Investigating Ostracism and Racial Microaggressions Toward Afro-Brazilians

Abstract

We examined two forms of social exclusion toward Afro-Brazilians commonly found in the United States, ostracism and racial microaggressions. We utilized a mixed-method (quantitative-experimental and qualitative) approach to investigate ostracism and a qualitative focus group approach to study racial microaggressions. In Study 1 ( n = 29), we experimentally investigated ostracism through a recall paradigm in which participants wrote about being either included or ostracized. An independent t test showed that participants in the ostracized condition reported significantly worse psychological outcomes than those in the included condition ( p < .001). We coded participants’ written responses by whether they included attributions of racial bias by experimental condition. A Pearson chi-square analysis ( p = .017) revealed that racial bias was mentioned in 75% of the cases in the ostracized condition. Studies 2a and 2b ( ns = 6 and 8, respectively) consisted of two focus groups in different regions of Brazil that asked participants about their experiences with racial microaggressions. We found similarities to previous microaggression categories identified in the United States, extending our understanding of how microaggressions evoke feelings of social exclusion, which also occur when someone is ostracized.