with race being unrelated to the task at hand worked to eliminate racial bias. As counter-stereotypical information is aggregated from multiple sources, it may force a change in the stereotype decreasing its strength or negating it entirely. Exposure to counter stereotypic stimuli can reduce racial bias, making race non-diagnostic and unhelpful for the decision process; the characteristic (violence) is unrelated to the group (race). Critical characteristics (weapon possession) is statistically unrelated to race therefore paying attention to race may hinder your judgment because it is non-diagnostic (unessential) to the task at hand. It may be beneficial to expose individuals to counter stereotypical information and stereotypic stimuli to change the nature of category-based responses. Racial bias appeared to be significantly reduced (for the parameters of the study) with training indicating that change can be made. A stereotype can be a gatekeeper, perpetuating itself by directing attention toward expected information, or as an efficient information-processing device that facilitates the extraction of novel information with the potential to undermine itself. See also Social perception Implicit stereotype Killing of Trayvon Martin References Ethnic and racial stereotypes Criminology Race-related controversies in the United States Race and crime Barriers to critical thinking