Effects of Responses to Bias on Cardiovascular Reactivity During Interracial Interactions

对有色人种的偏见仍然是美国的一个重大问题。解决这个问题的关键一步是就有色人种所经历的歧视时刻进行诚实的对话。缺乏的是对互动特征的坚定理解，这些互动特征导致有色人种和白色人之间富有成效的讨论，特别是当一个有色人种讨论歧视的经历时。白色人的反应是接受和确认行为还是轻蔑行为（例如，评论为投诉）。接受性和/或否定性的反应如何影响谈话的质量，以及每个人所经历的生理压力的大小？理解这些问题有重要意义，了解如何促进有效的盟友关系，减轻对有色人种的歧视的危害，并促进建立在相互理解和trust.The本研究涉及两个大规模的研究与社区样本的黑人，拉丁美洲人，和白色成年人的跨种族友谊。在这两项研究中，一个黑人或拉丁裔的互动伙伴披露了一个白色互动伙伴的不公平待遇的经验。在这些对话中获得了各种测量，包括自我报告的感知，评估生理反应的心血管活动，以及在视频中捕获的相关行为模式。参与者的情绪和生理反应可以与他们的互动伙伴的特定评论或行为联系起来。这就允许一个假设序列的测试，如是否一个拉丁裔的人谁描述了歧视的经验表现出减少压力后，立即她的白色互动伙伴有一个接受性的反应。研究1测试了一个预测，即当有色人种披露有偏见的经历时（与种族无关的不公平经历相比），来自白色人的接受性反应特别有帮助，而轻蔑性反应特别没有帮助。研究1还测试了互动伙伴的对话质量是否会影响他们在随后的任务中相互合作的程度。研究2测试了一种干预措施，旨在提高白色人对歧视言论的接受度。这种干预鼓励富有成效的跨种族对话，讨论歧视经历和对话伙伴之间的有效合作。除了解决这些问题外，该项目还有助于培训不同的学生群体如何进行涉及社会互动和心血管措施的研究。这项研究的见解为基于证据的干预措施提供了基础，这些干预措施可以改善有关种族的对话并减少群体间的紧张关系。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Bias against people of color remains a significant problem in the United States. A crucial step toward addressing this problem involves having honest conversations about moments of discrimination that people of color experience. What is lacking is a firm understanding of the features of interactions that lead to productive discussions between people of color and White people, especially when a person of color discusses an experience with discrimination. Does the White person respond with receptive and validating behavior or with dismissive behavior (e.g., framing comments as complaints)? How do receptive and/or dismissive responses shape the quality of the conversation as it unfolds and the amount of physiological stress that each person experiences? Answering these questions has important implications for understanding how to promote effective allyship, mitigate the harm of discrimination for people of color, and foster cross-race friendships built on mutual understanding and trust.The present research involves two large-scale studies with community samples of Black, Latinx, and White adults. In both studies, a Black or Latinx interaction partner discloses an experience of unfair treatment to a White interaction partner. A variety of measures are obtained during these conversations, including self-reported perceptions, cardiovascular activity to assess physiological reactions, and relevant behavioral patterns captured on video. Participants' emotional and physiological reactions can be linked to specific comments or behaviors from their interaction partner. This allows for a test of hypothesized sequences, such as whether a Latina person who describes a discrimination experience exhibits decreased stress immediately after her White interaction partner has a receptive response. Study 1 tests the prediction that when people of color disclose experiences with bias (vs. experiences of unfairness unrelated to race), receptive responses from White people are particularly helpful and dismissive responses particularly unhelpful. Study 1 also tests whether the quality of interaction partners' conversation affects how much they cooperate with each other on a subsequent task. Study 2 tests an intervention designed to increase a White person's receptivity to expressions of discrimination. The intervention encourages productive cross-race conversations about discrimination experiences and effective cooperation between conversation partners. In addition to addressing these issues, this project helps to train a diverse group of students on how to conduct research involving social interactions and cardiovascular measures. The insights from this research provide a basis for evidence-based interventions that can improve conversations about race and reduce intergroup tension.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.