Factors influencing satisfaction with a microaggression bystander intervention

ABSTRACT

Racial microaggressions are receiving growing attention in the research literature, as we know that they negatively impact People of Color. We explored the impact of a bystander to microaggression workshop that was implemented at a Predominantly White Institution. Participants were randomly assigned to the workshop condition or received a control intervention about ethics that did not address microaggression. We administered pre- and posttest surveys to assess knowledge and measures to assess color-blind attitudes and the degree to which participants felt such trainings are necessary. We found that the intervention was successful in improving participants’ understanding of microaggressions and that higher endorsement of color-blind racial attitudes predicted less satisfaction with workshop, which was explained by interpretation of microaggressions unharmful. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Microaggression
• bystander
• intervention
• colorblindness

Acknowledgments

Will be completed if accepted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).