User:Nicgrana/Microaggression

Notes from Textbook
Another example of a possible microaggression is a black man being pulled over by the police for speeding even though there were several other cars that passed just as quickly or even quicker.

Race or ethnicity[edit]
Main article: Racism

Social scientists Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, and Torino (2007) described microaggressions as "the new face of racism", saying that the nature of racism has shifted over time from overt expressions of racial hatred and hate crimes, toward expressions of aversive racism, such as microaggressions, that are more subtle, ambiguous, and often unintentional. Sue says this has led some Americans to believe wrongly that non-white Americans no longer suffer from racism. 'The level of normalcy that white privilege has reached in this increasingly politically-correct society reinforces the stereotypes presented in microaggressions. ' One example of such subtle expressions of racism is Asian students being either pathologized or penalized as too passive or quiet. An incident that caused controversy at UCLA occurred when a teacher corrected a student's use of "indigenous" in a paper by changing it from upper- to lowercase.

According to Sue et al., microaggressions seem to appear in three forms:


 * Microassault: an explicit racial derogation; verbal/nonverbal; e.g. name-calling, avoidant behavior, purposeful discriminatory actions.
 * Microinsult: communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person's racial heritage or identity; subtle snubs; unknown to the perpetrator; hidden insulting message to the recipient.
 * Microinvalidation: communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group.

Some psychologists have criticized microaggression theory for assuming that all verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities are necessarily due to bias. Thomas Schacht says that it is uncertain whether a behavior is due to racial bias or is a larger phenomenon that occurs regardless of identity conflict. However, Kanter and colleagues found that microaggressions were robustly correlated to five separate measures of bias. In reviewing the microaggression literature, Scott Lilienfeld suggested that microassaults should probably be struck from the taxonomy because the examples provided in the literature tend not to be "micro", but are outright assaults, intimidation, harassment and bigotry; in some cases, examples have included criminal acts. Others have pointed out that what could be perceived as subtle snubs could be due to people having conditions such as autism or social anxiety disorders, and assuming ill will could be harmful to these people.

Effects

A 2013 scholarly review of the literature on microaggressions concluded that "the negative impact of racial microaggressions on psychological and physical health is beginning to be documented; however, these studies have been largely correlational and based on recall and self-report, making it difficult to determine whether racial microaggressions actually cause negative health outcomes and, if so, through what mechanisms".[48] In a 2017 review of microaggression research, one psychologist asserted that as scholars try to understand the possible harm caused by microaggressions, they have not conducted much cognitive or behavioural research, nor much experimental testing, and they have overly relied on small collections of anecdotal testimonies from samples who are not representative of any particular population.[17] These assertions were later addressed in that same journal in 2020, where such concerns were determined to be largely unfounded.[49][50]

Microaggressions have been linked to a host of mental health problems.[51][50][52] In the last decade, an increasing number of scientific reports have found a connection between the cumulative effects of microaggressions and negative outcomes, including stress,[53] generalized anxiety,[54] depression,[55][56] low self esteem,[57] psychological distress,[58][59] alcohol abuse,[60] substance abuse,[61][62] obsessive-compulsive symptoms,[63] and even suicide.[64][65]

Recipients of microaggressions may feel anger, frustration, or exhaustion. African Americans have reported feeling under pressure to "represent" their group or to suppress their own cultural expression and "act white".[66] Over time, the cumulative effect of microaggressions is thought by some to lead to diminished self-confidence and a poor self-image for individuals, and potentially also to such mental-health problems as depression, anxiety, and trauma.[46][66][67][68] Many researchers have argued that microaggressions are more damaging than overt expressions of bigotry precisely because they are small and therefore often ignored or downplayed, leading the victim to feel self-doubt for noticing or reacting to the encounter, rather than justifiable anger, and isolation rather than support from others about such incidents.[69][70][71] Microaggressions have been linked to the reinforcement of stereotype threat as well. Studies have found that in the U.S. when people of color perceived microaggressions from mental health professionals, client satisfaction with therapy is lower.[72][73] Some studies suggest that microaggressions represent enough of a burden that some people of color may fear, distrust, and/or avoid relationships with white people in order to evade such interaction.[67] On the other hand, some people report that dealing with microaggressions has made them more resilient.[68] Scholars have suggested that, although microaggressions "might seem minor", they are "so numerous that trying to function in such a setting is 'like lifting a ton of feathers.'"[74]