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

P Priscilla Lui,Lauren Sanders,Savannah Pham,Shalanda R Berkley

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0243058

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Microaggressions generally refer to everyday exchanges that send insulting or denigrating messages to people from marginalized groups [1, 2]
We focused on racial microaggressions because the microaggression literature emerged from a critical discussion on race and racism in the American society [1, 2, 8] and most research has focused on microaggressions experienced by People of Color (POC) [9]
Definitions and conceptualizations of discrimination and microaggression Prior to providing participants with a definition of racial microaggression, individuals were asked to share their understanding of overt, major racial discrimination

Summary

Introduction

Microaggressions generally refer to everyday exchanges that send insulting or denigrating messages to people from marginalized groups [1, 2]. Microaggression received widespread attention in psychological science and the general public. Attitudes toward microaggression nature and possible health impact of microaggression-related experiences has focused on everyday differential treatment experienced by individuals of marginalized group status (e.g., ethnic, gender, and sexual minority). There appears to be mixed reception of this research program by some scholars and the general public [e.g., 3–7]. We focused on racial microaggressions because the microaggression literature emerged from a critical discussion on race and racism in the American society [1, 2, 8] and most research has focused on microaggressions experienced by People of Color (POC) [9]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion