What is socially constructed about race? A cross-national study of racial perception and categorization.

Abstract

This study investigates the social construction of race by examining how racial categories are understood and applied by college students in Japan, Sweden, and the United States. Addressing a gap in empirical research on racial appraisal versus self-identification, the study employs a comparative and contextual approach using three types of data: open-ended definitions of race, racial and skin-color ascription tasks, and eye-tracking measures. The findings reveal both cross-contextual similarities and differences in how race is conceptualized and enacted. While respondents across all sites commonly defined race through physical characteristics and imposed categorization, contextual nuances etourismmerged-particularly in the use of cultural and ethnic framings. The study also demonstrates that the same faces were racially ascribed differently across settings, underscoring the fluidity of racial perception. Although eye-tracking data did not show variation in visual attention to facial features, the overall results provide compelling evidence for the contextual flexibility of racial categorization. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of race as a socially constructed phenomenon and highlight the need for further comparative research on racial perception and identity across diverse sociohistorical contexts.