rich cultural traditions. He deeply felt proud
of his Inuit heritage. Self-concept is in large part a social product. George Herbert Mead believed
that our sense of who we are is a consequence of our relationships with others (Mead, 1934). In
James’ childhood, his grandparents became highly influential in shaping his attitude, beliefs, and
values. Through a vast array of social consistent interactions and life experiences, he was
conscious of his attitudes and values toward Inuit heritage. He interpreted what he experienced
and began observing himself more critically when he was growing matured. The cognitive
processes began as well as searching for his self-concept. He self-reflexively decided who he
was- he was proud of being Inuit.
In contrast with James’ self-concept development, Nicola’s self-concept was more deeply
affected by his father. During the early years of our lives, our parents are the key individuals who
reflect who we are (Beebe et al., 2019, P.36). Through James’ sharing these teaching with his
daughter, Nicola, helps her shape her sense of identity when she was young. However, how she
views herself, is largely independent of her subjective self-awareness and subjective evaluation
(Dmon&Hart, 1982; Hart&Damon, 1986; Wylie, 1989). Subjective self-awareness is the ability
that people have to differentiate themselves from their environment. It is so basic awareness
(Beebe et al., 2019, P.33). This scenario reflected that Nicola was aware that she was Inuit
different from mainstream society, but she learned that only from sharing information with her

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father. Her consistent life experience associating with the Inuit groups and different groups was
limited. Besides, Nicola was aware that her other identity was Canadian, and she was more proud
of this identification than others. So these two different types of identities confused her which
was reflected in her upset emotion at the security guard’s comment about braids. These two roles
she assumed affected her self-concept development as well. In addition, another problem was
that Nicola as a child often lacked the cognitive and linguistic ability to accurately and
coherently describe certain aspects of her self-concepts (Eder&Mangelsdorf, 1997; Thompson&
Goodvin, 2005). Nicola’s upset reaction to the security guard’s comment was a piece of strong
evidence to support this.
Harry Stack Sullivan theorized that from birth to death, our selves change primarily
because of how people respond to us (Sullivan, 1953). Even some feedback affects our
development of self-concept. However, we are likely to incorporate others’ comments into our
self-concept under three conditions: (1) How frequently the message is presented, (2) whether
the message is perceived as credible, and (3) whether the message is consistent (Beebe et al.,
2019, P.36). First, the security guard reflected another difference between herself to Nicola. This
concept called the looking-glass self first advanced by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902 (Cooley,
1902). So Nicola saw her other ugly face as an Inuit from this looking glass. She did not
understand the deep meanings of braids on men to be a symbol of strength, and wisdom, and are
something that reflects Inuit identity (Access Denied, n.d.). So it is easy to understand why the
security guard’s “braids” comment would upset Nicola. However, as the message was not
frequent and has only been shown to come from the security guard, no mention of this type of
situation is shown from James’ time in Eastern Canada, and the comment was made based on the
security guard’s perception that James’ family were local and they would be like the Blackfoot

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people the security guard has encountered. So the security guard’s comments were not credible.
In contrast, the relationship between Nicola and her parents was so strong, trusting, close, and
positive. That reflected her secure attachment style. Individuals with a secure attachment style
experience greater overall feeling of hope and relationship satisfaction and tend to disclose more
personal information about themselves (Welch & Houser, 2010). So Nicola could possess an
integrated understanding of her psychological self, or be able to express her self-concept in a
more meaningful way after this cultural shock through her cognitive thinking. In general,
Nicola’s sense of self-concept was shaped strongly in the future based on James’ actions in the
situation. As James confronted the security guard went to a higher authority to rectify the
situation instead of ignoring or running away from the situation.
In this scenario, Nicolas’s values to Inuit & Canadian identification, the differences
between these two types of cultures, and the rights of all Canadians would be stronger and more
stable. That is central to who Nicola is, and it is more resistant to change. So the development of
Nicola’s self-concept indicates that a healthy self-concept is flexible. It may change depending
on new experiences you have and insights you gain from others. Yet although your self-concept
is changeable, core elements, such as your values of the world will remain stable; otherwise, you
would be so adaptable that you or others would not be able to recognize the essence of you
(Beebe et al., 2019, P.32). By the conclusion, we should take more time and effort to keep
reflection to our behaviors, and the communications with others since it is one of the most
powerful tools to stronger our healthy self-concept.
The Dialogue Between James and Store’s Manager
It is important to be flexible and to be other-oriented in your responses to other cultures
and people with different backgrounds. We could apply an other-oriented approach in the

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dialogue between James and the store’s manager. First, we should know other-oriented that is
focusing on others rather than on ourselves. That is an important way to enhance our
interpersonal competence. Second, we should do two things: first, to take into account another
person’s thoughts and perspective, and second, to consider what the other person may be
experiencing emotionally. The first skill is called social decentring. The second skill is empathy.
Besides, we should always follow the platinum rule created by Milton Bennett: do to others as
they would like to be treated (Beebe et al., 2019, P.108; P.112). According to Bennett, at its
essence, empathy is “the imaginative, intellectual, and emotional participation in another
person’s experience” (Milton, n.d.). Under these principles, I create the dialogue between James
and the store’s manager as below:
James: Excuse me, my name is James. I wonder if you can help me.
Store Manager: Yes, sir, I am this store’s manager, what can I do to help you, please?
James: Your store’s security guard made the blatant generalization about me. I have been
subjected to discrimination. This made me so upset.
Store Manager: I am so sorry this upset you. I acknowledge that you have a problem. Do
you mind telling me more details, please?
James: My family and I were followed by your store’s security guard when we entered
your store until now. I heard him mutter, “Braids are for little girls.” Then, I felt less
safe based on his comment on my looks.
Store Manager: Well, sir, I think he is being inappropriate.
James: The thing that made me angry is that he judged us as intended shoplifters. He explained
that there had been an ongoing problem with shoplifting by the nearby Blackfoot people. I felt

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less safe because it was filled with bias. Why he could do that? Because we are Inuit? Is he a
racist?
Store Manager: Sir, I am really in shock about this. I understand how you feel about what has
happened now. Does it make you feel you are less than others because of your race?
James: That is true. Do you know that I am very proud of our Inuit heritage? I wear a braid to
honor my ancestors and my culture (Access Denied, n.d.). Besides, I also earned my MBA at
Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. How your store’s security guard could challenge the
highest integrity like that?
Store Manager: Sir, I respect the Inuit heritage. As I know, braids are a symbol of strength, and
wisdom, and are something that reflects Inuit identity (Access Denied, n.d.). I very admire the
beauty of your culture and enjoy our diverse cultures. We are all Canadians.
James: Yes, you are right, we are all Canadians.
Store Manager: Yes, sir, it is wrong for anyone to make conclusions based on the color or, as
you know, looks, and stuff like that. I and my employee should apologize to you and your
families. Besides, I believe we have the opportunity of putting it right. I would appreciate your
more comments and advice to improve our services to our customers.
James: Yes, sir, you should create an environment that truly serves all. Any customer would
feel uncomfortable because of the racist’s actions.
Store Manager: Sir, thank you for trusting me with this. We will be doing more training on
diversity, equity, and inclusion in the future, such as a new greeting system, a greater effort to
recruit diverse employees, and ensure our marketing reflects the community it serves. We are

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hoping to avoid cases like yours (Business Wire, n.d.).
James: Wow, it sounds good. Thank you for your great effort on the cases like mine.
Store Manager: Sir, you are very welcome. I don’t even know what to say now. I am just so
glad you told me about this. I know it is a difficult situation for you, and I think you have shown
a lot of courage and strength in how you are handling things like this. Indeed, I very much
appreciate you choosing us. I will serve you a gift voucher in the mail for bringing this issue to
our attention.
James: Thank you, sir. You know the customers best. You are very helpful to me today. See
you, sir.
Store Manager: Customer satisfaction always is our core value in our company. I wish you
have a wonderful day. Goodbye, sir.
We could learn from this case, to improve our interpersonal communication competence
with others who are different from us, in this case, we should follow these strategies: First, we
should actively seek information about others, ask questions and listen to the answers to
establish common ground. Secondly, we should tolerate ambiguity, develop mindfulness, and
avoid negative judgments about others (Beebe et al., 2019, P.104; P.106), Remember that there
are and will be cultural differences, and try to keep them in your consciousness. Also, try to
consider the other individual’s frame of reference or worldview, and use his or her cultural
priorities and assumptions when you communicate (King & Sawyer, 1998).
The other-oriented approach is the best way to improve our interpersonal communication
competence. Please always consider the thoughts, feelings, background, perspectives, attitudes,

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and values of others whenever and wherever. Finally, we always have a lot of opportunities of
putting it right. We would get the most success from the healthy relationships between us and
others if we always are willing to be other-orient.

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