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[MUSIC] Racism.

It makes the headlines daily.

>> No racism, no war.

[MUSIC] >> Now there's new science that can detect racial bias in the brain.

But how useful is this science?

I'm Yasmin Abdin Majid.

I want to know if this new science can expose racism and maybe even change it.

And if science can help us reduce our own prejudice.

So myself and four volunteers will take part in a social experiment to see whether we can unmask prejudice and even decrease it.

>> No. My God aah aah okay okay.

What we discover is confronting and surprising.

>> That one. >> That's the Australian doll, okay.

Do any of the dolls look like they're not Australian?

>> That one.

>> I'm gonna be looked at because of the color of my skin.

>> So, can modern science uncover the truth about racism?

[SOUND] >> Racism isn't fixed.

Racism can reduce and you can reduce your racism.

[MUSIC] The Bronx, 12:40 AM.

Under the cover of darkness, four plainclothes police officers have chased down the wrong man, 23 year old Ahmadou Diallou.

What happens next changes the way scientists analyze racism forever.

[MUSIC] If you're one of these police offices, what would you do next?

They had less than one second to decide.

What do you think is in Diallou's coat pocket?

[MUSIC] [SOUND] In just seven seconds the police fired 41 bullets.

[MUSIC] The tragic shootings sparked massive demonstrations against alleged racism in the police force.

[MUSIC] But it also prompted an inquiry into how unconscious bias can cause racism.

Today we can understand racism like never before, because the neuroscience is so advanced.

This is the first documentary to showcase this new science.

[MUSIC] I'm an engineer, so I understand the need to test unconscious bias in a scientific way.

[MUSIC] So a laboratory has been constructed with cameras to record events as they happen.

And two experts have been recruited.

Neurotechnologist Luke Dawson and social psychologist Doctor Fiona Barlow.

>> What we're going to be doing here is pretty cool.

Trying to point out what people's unconscious biases are doing.

We'll be looking at things like marker expressions, skin conductors.

>> The thing is, when we look at unconcious bias, our bodies can give us away.

It's quite easy to control the words that we say.

But sometimes we have implicit associations that only come out only when we look at it this way.

>> For this groundbreaking experiment we've asked four volunteers from different racial backgrounds to be tested over the next ten days.

>> Thanks for coming along, guys.

My name is Yasmine.

We've come together to talk about the issues of racism, prejudism, bias but really look at it through a new lens.

So do you have expectations?

What are your thoughts?

>> I'm excited because I'm chairman of a political party called Party For Freedom.

We've got a strong platform that's anti-immigration.

[MUSIC] Our aim is to give Australians a patriotic alternative.

It's time to close the door on all of this immigration coming in from the MIddle East, from Africa and also Asia.

Being involved in this project is gonna be challenging.

I just hope to get a fair trial.

>> The demographics in Australia is changing rapidly and I see in invasion today with all this immigration coming in, I didn’t ask for it.

>> It was a great experience to meet Nick.

>> Captain Cook didn’t invite Australia.

I cant change what happened 228 years ago.

>> I’m like really?

Cuz what you're saying kinda sounds really ignorant.

[MUSIC] Grew up in Perth, my mom is indigenous Australian.

She's.

Racism in Australia's a subtle racism.

It's that, I'm not racist, but dot dot dot.

I'm very excited about being a part of this unique experiment.

We do need every tool that we can get, especially in Australia.

[LAUGH] >> My name is Ebrahim.

I've been living here for about six years now.

Somehow I'm a strong believer that even people like me can change their views.

[LAUGH] [MUSIC] I was born in east Congo, Africa.

I left my country when I was 17 because my life was in danger.

Australia is a very beautiful country.

I only heard one aspect of it, and that is racism.

>> I am very curious to hear everyone's point of view about what an Australian looks like.

I consider myself as an Aussie but at the same time I am an immigrant.

[MUSIC] I was born in South Korea.

Australia is very much a multicultural country, and I like that about Australia.

[MUSIC] My profession is being a science teacher, so very much interested in how brains function and how that actually affects my race's thoughts.

[LAUGH] It's good for everybody I guess.

>> You’ve all volunteered to be part of a pretty unique experiment But you guys aren't gonna be alone in this.

We'll be doing the experiments together.

We'll be finding out about each other and ourselves together.

[MUSIC] >> Racism the belief that one race is superior to another, can be measured through a questionnaire called the symbolic racism scale.

We ask them a series of questions such as have black people gotten too demanding in their push for rights.

[MUSIC] Questions like this are an index of racism.

Indeed they're very highly linked with our belief that people of color are inferior on the basis of genetics.

When I analyzed the results, Nick was quite high on this scale.

The others were all relatively low on symbolic prejudice.

>> I thought it was funny that one of the questions was talking about a 7-Eleven.

And look goodness me, I've never been to a 7-Eleven where there's been a white worker before.

They're all Indian.

So I find that certain- >> I would like to think that, in this ten days, perhaps, we could convince Nick to think otherwise.

>> Opportunity to express myself more.

>> Differences within the group have already emerged.

But what can science reveal about the hidden prejudice that we all hold?

I'm eager to find out.

[MUSIC] >> Experts classify our own race as our in group and other races as out groups.

The next test is about how willing we are to really look at those out group faces.

So, we've come to a racially diverse fitness club.

[MUSIC] >> Welcome volunteers, we have a fun game for you.

>> We're joined by Dr.

Kim Kirby, an expert in how humans perceive faces.

She has a test to find out if race influences how you observe people's faces.

>> You're gonna see a series of faces, just a face that will be appearing through a blackboard.

Your job is quite simple.

We just want you to notice the number that will appear on each face.

Okay.

>> Give it a go yourself.

Try to remember the next nine faces because in a moment some of them will be replaced.

[MUSIC] >> Now you're gonna see some more faces.

Again, we just want you to notice the number on the faces.

[MUSIC] >> So, some of these faces are new, can you spot them.

[MUSIC] >> Thanks guys.

[MUSIC] >> Here again is the second group of faces.

Some of them were not in the first group.

Make a note of their numbers.

[MUSIC] >> Okay guys did you notice any different faces in the second group than the first group?

>> This is way more difficult than I expected it to be.

Number seven.

[MUSIC] Number nine.

[MUSIC] >> Okay.

>> The lady number three and also number seven.

>> I think number three and number seven.

>> I think number three was not in the first group and, [MUSIC] Number one.

>> I would definitely have to say number three wasn't in the first one.

>> Okay now we are gonna reveal to you the real answers so, those of you who were in the first part please move back.

[MUSIC] And now I'm gonna invite in the three original people who were in part one.

[MUSIC] >> I'm nervous.

[LAUGH] I feel pretty betrayed by my brain to be honest.

Disappointed in myself, that's probably how I feel.

>> But maybe getting two out of three wrong is not so unusual, because we all showed a bias.

Nick and SIlvie missed the Asian swap.

Ibrahim didn't spot the Caucasian change.

And Shakira only noticed that the dark skinned women had changed.

>> And now I'm thinking, am I racist?

>> So what you guys have all experienced today is referred to as the other race face of it.

While we seem to be experts of recognizing people from our own ways, we tend to have a lot of difficulty recognizing people if they're from a different race than our own.

[MUSIC] >> We've all heard people say they all look the same.

This is the other race face effect in action.

Our brains focus on the individual features of our in group, but fail to notice them in our out group.

>> I found that test confronting because it revealed that I had some unconscious bias.

But what was really surprising is that we all showed bias towards our out group.

Why?

Eye tracking technology provides the answer.

>> When I look at a face for my racial out group, eye tracking glasses reveal that I pay little attention to the eyes.

[MUSIC] But when I see a face from my racial in group, I fixate on the eyes.

[MUSIC] Remarkably, this test further reveals my own racial bias.

Showing that paid attention to the eyes of my in group 75% of the time.

But for the out group, it was just 20% of the time.

So if we don't look enough at out group faces, could we misread their intentions.

For this next task simply watch the video and try as accurately as possible to tap your screen the moment that you think the man's face changes.

>> You try it.

This would change from friendly to angry.

When you first see anger, note the number on the timer.

[MUSIC] How did you go?

>> This time, it's gonna be a new face, but your task is the same.

[MUSIC] Anger appeared on both faces at 10 on the timer.

But did you think it was earlier?

>> We pay a tremendous amount of attention to one another's faces and we're quicker to see anger in the face of an out group member than we are in an in group member.

The extent to which we are quick to spot anger is also linked to our implicit prejudice.

So Yasmin, you saw hostility identically in both men.

>> So I did okay on this test.

>> Sylvie, you were- >> But the others noticed hostility and anger in their out group quicker than in their in group.

So unconscious bias can prejudice how we read faces.

[MUSIC] Well, that was a real eye opener.

The test demonstrated that we saw hostility in the outgroup phase before even it existed.

So that shows what we perceive.

But can the science tell us what we actually feel?

Joining our team is neuroscientist, Dr Pascal Molenberghs.

He can demonstrate a remarkable link between empathy and racism.

>> Yeah so, this test is really gonna measure how your body reacts.

These are like automatic responses, very difficult to control.

And so we're gonna see here, your galvanic skin responses and your facial responses.

If they become more or less active for in group and out group members.

>> I'm gonna wire you up with two technologies today.

The first one, I'll be putting some electrodes on your face, looking for minute facial expressions.

And then we'll also be putting some electrodes on your fingers and I'll be measuring sweat responses.

[MUSIC] >> Luke is monitoring for signs of the body's flinch response while each of us is required to watch this.

>> I'm coming close to the skin and inserting the needle in the hand.

[MUSIC] White and black hands are pierced as a pierced, and as a control measure, one dyed purple.

[MUSIC] >> I have a reading.

>> The scientists want to measure how our flinch response varies according to the hand's skin color.

They want to know if we feel the pain of other races equally.

While Luke is taking measurements, Fiona and Pascal have retreated to a control room, where they can observe our every reaction without our knowledge.

>> I am now inserting the needle in the hand.

[MUSIC] >> Shakira is really responding, at least from what I can see, to the pain that she thinks those hands are feeling.

>> Yeah, that's right, and she seems to respond equally to the black and the white hands.

So it doesn't make much of a distinction.

>> And now I am inserting the needle inside the skin.

>> Silvie looks really surprised, she is really feeling empathy- >> That’s right.

>> For those hands.

[MUSIC] >> Neuroscience has shown that when we see people in pain, the same areas of the brain light up as if we were in pain ourselves.

It's known as the empathy response.

>> So Ibrahim looks like he's feeling for the people, certainly, but I'm not getting the big facial expressions.

>> No, he's is very good in hiding his emotions, I think.

>> He's a cool customer, Ibrahim.

>> That's right.

[MUSIC] >> Nick is not showing that much activation.

I can't really tell what he's feeling right now.

>> Sometimes people respond very strongly to this type of stimuli while others almost don't.

[MUSIC] >> So what were our results?

Shakira and Silvie showed the strongest empathy with no distinction between black and white.

Ibrahim and I showed a medium empathy response for both black and white.

Nick showed the weakest empathy, especially for the black hand.

>> Nick, are these the results you would have expected?

>> Probably, you know, pretty right, pretty spot on sort of thing.

>> I guess the more specific question is, do you feel like you have less empathy towards people of color?

>> My compassion does have limitations, absolutely.

>> You prefer more, people with white skin.

>> Yeah, I do.

>> You don't feel bad about that?

>> No, I don't, the Western world is the best place to live.

It's not perfect, by no means, but it's brought all you people to this realm of the Western world.

It's got more human rights and it's got more justice.

>> What is your ethnic background?

>> My ethnic background, Anglo-Russian.

>> Okay, so you people that have come here includes you?

>> I'm an Australian, I was born here, I love this country.

>> But you got the opportunity.

>> No, I was born here, so why should we bring in people from overseas?

[CROSSTALK] >> Hold up, hold up, hold up, >> Then we have got problems here.

>> Hold up, we've have heard that.

And you've told us that over and over.

I'm not interested in that anymore.

I'm interested in the empathy, and you as an individual.

Not the policy, not the government, not the system.

What I'm hearing from you is that you don't think, as a human, you should extend an empathetic hand to people.

>> To people in my group.

>> Who don't look like you.

[MUSIC] >> The less empathy we have, the more prejudiced we are.

The experts call this the racial empathy gap.

[MUSIC] We've all been exposed as having more unconscious bias than we thought.

But what the tests reveal next about our racial attitudes is even more disturbing.

[MUSIC] It's day four of the social experiment.

In today's test we'll uncover the beliefs that can cause racism.

[MUSIC] But before we do the test, here's a version for you to try.

Look at this face, decide quickly which of these words best describe it.

[MUSIC] Okay, how about for this face?

[MUSIC] If you associate any negative words with your out group, you may have a bias.

We're doing the official scientific version, called the implicit association test, that identifies unconscious racial beliefs.

Over 2 million people have done this test online.

And 75% of caucasians and Asians show a bias in favor of white people over black people.

[MUSIC] But how did we do?

>> My result says moderate automatic preference for black people over white people.

You know what, maybe I'm a little bit biased and I did not realize that, perhaps.

>> Shakira, what about you?

>> My result was no automatic preference between black and white people.

>> Okay, Nick, let's go to you.

>> Strong automatic preference for white people over black people.

I believe that I do have a bias, and I think it's natural.

>> Okay, Ibrahim?

>> The results showed that I don't have any preferences between white and black.

>> Yassin, let's go to you.

>> My data suggests no automatic preference between black and white people.

I'd say that rings true, I live in a predominantly white society.

My in group would typically be black, or people of colour, so hopefully that balances out.

>> The implicit association test show that a lot is going on beneath the surface, and in fact that we can have biases or snap associations that we're not even aware of.

>> I see certain racial groups in Australia having high levels of criminality or welfare dependency, and I don't think it's a bias just built on, because of the color of the skin.

I see it as an economic and a social sort of thing.

I'd have to disagree with Nick.

I felt the test meant more than just a test.

Saying a word and associating that word with a person of color, and even though I'm trying to breathe, even though i don't associate with that, I'm gonna be looked at because of the color of my skin.

And regardless of what, I'm trying to not get emotional, but I've had to deal with that my whole life.

And regardless of what I think or what I say or what I do, I'm automatically gonna be boxed, automatically gonna be judged just because of the color of my skin.

[MUSIC] So I'm just angry and upset.

>> It can be easy to forget that there's a human face behind the science.

There's a reason that this is being done, and it's to elucidate exactly what you experience unfortunately.

[MUSIC] >> It's interesting how a test like this makes us feel, I guess.

Because we're all really attached to the results.

Because essentially what this is telling us is what our brain is saying without us consciously choosing it, and that's really confronting.

We all have biases, implicit biases.

And it's just how much we control them, and how much we're aware of them, and choose to do something about them.

[MUSIC] >> The implicit association test has raised issues among our group.

>> So what I'm hearing from Shakira is that there is a struggle for Indigenous and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Australians that white people don't face.

>> I disagree.

>> Why do you disagree?

>> I'm feeling that right now, there's nothing.

I want this White privilege explained because there is no advantage for me.

If you're Aboriginal background you get preference.

>> No, you don't.

>> Yes you do.

Yes, you do.

There are special privileges.

We're gonna be honest here.

>> When Nick makes those comments, it gets to me.

Cuz I'm like are you serious?

Are you hearing the words that are coming out of your mouth?

>> I find that really interesting when you say, Asian privilege, where there is a- >> A massive population of Asians and they've got privilege because they're coming here using the education system and the universities to buy visas.

>> I was quite blinded with anger.

What Nick said about how Asians have privilege?

My god.

You have no idea how much swear words that's coming to my head right now, but I'm not going to.

We Asians get discriminated like no tomorrow.

This is the inherent issue, actually.

What Nick perceives as Australian is very much white Australia.

[MUSIC] Today was intense to the point where it brought me to tears.

[MUSIC] It brought some of the issues that I have managed to bury for at least 16 years, just came out of nowhere and hit me.

[MUSIC] All these tests so far that I've done, made me realize more and more that I don't belong anywhere.

I'm not really Korean, I'm not really English or Australian.

What am I?

[MUSIC] Where on earth do I belong?

I don't even know anymore.

[MUSIC] >> The lab tests brought up issues for those of us who had experienced racism.

But sometimes the impact of racial bias can mean the difference between life and death.

[MUSIC] >> In this container yard, we're about to do a version of a scientific test called the shooter task.

>> The task we're asking you to do today is to quickly and accurately shoot someone that is armed but not to shoot the person who is holding a wallet.

>> We are using the e-combat system of laser guns today so we can really accurately tell if you have shot someone or not.

>> We have to decide to shoot or not based on what the person is holding up.

A gun or a wallet.

[MUSIC] The challenge is to see whether we show a racial bias and shoot at an unarmed out group member.

[NOISE] >> We really wanted to start this discussion on the shooter bias.

>> [NOISE] Hit confirmed >> And get people thinking about how there might be disproportionate shooting and violence towards people of color.

>> We all displayed a shooter bias, [NOISE] and were twice as likely to shoot at our out group than our in group.

>> [NOISE] Hit confirmed.

>> Sorry.

[NOISE] The realization that this was based on a real life event, shooting someone- >> [NOISE] Hit confirmed.

>> Who was innocent, I felt disgusted in myself.

I had these doubts.

It was a definite eye opener for me.

>> I did shoot some of the non-combatants.

[NOISE] It was a good experiment to show that when you're under pressure, you can make mistakes.

[NOISE] >> The shooter task really brought harm the dangers associated with unconscious racial bias and how, if not dealt with, hidden prejudice can have disastrous consequences in the real world.

[MUSIC] The tests so far have demonstrated how racial bias works in adults.

[MUSIC] But at what age do kids start believing in racial stereotypes?

So I've come to Brisbane to witness a confronting test.

[MUSIC] >> Can you tell me what's in this picture?

>> A bicycle.

>> Okay, cool.

>> Matty Wilkes is a PhD student studying morality in childhood.

Today she's running a test called the Ambiguous Situations Task.

>> Can you see, this is Harry and this is Kyle.

>> Each picture shows an ambiguous event involving two different races.

So what the child reads into the scene is a window into their unconscious racial beliefs.

>> Can you tell me what do you think's happening in this picture?

>> Well, Harry has lost his money and Kyle has found it.

>> And what's Kyle gonna do next?

>> Probably spend it or take it home.

>> Okay, and is that a good or bad thing to do?

>> Bad.

>> It's a bad thing.

Okay.

So, we're gonna look at another picture now.

Are you ready?

>> Yeah.

>> See this picture?

We've got Harry and Kyle.

>> Yeah. >> What do you think's happening in this picture?

>> Well, Kyle has lost his money and Harry has found it?

>> Okay, so what's Harry gonna do next?

>> Give it back to him.

>> And is that a good or bad thing to do?

>> Good >> Good thing to do.

All right.

So Matty, I mean, what do you think the big picture is with this particular test?

What is it telling us?

>> There has been some evidence that from about six or seven, that children were more likely to assign a negative action or a negative intention to the person of color.

You can see in this, this is Molly and this is Kalinda, yeah?

>> Yeah.

>> Can you tell me what's happening in this picture?

Kalinda fell of the swing, and Molly's going to go to Kalinda and ask her if she's okay.

>> And is that a good or bad thing to do?

>> That's a good thing.

>> That's a good thing, okay.

So let's move on to the next picture.

>> So Kalinda pushed Molly off the swing.

>> Is that a good or bad thing for Kalinda to do?

That's a bad thing because she's not even going to help Molly.

She's just standing there.

>> Okay, now, this is Shona and Lucy this time.

So, what's happening in this picture?

[MUSIC] >> Maybe Lucy looked in her pocket and there was no money, so Shona's gonna lend her some money.

>> Okay.

>> One thing that I thought was really interesting was after the first two cards, I saw Bella pause.

And I wondered whether she was correcting herself.

Whether she was thinking with a stereotype and saying, no, I'm not gonna go that route.

>> Shonna is really nice, because she gave Lucy some money.

>> She refused to say that Shona was a perpetuator, she said hey Shona's doing the right thing here.

>> See I think that's something that would definitely be possible for children at that age.

Not only do they have the cognitive ability to do that, but they have the social awareness of those around them and how other people think.

And are able to apply that to their own thoughts and actions.

[MUSIC] If you could just come in for me.

>> So if children accept racial stereotypes by eight years old, how early do they make their first judgments based on race?

The dolls test provides an insight.

>> Hannah, I've got some dolls here for you to play with, okay?

See how there's all the different dolls?

Can you show me which doll do you think is the best?

>> That one.

>> And which doll do you want to play with?

[MUSIC] >> That.

>> That one, okay.

Do any of the dolls look bad?

>> No.

>> No, okay, which is the smart doll?

>> That one.

>> And which one looks like your best friend?

>> That one.

>> That one, okay, and which doll looks like you?

That one. >> That one, good work.

>> Hannah saw the doll that looked like her, the white doll, as being the best one and that was the doll she wanted to play with.

>> Are there any other dolls you want to play with?

>> No, okay.

See how there's three dolls on the table?

>> Yes.

>> Can you show me the doll that you like the best.

[MUSIC] And which doll would you like to play with?

Which is the nice doll?

>> I think it's that one.

>> Mm-hm.

Do any of the dolls look bad?

[MUSIC] And which is the smart doll?

[MUSIC] That one, okay.

>> Because it's from China.

>> Because it's from China, okay.

And which doll looks like your best friend?

That one, okay, and which doll looks like you?

Awesome.

>> Vicky quickly identified the best and the smartest doll as being the Asian doll.

And you could say she felt really happy while she was playing with that.

[MUSIC] One thing that I found really interesting is that most of our children when asked, which is the doll that's most Australian, picked the white doll.

>> That one.

>> That's the Australian doll, okay.

Do any of the dolls look like they're not Australian?

[MUSIC] Both of them, okay.

>> That one.

>> This one and this one.

>> Can you tap them on the head for me.

>> Certainly the sense of feeling that what is the best, is the most previleged identity, begins extremely early.

>> Okay Grisel, can you show me the doll that you like the best?

>> That one.

>> Okay, and which doll do you wanna play with?

>> That one.

>> And which doll do you think is the nice doll?

>> That one.

>> And which is the smart doll?

>> That one.

>> And which doll looks like your best friend?

And which looks like you?

[MUSIC] Which did you say you wanted to play with?

>> That one.

>> Did you want to have go at playing with her?

You're allowed to if you want.

Yeah?

[MUSIC] I felt Grisel looked a bit sad.

She obviously had an opinion about which was the best and which was the nicest.

But then she was also very aware that she didn't seem to match with that.

That would be quite difficult for her to be able to say, I have learned all these things about society, but I don't fit in with what is the nice pretty thing.

[MUSIC] I felt for Grisel when she chose the white doll.

That having dark skin was second best.

[MUSIC] This test motivates me to search for a solution to racial bias, but can science provide an answer?

[MUSIC] Six days of testing have revealed unexpected prejudice.

But how can this be reduced?

The first step is to walk in the shoes of another race.

Amazingly, there's a way to feel like you have a different colored hand to your own.

>> Okay Yasmin, now if you look down what you'll see is a rubber hand.

Luke is going to attach a clip to your ear, and this is going to monitor your heart rate.

So now I'm going to start stroking your hand with this paintbrush, and just want you to watch very closely the rubber hand.

Can you feel that clearly?

>> Mm-hm.

>> The rubber hand illusion is a really interesting effect, whereby our brain can be tricked into believing the rubber hand is in fact our own.

The actual hand was hidden from view. The eyes are seeing a rubber hand being stroked, at the same time as we're feeling being stroked.

And so quickly our mind says okay, I believe you eyes, that's my hand.

Are you observing anything?

>> I guess it feels like what you're doing in this hand is happening to my hand, which is really weird.

>> So can you tell me what that feels like?

Mind blowing.

[LAUGH] >> Well, it kind of feels like my own hand.

>> In every case the rubber hand was.

>> It just feels like it's my hand, it's insane.

>> And after we'd strike the hand for awhile.

I got out a hammer.

If they've come to see that hand as their own, what we should see is a big startled response.

[SOUND] >> Whoa, what?

[LAUGH] I withdrew my hand [LAUGH] and I'm like, that's not moving [LAUGH], and you're really gonna go for gold and hit that.

>> I saw a massive spike.

[LAUGH] I say your heart rate jump probably 25 beats per minute in about five seconds.

>> Wow.

>> [SOUND] Damn it!

>> [NOISE] My no!

Okay, okay.

[MUSIC] [SOUND] >> It looked as if you really hit my hand.

Your heart rate shot up over 35 beats per minute.

>> Gosh, it's bizarre.

>> I thought the task may be a little bit more difficult for Nick.

But you could see his face light up with surprise.

He was starting to see that hand as his own.

[SOUND] I think the power of the solution came as a real surprise to Nick.

>> I wasn't expecting that.

>> [LAUGH] >> I honestly felt that it was my hand, even though it's a different color.

I could sort of sense a feeling and emotion there that, yeah.

>> Wow, I'm actually super impressed.

If you had told me that this was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have believed you.

>> The more we challenge ourselves to put ourselves in one another's shoes, the less racist we become.

So for Nick, that brief experience could be the start of real change.

>> Experiencing a different color hand made us all the more compassionate towards our out group.

But the science shows that the best way to tackle prejudice is to develop a close relationship with someone of a different race.

[MUSIC] Experts refer to this as cross group friendship, and this is what I want to explore next.

>> One of the things you said was that you believe bias is natural.

What sort of biases do you hold to the people in the group here?

>> Racially speaking, yes I'm in a different in group sort of thing.

It doesn't mean that I don't feel or do have empathy for people, but I had a lot of things in my life before that, I probably cried all the tears out of me.

I don't know, but I'm still emotional, sometimes I probably hold in.

>> Listening to Nick and learning more about him and where he's coming from, I think, really understanding the two sides to the story.

>> Some of the things that I said, I didn't want to see Silvie cry, I didn't want to see Shakira cry.

But I've taken it on board.

[MUSIC] >> Nick has been very open with us and very brave, so I do applaud him for it, for actually opening up, and saying how he feels about it.

>> And it is drawing, for me, that I'm able to sit here and talk in such a way.

And it's opened something that's new to me that I would never have experienced if I wouldn't have come on this journey.

The roundtable group was definitely an opportunity to open up and I feel more comfortable with them.

We could find middle ground.

You can never know enough, sort of thing.

[MUSIC] >> I think Nick really softened at that round table and this shows that attitudes can shift once we start to connect on a human level.

But I want scientific prove that racist thinking can actually change.

[MUSIC] It turns out that it can, and one answer lies in how the brain works.

[MUSIC] When confronted with an out group face, it takes just one thirtieth of a second for the brain's alarm region to put us on high alert.

[SOUND] But within half a second, the conscious mind starts to activate and can override the alarm mechanism.

Our brain is giving us a chance to reign in unwanted prejudice.

[MUSIC] So what the neuroscience tells us is that racism is a choice.

The more time we spend with other races, the more our brain adapts and the less racist we become.

And there's another guaranteed way to reduce racism.

[MUSIC] To decrease prejudice, empathy must increase.

An important step is to accurately recognize the emotions of other people.

[MUSIC] The more we relate to what others are feeling, the less racist we are towards them.

[MUSIC] We've been joined by Liz Corbett, an expert in how to spot the micro-expressions associated with racism.

>> Today we're going to replicate some of the seven universal expressions and emotions on the face and see how good you are at spotting what is right there in front of you.

I'd like you to turn around and look at Silvie for a minute.

Now Silvie, that's a glass of water that I've prepared there for you.

Could you have a sip of the water?

>> Okay.

Great, now pick the water back again, I want you to spit in that water.

>> What?

>> Come on spit in the glass [LAUGH] and then drink that for me >> No [LAUGH].

>> All right, was everyone watching Silvie's face?

>> Yeah.

>> What did you see?

>> Just disgust.

[MUSIC] >> So, there's some key elements to disgust.

The lips loose, nose wrinkled, and one of the most reliable indicators is just that lip going up ever so slightly.

So we're going to talk about another emotion now that's a very important emotion when it comes to reading behavior, and making judgements about people.

Everyone turn around and look at Nick for a moment.

Now Nick, I'd like you to think about a previous workplace.

>> Okay. >> Somewhere you've worked and with somebody that you didn't like very much, think about that.

[MUSIC] So have a look at the screen now.

The emotion there is called contempt, and contempt is always shown on only one side of the face.

It's a smirk, try it now.

Think about somebody that you dislike, someone that you think that you're superior to.

It really only appears on one side of the face.

[SOUND] And with Nick, we saw it appear over on his left side.

Imagine that in a micro-expression, quarter of a second flashing across someone's face, that could be important.

>> That's insane, I did not know that.

>> All right, so now we're gonna talk about another important emotion.

>> And I'd like everybody just to turn around and look at Shakira.

>> [LAUGH] >> So that was fear that we saw Shakira's face there, a flash of fear.

Eyes wide, mouth wide, into the fight or flight mode.

I’ve gotta get out of here.

And there was a mix of some other emotions, but primarily fear.

Mouth stretched sideways, eyelids pull back.

[MUSIC] >> We often think that we’re carefully masking what we feel inside and that our facial expressions never give us away.

But microaggressions can be written all over our face, and others may pick up on them.

[MUSIC] It's the tenth and final day of our experiment, and I'm on my way into the lab for the last time.

Scheduled for today is a deceptively simple technique used to bring people in conflict closer together.

[MUSIC] >> Nick makes certain comments about Australia and the indigenous people didn't have a nation, that's frustrating.

>> I think Shakira should just remove those emotions because I'm not attacking her.

I'm not making it personal, I'm just talking about the way that I see things.

>> Shakira and Nick, we're gonna do a procedure called the fast friends task, used quite extensively in race relations research.

The fast friends procedure works by having two people from different groups ask each other increasingly intimate questions.

Shakira could you please pick a blue question out of the of your bowl?

>> [COUGH] Nick, what is your most treasured memory?

>> Probably the birth of my children and also seeing my mother after a long period of time of absence, family, yeah.

>> I can relate to that cuz I'm very close to my family.

>> Who in your family do you most admire and why?

>> Would be honestly my mother.

There was times that was really hard and I've seen my mother struggle and still keep going and grow from that so that thought me a lot, and you're very close with your mum as well.

>> Yeah, I am, I'm very close and I've drawn a lot of inspiration from her struggles.

>> During the friends procedure people tell very personal stories about themselves.

Then by people recognizing the experience in their own life, their brains become much more aligned to each other and the more empathy we fill towards others.

>> So Pascal, does the neuroscience actually support this?

Like this is a legit thing.

>> That's right, people become more empathetic.

And we see that, they are laughing together, they're mimicking their expressions more closely, besides this really strong on this.

>> That's pretty amazing.

>> How many siblings do you have?

>> Six.

>> So we have another thing.

>> Yes. >> We're four girls.

>> Because mom and dad divorced.

>> Yeah, same, [LAUGH] >> It's pretty cool.

>> I definitely think the fast friend procedure like.

It's creating an ease atmosphere where you both feel comfortable, you're having a laugh, you really getting to know each other on personal level.

And interesting talk, which I never heard of before.

>> I have learned so much.

>> Thank you >> No way its okay, thank you.

>> We cuddled each other and showed those sorts of emotions that I guess we care for each other, like I hope that I can continue to have a friendship.

>> Don't, you're gonna make me cry, [LAUGH] again, [LAUGH].

>> The fast friends exercise worked well.

Nick and Shakira had never been through an experience like this before, and I was amazed by the transformative power of such a simple task.

[MUSIC] Over the last ten days in Sydney with measured unconscious bias, exposed racial attitudes, and train to become less prejudice.

[MUSIC] But has the experience created any personal change in the volunteers, I have organised a dinner to find out.

>> Its like another.

>> I guess the really interesting thing about this whole experience has been how our interactions with each other have transformed over the time.

So this has been a transformational experience?

>> Yeah, definitely.

Now I feel very positive, obviously, actually quite excited at this knowledge that I'm getting.

I feel enlightened, if that makes any sense.

It's about recognizing, accepting that there's a bias, and then doing something about instead of saying, well, that's just how it is.

>> Well, the main thing I can say I gained from this experience is, I got to understand myself more than before.

And we have got to learn a lot from each other, that have somehow changed the way we think, and that means something to me.

>> Shakira?

>> It's definitely helped me grow as a person to not be so biased.

I've really gotten to understand a different side of Nick, I can say now after these ten days I can call you a mate >> Yeah, thank you.

>> Have learned a lot.

What I'm gonna take time with this experience is that I can see things very differently.

Because I've been exposed to different people and in a totally different framework.

It's given me an opportunity to leave politics aside and think about something else that is real.

It's made me feel good, it honestly has made me feel good.

>> Our social experiment has confirmed that with the help of science, five strangers can recognize and overcome prejudice.

>> I want to make a toast really to all of us in this great experience and that I love you all.

That I really do, I love you always beautiful people.

And the experience that I've had and cherish for the rest of my life, and thank you for a great opportunity.

>> Cheers to that.

>> Cheers to stay connected to learning.

Thank you very much Kurt.

>> That's my honest belief that everyone emerged changed, following our ten day experience.

That every one was different to how they came in.

>> Keep in touch, all right?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> If people can change over ten days, then this is an incredibly hopeful message for how we can change over our life span.

>> Nick >> [LAUGH] Racism is a complex issue with no simple solution.

But this new frontier of science could change the way we tackle racism for ever.

[MUSIC]