PSYC 207 Exam 3 Materials

Privlege

an unearned advantage based on group membership

privilege is

often invisbile to those who have it

Having privlege doesn’t mean you didn’t

work hard, it just means the system works with you instead of against you

Privlege doesn’t determine

your outcomes, but it slates the odds in your favor

What does privlege look like?

inequality of wealth income, having more Whites in primary and secondary education and in the US Department of Education

The typical White household had

9.2x as much wealth as the typical Black household and 5.1x as much as the typical Hispanic household

The luxury of obliviousness (epistemic privilege)

the ease of now being aware of privlege itself

Awareness requires

effort and commitment to overcome

Psychology is WEIRD

western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies

WEIRD populations make up about

12% of the world’s people, yet they represent 60-90% of research participants in top psych journals

Has anything about WIERD populations changes in the last 15 years?

No

Epistmic privlege

certain social categories (WEIRD, white, male) are taken as default, and knowledge derived from them is treated as universal

The greater the percentage of male participants in a study,

the less likely the authors were to indicate particpant gender in the title and abstract

The greater the percentage of White participants in a study,

the less likely the authors were to indicate participant ethnicity in the title, abstract, provide rationale for using specific racial group…

Epistemic privilege is a form of discrimination in

knowledge production bc it structures whose voices shapethe field, whose experiences are assumed, and whose are ‘other’

The result of epistemic privlege

psychological science becomes skewed, partial, and reproduces social power relations

Privilege is not inherently invisbile

privleged individuals use cloaking strategies (psychological, behavioral) to hide or minimize their privlege from themslves or others

2 core motivations for privleged (white) individuals

innocence and maintenance

Innocence

the desire to see onself as fair, deserving, not advantaged by race

Maintanence

the desire to maintain one’s privleged positions and the social system that gives it

Herd invisibility

when many individuals enagage in cloaking for personal reasons, leading to privlege becoming invisble at the societal/group level

Denial of personal advantage/benefits

perceived personal hardships mediated the relationship between exposure to evidence of White privilege and denial of personal privilege

Findings of Confronting privilege (1)

students who were more ready to actively challenge White privilege reported greater interest and commitment to social justice

Findings of Confronting privilege (2) students

who were more aware of White privilege tended to score lower on religious conservatism

Attitude toward privilege and belief systems interact to

shape whether people from pirvileged groups engage in social-justice oriented thinking or action

Nunn and Bolt (2015)

students at a Catholic university were challenged to wear a rainbow sticker for 24 hours

Findings of Nunn and Bolt (2015) (1)

80% of heterosexual reported increased awareness of heterosexual privilege

Findings of Nunn and Bolt (2015) (2) increased

feelings of empathy towards the LGBTQ+ community

Findings of Nunn and Bolt (2015) (3) increased recognition

of how homophobia/heterosexosm influences conformity to heterosexual norms

Everyone has some level of privilege, but some ppl have far more than others

the situation/context we’re in can make different identities that we hold more or less salient

Thinking aboit our own privilege is not meant to put you on the “defense”

take the “offense” against discrimination instead

Having privilege doesn’t mean that a person doesn’t work hard

Myth of meritocracy, it means the same amount of work will get them farther

Philips & Lowery (2018): societal-level

invisibility emerges from individual’s motivated reasoning

Microaggressions

brief, everyday interpersonal exchanges that send hostile or denigrating messages to certain individuals bc of their group membership

Microaggressions are often

but not always subtle and ambiguous

Microaggressions can occur in

environmental forms (e.g., lack of diversity in faculty, artwork, or leadership)

3 types of microaggressions

microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations

Microassult

explicit, deliberate racial deorgations (old-fashioned racism in a modern disguise): Often conscious and intentional

Examples of microassaults

using racial slurts, hate symbols, transphobic language, deliberately serving a White customer before a person of color

The examples of microassaults mirror

traditional overt prejudice; rationalized as “jokes” or “not serious”

Microinsult

comments or behaviors that convey rudeness or insensivity and deman a person’s identity

Microinsults are often unintentional and the perpetrator may be

unaware of the message’s implications/ may even think they’re giving a compliment

Examples of microinsults

“you speak english so well” “are you a diversity hire” a teacher consistently overlooking students of color during discussions

Hidden message of microinsults

“I don’t see you as a true member of the dominant culutre; You are not competent; your contribution isn’t important

Microinvalidations

communications that negate, nullify, or exclude the thoughts, feelings, or experimental reality of ppl

Examples of microinvalidations

“I don’t see color” (colorblindness) “racism doesn’t exist anymore” “where are you really from"?”

Hidden message of microinvalidations

“your experiences aren’t real or legitamate”

Microinvalidations are often

the most damaging bc they erase identity and lived experinces under the guise of equality

Microaggressions can range from

conscious, intentional acts to unconscious or unintentional slights

Microaggression themes (1)

assumption of inferiority “wow you’re so articulate”

Microaggression themes (2) second

-class citizenship: security following shopper

Microaggression themes (3) exoticization/

ascription of intelligence “can I touch your hair?”

Microaggression themes (4) pathologizing

cultural values “you’re in America, speak English”

Microaggression themes (5) denial

of individual racism “I’m not racist, I don’t see color'“

Microaggression themes (6) myth

of meritocracy “race doesn’t hold ppl back”

Many microaggressions overlap or

conveyr multiple underlying messages at once

The same comment can

contain elements of multiple types (microinsult or microinvalidation)

The target’s interpretation and social context

matter for microaggression more than the label (one person may view it as microassault and another person as microinsult)

Microaggressions are defined by

how they’re perceived by the target (can, often are, commited unintentionally”

Microaggressions at UIUC: 4 themes emerged (1) racial

jokes and comments, racial slurs written in sharedspaces

Microaggressions at UIUC: 4 themes emerged (2)

segregated spaces and unequal treatment, denial and minimization of racism

Micro

the samll, often momentary interpersonal exchanges or cues that happen in everyday life

Macro

the larger, structural or institutional systems that produce and maintain inequality (e.g., laws, politices, hiring patterns)

Microinterventions (1)

everyday words or deeds, intentional or unintentional, that communicate to targets of microaggressions

Microinterventions (2) validation

of their experiential reality, value as a person, affirmation of their racial or group identity,

Microinterventions (3) support

and encouragement, and reassurance that they’re not alone

How to make the “invisible” visible (1) name

and make the metacommunication (the underlying message) explicit

How to make the “invisible” visible (2) challenge

the stereotype (“your english is great!” “I hope so, I was born here”

How to make the “invisible” visible (3) ask

for clarification (“what do you mean by that?”

How to disarm the microaggression (1)

expressing diagreement (verbal/nonverbal) is key (“ouch”), state values and set limits

Educate the offender (1) seperate

the intent from the harmful impact “I know you didn’t realize/meant … but … is what your comment/actions communicated”

Educate the offender (2) appeal

to the offender’s values “I know you care about being inclusive, but … undermines your intentions”

Educate the offender (3) promote

empathy “How would you feel lif…”

Seek external support

report the incident and practice self-care

Long-term consequences of microaggression (1)

reduced self-esttem, anxiety, depression , chronic stress

Long-term consequences of microaggression (2)

stress symptoms, and lack of belonging in academicand professional spheres

Chronic stress from microaggressions contributes to

health disparities in the same way other forms of racism do

Elevated allostatic load

repeated stress activation (fight or flight responses") leads to long term wear on the cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine systems

Sleep disturbance and fatigue

anticpatory stress (“racial battle fatigue”) leads to poorer sleep quality and higher fatigue among poc

Physical health outcomes

linked to hypertension, metabolic issues, and other chronic health conditions via stress pathways

Frequent microaggressions can create

a climate of stereotype threat and psychological vigilance, impairing focus and performance

Stereotype threat

the threat of being viewed through a negative stereotype or the fear of doing smth that would confirm the stereotype

Steele and Aronson (1995); how much situational cues tied to stereotypes impact test performance (1)

Black and White students in the non-diagnostic conditions performed equally not

Steele and Aronson (1995); (2) Black

students in the diagnostic condition perfomed worse

Achievement gaps (e.g. racial differences on standardized tests) may not be solely

to group differences in ability or preperation, but exacerbated by psychological threat in evaluative contexts

Educators and test designers should attend not only to content and fairness of tests, but

also to psychological environments, stereotype cues, and how tasks are presented