The White Racial Affect Scale (WRAS): A Measure of White Guilt, Shame, and Negation

Abstract

The construct White guilt is typically motivated by the recognition of unearned and unfair racial privileges, the acknowledgement of personal racist attitudes or behavior, and/or the sense of responsibility for others’ racist attitudes or behavior. Empirical and conceptual work suggests mixed consequences of White guilt: it may correspond with antiracist attitudes and behavior, but it may also motivate defensiveness and disengagement. We addressed weaknesses in existing psychometric tools used to measure White guilt by synthesizing approaches from the literature on White racial emotions and self-conscious affect, and by attempting to distinguish between White guilt and shame. The results of Study 1 yielded a three-factor structure of White Guilt, Negation, and White Shame, and provided initial support for construct validity. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis provided mixed support for a three-factor structure. In Study 3, our results suggest test-retest reliability over two weeks.

White Supremacy and Counseling Psychology: A Critical–Conceptual Framework

“…Inspired by Helms' (1990Helms' ( , 1995 scholarship on White racial identity, which identified emotions as a crucial part of White individuals' racial consciousness toward an autonomous status, the taxonomy of White racial affect delineates emotions of White racism and antiracism. Subsequent qualitative (e.g., and quantitative research (e.g., Grzanka, Frantell, & Fassinger, 2019;McConnell & Todd, 2015;Pinterits, Poteat, & Spanierman, 2009;Spanierman & Heppner, 2004;Spanierman, Poteat, Beer, & Armstrong, 2006;Swim & Miller, 1999) has elucidated links between racial affect and racial beliefs and behaviors. In this section, we describe Spanierman and Cabrera's (2015) taxonomy of White racial affect, explain how such emotions manifest on individual and collective levels, and consider implications for challenging transnational White supremacy.…”

“…In the general psychological literature (not necessarily pertaining to race), shame has been differentiated from guilt in several important ways: (a) shame involves a negative appraisal of one's self, whereas guilt is linked to a negative evaluation of a particular behavior; (b) shame is associated with feeling worthless, powerless, and unlovable, whereas guilt is not; and (c) guilt may motivate reparative action, whereas shame does not appear to do so. Thandeka (1999) further explained that because White shame engenders powerlessness and a focus on the (White) self, it does not motivate retribution and fails to compel an interrogation of specific behaviors and practices that reproduce racism (see also Grzanka, Frantell, & Fassinger, 2019). More recent psychological theory suggests "shame and guilt are not polar opposite forms of dysphoria that move people in opposite directions.…”

“…And yet the majority of White women voters in the 2016 election supported Trump, and White women are active in White nationalist organizations and public protests, including the August 2017 "Unite the Right" events in Charlottesville (Gordon, 2018). Furthermore, the psychological literature on White racial emotions cumulatively builds the case for the need for interdisciplinary engagement with sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, and other perspectives that are attuned to structural dynamics, including transnationalism and intersectionality (Grzanka, Frantell, & Fassinger, 2019). Empirical research has established that White racial emotions are culturally and historically contingent, as opposed to acultural or ahistorical (Gone, 2011).…”

“…Research suggests that there are many reasons why White people might feel uncomfortable with talking about race. Scholarship on White fragility (DiAngelo, 2011(DiAngelo, , 2018, the conspiracy of silence (Sue, 2005), White guilt and shame (Grzanka, Frantell, & Fassinger, 2019;Spanierman & Cabrera, 2015), and White fear (Spanierman et al, 2012;Sue, 2011;Sue & Constantine, 2007;Sue, Rivera, Capodilupo, Lin, & Torino, 2010), among others, might help to provide important directions to move beyond resistance and nonracist behaviors to better prepare White antiracist allies for engaging in advocacy efforts.…”

“…The final factor that is crucial to an antiracist stance is a deep and meaningful exploration of Whiteness, White privilege, and racial identity as a White person (Thomann & Suyemoto, 2018). Often the negotiation of a White identity involves feelings of guilt, shame, and sadness (see Grosland, 2019;Grzanka, Frantell, & Fassinger, 2019;Spanierman & Cabrera, 2015), and antiracists actively sit with, tolerate, and confront their feelings related to their Whiteness, which helps to sustain their antiracist stance (Thomann & Suyemoto, 2018). These characteristics serve as a foundation for targets of interventions to cultivate White antiracist individuals and allies.…”