Date of Award

4-29-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jane Berry

Abstract

This current study’s aim was to further address microaggressions and how people perceive these “micro” aggressions based on Political identification, support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and their beliefs surrounding White privilege. Recent literature has shown that racial discrimination in any form can be incredibly detrimental to mental health, however, this study addresses the every-day microaggressions and subtle forms of racism that Black people experience every day and delves further into why these “smaller” forms of racism might not be addressed. This study used a Qualtrics survey to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data on peoples’ beliefs surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, White privilege, microaggressions, the “all lives matter” response, and general knowledge surrounding racismand microaggressions. Participants were University of Richmond students enrolled in the Intro to Psychology course. The findings suggest that those who rated higher support for Black Lives Matter, higher beliefs that white privilege is very prevalent, and leaned more towards the Liberal side were more likely to find these microaggressions both racist and offensive. Additionally, participants who rated higher support for all lives matter, were less likely to think white privilege is prevalent today, and leaned more towards the Conservative side were more likely to rate the microaggressions as not as offensive and racist.

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