With more than 25 million tests sold by early 2019, direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry tests expose the public to critical issues of genetics, ancestry, and identity. This study examines how individuals understand the results of a genetic ancestry test. Twenty undergraduate students viewed and interpreted an unfamiliar individual’s ancestry results. In in-depth interviews, students indicated that the results were easy to read and understand, but that they had difficulty articulating the meaning of the ancestry groups presented in the results. Participants could not accurately paraphrase the test’s scientific explanation. Those who engaged with the scientific explanation developed doubts about the test’s credibility. There was little consensus about the legitimacy of identity claims from low-proportion ancestry groups. Some students reserved judgment while others identified specific thresholds for what ancestry proportions legitimize identity claims. Results contribute to the literature on the public’s understanding of ancestry, genetics, and data interpretation.

This study reports the results of a cultural competence self-assessment completed by students, faculty, and staff ( N = 299) at a Journalism and Mass Communications School at a predominantly White public university in the Midwest, where students had been demonstrating against cultural insensitive experiences on campus. Results reveal that all participants perceive themselves as fairly culturally competent, but perceive others as being less culturally competent. This finding, suggestive of a third-person effect, was especially pronounced among faculty. Despite high self-ratings, one out of 10 respondents reported cultural insensitive experiences, mainly dealing with sexism or racism. Implications and recommendations are discussed.