Was that Racist? An Experimental Study of Microaggression Ambiguity and Emotional Reactions for Racial–Ethnic Minority and White Individuals

Tao, Karen W.; Owen, Jesse; Drinane, Joanna M.

doi:10.1007/s12552-017-9210-4

Cited by 29 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Individual differences in emotional and behavioral responses do not invalidate the delivery of microaggresive acts; yet, receivers (and bystanders) may vary in how they interpret the deliverers’ intent [ 32 ]. For example, the higher individuals scored on dispositional forgiveness and public regard for their racial group, the less likely they were to judge the same microaggression scenario to be discriminatory [ 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is microaggression an oxymoron? A mixed methods study on attitudes toward racial microaggressions among United States university students

et al. 2020

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To best understand the possible negative health and social consequences associated with racial microaggression, in-depth understanding of how people judge these events is needed. People of Color (POC) and White participants (N = 64) were recruited for a mixed-methods study that incorporated quantitative attitude ratings and focus group interviews. Participants read and discussed their attitudes toward five vignettes that reflected microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation scenarios. Semantic differential ratings showed that participants judged microassaults to be most unacceptable, followed by microinsults and then microinvalidations. Using a grounded theory approach, our qualitative analysis of interview data revealed five thematic categories. First, participants judged receivers’ psychological harm to be a critical consideration for their attitudes toward microaggression scenarios; they discussed factors associated with individual differences in appraisals, prior exposures to discrimination, and sensitivity to race. Second, participants were less consistent in their opinion about the role of the deliverers’ intent on their judgment of microaggressions; many considered microaggression events to be results of deliverers’ cultural ignorance and racial insensitivity. Third, our analysis revealed the central importance of contexts that shaped participants’ attitudes toward microaggression. Fourth, participants also discussed the notion that receivers of microaggression were racist for calling attention to race issues. Finally, POC participants tended to relate to the vignettes and use their lived experiences to contextualize their opinions about racial microaggression. The current results raise concerns regarding the conceptualization and utility of the word “microaggression,” especially within the broader contexts of racism and major discrimination. Other empirical and practical implications are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is microaggression an oxymoron? A mixed methods study on attitudes toward racial microaggressions among United States university students

et al. 2020

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“…There were no significant differences in participants’ evaluation of confederates between the nonrace specific microaggression and control condition. In another study (Tao et al, 2017), participants watched videos of a White professor interacting with a Black student. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in which the White professor: (a) did not commit a microaggression, (b) the professor committed a very ambiguous microaggression (e.g., “You are really doing a good job in this class, you’ve really surprised me this semester”), (c) the professor committed an ambiguous microaggression (e.g., “You seem very punctual and well put together.…”

Section: Reactions To Microaggressionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above studies suggest that interactions that include microaggressions are generally experienced more negatively. However, individuals may not consistently react negatively to microaggressions that do not explicitly target racial group membership (e.g., Tao et al, 2017; Tran & Lee, 2014).…”

Section: Reactions To Microaggressionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, differences in perceptions of racially explicit microaggressions may be due to differences in statement lengths across conditions that vary in the amount of negative assumptions conveyed. For example, the microaggression statements in Tao et al (2017) varied in length across conditions, such that the racially explicit condition was longer and conveyed more negative assumptions compared to the other microaggression conditions, and the control condition did not include any statement from the professor.…”

Section: Reactions To Microaggressionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Experimental Analogue Evaluation of Asian and Asian Americans’ Immediate Reactions to Therapist Microaggressions

Kuo

Imel

Tao

2021

The Counseling Psychologist

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Microaggressions are subtle, everyday exchanges that convey discriminatory messages. In psychotherapy, client reports of microaggressions are negatively associated with important therapeutic processes and outcomes. However, many studies are retrospective and correlational, and cannot establish the causal impact of specific therapist statements. In this study, Asian and Asian American participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk ( N = 66) watched a brief animated counseling vignette, and were randomly assigned to four types of therapist responses to the client (control, subtle, moderate, and overt microaggressions). We assessed emotional reactions, perceptions of the session, and offensiveness of therapist statements. In general, moderate and overt microaggressions were rated much more negatively (Cohen’s d’s > 1.0) than subtle microaggressions or control statements (which were not significantly different from each other on any measure). We discuss implications for research, practice, and training.

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“…In other words, Black participants do seem to accurately perceive something of the motivations in microaggressors (though perhaps only dispositionally, as the research did not test specific instances). 5 On the other hand, a study by Tao et al (2017) found no difference between Black and white participants' evaluations of videotapes of variably ambiguous microaggression scenarios. This seems to count against the claim that marginalized people have enhanced access to the truth about these situations.…”

Section: Psychological/experiential Accountmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microaggression: Conceptual and scientific issues

McClure

Rini

2020

Philosophy Compass

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Scientists, philosophers, and policymakers disagree about how to define microaggression. Here, we offer a taxonomy of existing definitions, clustering around (a) the psychological motives of perpetrators, (b) the experience of victims, and (c) the functional role of microaggression in oppressive social structures. We consider conceptual and epistemic challenges to each and suggest that progress may come from developing novel hybrid accounts of microaggression, combining empirically tractable features with sensitivity to the testimony of victims.

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Was that Racist? An Experimental Study of Microaggression Ambiguity and Emotional Reactions for Racial–Ethnic Minority and White Individuals

Cited by 29 publications

References 27 publications

Is microaggression an oxymoron? A mixed methods study on attitudes toward racial microaggressions among United States university students

Is microaggression an oxymoron? A mixed methods study on attitudes toward racial microaggressions among United States university students

An Experimental Analogue Evaluation of Asian and Asian Americans’ Immediate Reactions to Therapist Microaggressions

Microaggression: Conceptual and scientific issues

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