Research paper about the function of amygdala in neuroscience

1. Running head: Term Paper 1
Term Paper: Amygdala
Alexandria Amici
PHI 205.01: Topics in Ethics: Ethics and the Brain
Alvernia University
5/3/16

2. Term Paper 2
Experiment Relationship to Moral Philosophy
The emotions and actions of people are involved with the area of the brain called the
amygdala. Moral philosophy is determining actions to be of right or wrong nature. Society has
certain behaviors deemed to be morally wrong or right (Decety 2015). Our brains learn these
actions and the area of the amygdala is active when addressing such issues. An issue of moral
philosophy has to do with the continuing issue of racial bias in this country. According to these
studies, it is in our moral nature to exhibit negative affect when appealing to racial situations
(Eberhardt 2005). These brain imaging studies have to do with how racial bias affects the brain
and decision making processes. Therefore, these studies of the amgydala’s involvement in racial
bias have a big impact on moral philosophy. The two are related because determining how the
amygdala is affected in racial bias issues can help us decrease the amount of racial bias in our
societal moral issues dealing with this subject. Once having a better understanding of how this
interaction with amygdala works, we can help the issue of racial bias in our society.
Description of Experiments
William Cunningham and some of his fellow colleagues have completed research on
what is going on in a person’s head when seeing a person of a different race. In the experiments,
they scanned the brain activity of white people while simultaneously presenting photos of white
and African American faces (Eberhardt 2005). Photos were presented at different speeds. Some
photos were too fast to be consciously concentrated on and others were slowed down enough to
have the faces processed. The people involved with the experiments claimed prior to the
experiment that they were not prejudice. However, upon being shown photos of the African
American faces, there was a lot of increased activity in the amygdala (Eberhardt 2005). The

3. Term Paper 3
amygdala is an area of the brain that is involved with emotional responses. As photos were
shown to the participants more slowly, activity in the amygdala decreased and increased activity
was shown in the area of the brain involved with control and regulation (Eberhardt 2005). This
being said, an automatic response to images of different races is triggered when first shown.
After having seen the image for more of a period of time, control of those negative emotions sets
in. The researchers concluded that all of that extra work by the brain can impact a person
cognitively. So finally, they performed a cognitive test to those participants as well. The harder a
person has to suppress their racial bias, the harder the brain has to work (Eberhardt 2005). The
test was also performed with African American participants and the results remained the same
when shown images of African American faces. Society has degraded the African American
race, producing a learned negative response and emotion to the site of an African American face.
Implications of Findings
Cunningham conducted this research in hopes to find if there was a biological and neural
reason behind racial bias. These studies dealt with the relationship of neuroscience to race. The
brains were tested using the functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. Neuroimaging has
been used in a variety of different psychological situations include self perception, social
attribution, extraversion, love and attraction, social exclusion, emotional regulation, deception,
cooperation, and moral reasoning (Eberhardt 2005). The topic being discussed and experimented
on in this experiment is racial perception and racial bias. The experiments focused a lot on face
processing. Outcomes of these tests involving social neuroscience can help alter how race affects
thoughts and actions. Another part of the experiment was showing the participants familiar
African American faces (Eberhardt 2005). For example, they were shown photos of well liked
African Americans such as Michael Jordan and not well liked African American faces such as

4. Term Paper 4
OJ Simpson. It was concluded that the faces those were more familiar with did not increase
activity in the amygdala (Eberhardt 2005). Therefore, research outcomes were that people who
have more experience and familiarity with African Americans have relaxed amygdala activity.
This result is related to moral ability and judgment because one has an automatic reaction to
these photos because of learned ways to view African Americans in our country. These actions in
the amygdala happen unconsciously even if a person is unaware of it. However, more experience
and being familiar in these interracial situations can help society achieve racial equality.
Judgment can be changed if we consult the action happening in the amygdala. We can help the
brain unlearn these actions of automatic racial bias by addressing the amygdala and relaxing it.
Nature of Morality in Experiment
The participants of the experiment had physiological responses when encountering
photos of American Americans and coming into contact with them as well. “Moreover,
physiological tools often allow measurement of mental states without eliciting overt behavioral
responses or decisions from participants” (Eberhardt 2005). The different ways physiological
responses are impacted are how skin sweats, how fast a heart pumps, how cortical voltage
switches, how facial muscles twitch, and even eye blinks (Eberhardt 2005). Even if one does not
have an obvious racially bias attitude or view of things, these responses can still occur. There
was then a simulation of the white participant working with an African American partner.
Interestingly, white people rated African American partners highly well while their physiological
responses measured to show negative affect. This could be anything from how the brows,
cheeks, or muscles in face may move (Eberhardt 2005). This shows that the nature of our
morality can be automatic if our brain had an already learned unconscious feeling or behavior.
This is out of one’s control. The way we regulate and control these behaviors and emotions is in

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our control though. We can alter our perception of racial bias and our thoughts on it can be fixed.
Our moral decisions can change and behaviors can be unlearned.
Social Neuroscience Studies
Neuroscience helps us determine why some people behave and react the way they do.
Neuroscience also shows how our brain processes people and situations. Increased or decreased
activity of a particular region of the brain can conclude what a person is unconsciously thinking
depending on what region of the brain is being affected. Hart, one of Cunningham’s colleagues,
released a study examining the effects of race on the amygdala that we earlier determined has
involvement with learned emotional responses (Eberhardt 2005). As mentioned in the first
paragraph, white people who were more familiar with an African American face had no
increased action in the amygdala. Increased familiarity with a person of a different race may lead
to amygdala habituation. Habituation is when there is a decreased response to a particular
stimulus even when being presented a photo of an African American. This means that it can be
learned by the brain and amygdala to not respond to this stimulus in a negative way. If familiar
African Americans are frequently presented to these people, the amygdala will start to learn that
there is positive affect being involved with this situation instead of an automatic negative one.
“Nevertheless, in either case the findings suggest that social experience plays a role in the
alteration of neural responses in the amygdala” (Eberhardt 2005). Neuroscience has a direct
effect on how people respond to African American races.
Nature and Conclusion of Racial Bias and the Amygdala
The nature of unethical racial bias occurs naturally due to already learned emotion of the
amygdala. We have grown up learning about race and some of the negatives of race are shown in

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the media and by people with an unethical racial bias towards African Americans. It was also
determined that the stronger a racial bias is, the decreased cognitive ability that person has. It
requires a lot of work to suppress those feelings and overall affecting the way those people with
the high racial bias perform. “Richeson extended this line of reasoning by examining not only the
relationship between prefrontal activity and automatic racial bias but also the consequences of
increased prefrontal activity for interracial interactions”(Eberhardt 2005). Therefore, if people
present more of an unethical racial bias, the more cognitively impaired and unmotivated they
become. It can have an overall impact on that person’s function. In conclusion, the moral
psychological conclusions of the amygdala and its involvement with racial biases are that one
can have decreased function with a higher racial bias. Also, behaviors can be unlearned
improved one’s moral psychological decision making process. One can decrease racial bias
through familiarity and experience with the different raced people in their lives. Impacts of racial
bias on the amygdala can be and should be altered for an overall better performance rate and
increase of society’s racial equality.

7. Term Paper 7
References
Decety, J, Wheatley, T. (2015). The Moral Brain: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. London,
England: MIT Press.
Eberhardt, J. (2005). Imaging Race. American Psychologist, Vol. 60(2), 181-190.