Individual and Situational Determinants of Psychophysiological Responses to Race-Based Discrimination

这项拟议的研究考察了个人和情景对基于种族的歧视的心理生理反应的决定因素。该项目由两个部分组成。第一个组成部分的主要目的是在实验室环境中评估心血管和肌电对基于种族的歧视类似物反应的个人和情景决定因素。第二个组成部分的主要目的是利用不定期的生理监测来检查实地对基于种族的歧视的心理生理反应的个体差异。心理生理学方法被用来达到这些目的。智力价值迄今为止，大多数研究主要集中在对基于种族的歧视的反应的个人决定因素和在实验室环境中收集的主观数据。没有考虑到基于种族的歧视经历的情景特征如何也影响对这些经历的反应，这就导致对解释对基于种族的歧视的反应的个体差异的基本机制的描述不完整和不准确。在对基于种族歧视的反应的研究中，主观数据中的记者偏见也是有问题的，因为参与者可能会因为缺乏意识或社会期望而低估或夸大反应。最后一个考虑是，这些研究中的大多数都是在实验室环境中进行的，因此很难确定这些研究中的结果是否概括为基于种族歧视的现实世界经验。拟议的项目通过在实验室和自然环境中使用心理生理学方法并考虑基于种族的歧视经历的情景相关性，独特地解决了这些缺点。因此，该提案寻求增加关于基于种族的歧视在不同环境中产生的更广泛的心理和生理影响的基本知识。布罗德影响拟议的启蒙研究补助金的设立将导致在美国科学中代表不足的少数群体更多的参与。代表不足的少数民族本科生和研究生将接受最先进的心理生理学方法培训，为行业和学术职位做准备。这项拟议研究的实施还将有助于为一个羽翼未丰的研究计划奠定基础，该计划的成功将直接导致在本科生、研究生和教职员工层面上代表不足的少数族裔的增加。拟议研究的第二个影响涉及非裔美国人的健康和福祉。虽然拟议的研究没有明确侧重于健康结果，但它将加强健康差距研究文献的议程，该文献试图审查基于种族的歧视和其他因素在非裔美国人和其他种族和族裔健康差距中的作用。拟议的研究活动与正在进行的以下努力是一致的：(1)确定有可能影响和减少健康差距的心理社会变量；(2)促进少数群体健康；(3)减少并最终消除涉及心血管疾病和其他疾病的健康差距。

The proposed research examines individual and situational determinants of psychophysiological responses to race-based discrimination. The project consists of two components. The primary aim of the first component is to evaluate individual and situational determinants of cardiovascular and electromyographic responses to race-based discrimination analogues in a laboratory setting. The primary aim of the second component is to use ambulatory physiological monitoring to examine individual differences in psychophysiological responses to race-based discrimination in the field. Psychophysiological methods are used to attain these objectives.Intellectual MeritTo date, the majority of studies examining responses to race-based discrimination have focused primarily on individual determinants of responses to race-based discrimination and subjective data collected in a laboratory setting. The failure to consider how situational characteristics of race-based discrimination experiences also influence responses to these experiences lends itself to an incomplete and inaccurate picture of the underlying mechanisms that account for individual differences in responses to race-based discrimination. Reporter biases in subjective data are also problematic in studies of responses to race-based discrimination as participants can underestimate or exaggerate responses due to lack of awareness or social desirability. A final consideration is the fact that the majority of these studies have been conducted in laboratory settings, making it difficult to ascertain whether the findings in these studies generalize to real-world experiences of race-based discrimination. The proposed project uniquely addresses these shortcomings through the use of psychophysiological methods in laboratory and naturalistic settings and the consideration of situational correlates of race-based discrimination experiences. As such, the proposal seeks to increase basic knowledge about both the broader psychological and physiological impacts of race-based discrimination across settings.Broader ImpactsFunding of the proposed Starter Research Grant would result in the increased participation of underrepresented minorities in U.S. science. Underrepresented ethnic minority undergraduate and graduate students would receive state-of-the-art training in psychophysiological methods in preparation for industry and academic positions. Execution of the proposed research would also help to lay the foundation for a fledgling research program whose success will directly lead to the increased presence of underrepresented minorities at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels.A second impact of the proposed research concerns African American health and well-being. Although the proposed research does not focus explicitly on health outcomes, it stands to enhance the agenda of the health disparities research literature which seeks to examine the role of race-based discrimination and other factors in African American and other racial and ethnic health disparities. The proposed research activities are consistent with ongoing efforts to: (1) identify psychosocial variables that have the potential to influence and reduce health disparities; (2) promote minority health; and (3) reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities involving cardiovascular illnesses and other diseases.