Without Prejudice

Could racism be a biological phenomenon? Scientists studying a neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams syndrome are reporting that children with the disease seem not to form racial stereotypes. Children with the disorder tend to be overly friendly because they don’t fear strangers, and researchers say they also don’t form negative stereotypes about other groups. “This is the first evidence that different forms of stereotypes are biologically dissociable,” said researcher Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg.