Realistic Image Primes in Experimental Research

Use of images as primes in social science experiments is widespread, but a standardized database of realistic diverse primes for this purpose has not been widely available to researchers. We develop an image database of faces of real people, which we call Realistic Image Primes for Experimental Research (RIPER). RIPER contains 249 images of individuals who are diverse along lines of gender, race, and occupational background. We standardize the images in RIPER by collecting ratings of their attractiveness, perceived race, and perceived income level. We make this diverse original database available as a useful tool for experimental social scientists.