Are Humans Hard-Wired for Racial Prejudice?

By Robert M. Sapolsky

July 31, 2013  |  Reaction to the acquittal of George Zimmerman was just the latest reminder: Race continues to divide us as a species.

But why? Are human brains hard-wired to notice and react to racial differences? At first glance, that's precisely what research seems to demonstrate.

Some of the most compelling evidence for a hard-wired racial divide concerns a brain region called the amygdala, which plays a central role in processing fear and aggression. If you were put in a brain scanner that identifies levels of activity in different regions and shown a picture of something scary, your amygdala would leap into action, telling your heart to race and your skin to get clammy. It would also help you decide what to do next: Run like hell? Pull the trigger? Wet your pants?