Kellan Kissinger
ENC 4218 Ethics of Visual Representation Project
Ethical Framework
Implicit Bias & Stereotypes
The first ethical concept I employed in this project is the concept of implicit bias, specifically concerning how it relates to stereotypes. These concepts also have a psychological component to them (as do all aspects of ethics, arguably) so I referred to Christiane Merritt's dissertation titled "'Nouns that Cut Slices': The Ontology and Ethics of Stereotypes and Implicit Bias," specifically her second chapter titled "Implicit Bias - From Metaphysics to Ethics?" and the third chapter, "What's Wrong with Stereotyping?" Merritt also explores the psychological origins and applications of these concepts and different solutions that could be implemented to avoid being swayed by implicit bias as well.
Labeling & Attractiveness in Shelters
Similarly, the second ethical concept I applied is from Lisa Gunter, Rebecca Barber, and Clive Wynne's article "What's in a Name? Effect of Breed Perceptions & Labeling on Attractiveness, Adoptions & Length of Stay for Pit-Bull-Type Dogs." Their article consists of three studies: (1) a comparison of "the perceived behavioral and adoptability characteristics" of a pit bull, Border Collie, and Labrador Retriever, (2) a comparison of the "lengths of stay and perceived attractiveness of dogs that were labeled as pit bull breeds" and "dogs that were phenotypically similar but were labeled as another breed," and (3) a comparison of the "perceived attractiveness in video recordings of pit-bull type dogs and lookalikes with and without breed labels." This is inherently related to Merritt's article due to implicit bias's influence on stereotyping and labeling but Gunter et al. focuses specifically on the perception of pit bulls within shelters and how this impacts their adoption rates and the advocacy and social media efforts shelter's use to counteract these negative perceptions.