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Date of Graduation
5-15-2025
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
First Advisor
Kala J. Melchiori
Second Advisor
Benjamin Blankenship
Third Advisor
Jessica Salvatore
Abstract
Racial microaggressions are harmful to people of color (POC) and inhibit their social functioning in the long term. Explicit forms of racism have been focused on in previous studies on interpersonal racial interactions. While studies have found the effect of confrontation on POC who experience subtle racism, other forms of responses to racism lack research. Are responses influenced by how powerful targets are? What happens when a powerful target experiences subtle racism? This study shows how power shapes the strategies people of color use to respond to subtle racism. We used a negotiation framework between three types of goals and their subsequent responses found in the ARC (Avoid, Redirect, Confront) theory to understand how targets of racism balance personal and social goals in ambiguity. In a controlled experiment, 228 participants of color were randomly assigned to high, equal, or low power roles in a workplace scenario. Then, they were subjected to a subtle racial bias in the scenario. Participants rated their goals and likelihood of engaging in different response strategies. Results showed that while power did not impact goals of liking or respect, it significantly reduced self-protection. Participants driven by liking goals tended to favor more subtle responses like redirection or avoidance, while respect goals discouraged withdrawal but did not increase confrontation. Notably, a large portion of participants did not interpret the scenario as offensive, reflecting how the subtlety of bias can obscure clarity. These findings challenge the assumption that power alone enables confronting discrimination and provide evidence for studying goals and responses to racism in power research.
