PRIVILEGE EFFECTS ON MICROAGGRESSONS

Student Author Information

Jordan A. Ricci, Lynchburg CollegeFollow

Access Type

Open Access

Entry Number

117

Start Date

4-5-2017 9:00 AM

End Date

4-5-2017 9:15 AM

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The present study examined privilege and diversity on college campuses and their effects on the use and regularity of microaggressions. Furthermore, this study questioned whether the diversity of a campus may play a role in the campus climate and use of microaggressions by members of the student population which were of the majority. This study assessed an individual’s awareness of microaggressions and privileged situations via a survey which was administered online at the convenience of the participants. Participants were recruited from the same region in central Virginia. Participants were administered scales based on their demographics, including the White Privilege Attitudes Scale (WPAS) (Pinterits, Poteat, & Spanierman, 2009), the Heterosexism Scale (Park, 2001), the Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (PCRW) (Kordesh, Spanierman, & Neville, 2013), and the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). It is hypothesized that a larger, more diverse institution will have scores that indicate higher levels recognition of microaggressions and privileged situations when compared to a small liberal arts institution. It is also predicted that students from the small liberal arts institution will have a negative correlation between the use of microaggressions and their recognition of privilege. The results complement the increasing literature on microaggressions and privilege by displaying that more awareness about microaggressions comes with more exposure to diversity. The increased exposure to diversity adds a continued element of confronting one’s privilege.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Virginia Cylke & Dr. Ei Hlaing

Comments

Keywords: microaggressions, privilege, diversity, racism, discrimination

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Apr 5th, 9:00 AM Apr 5th, 9:15 AM

PRIVILEGE EFFECTS ON MICROAGGRESSONS

The present study examined privilege and diversity on college campuses and their effects on the use and regularity of microaggressions. Furthermore, this study questioned whether the diversity of a campus may play a role in the campus climate and use of microaggressions by members of the student population which were of the majority. This study assessed an individual’s awareness of microaggressions and privileged situations via a survey which was administered online at the convenience of the participants. Participants were recruited from the same region in central Virginia. Participants were administered scales based on their demographics, including the White Privilege Attitudes Scale (WPAS) (Pinterits, Poteat, & Spanierman, 2009), the Heterosexism Scale (Park, 2001), the Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (PCRW) (Kordesh, Spanierman, & Neville, 2013), and the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). It is hypothesized that a larger, more diverse institution will have scores that indicate higher levels recognition of microaggressions and privileged situations when compared to a small liberal arts institution. It is also predicted that students from the small liberal arts institution will have a negative correlation between the use of microaggressions and their recognition of privilege. The results complement the increasing literature on microaggressions and privilege by displaying that more awareness about microaggressions comes with more exposure to diversity. The increased exposure to diversity adds a continued element of confronting one’s privilege.