Teaching Microaggression to College Students through Stimulus Equivalence Procedure

Presenter Information

Sophia Venner, Minnesota State University, Mankato
McKay Gray, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Prajita Chauhan, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU Ballrom

Start Date

12-4-2022 10:00 AM

End Date

12-4-2022 11:30 AM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Angelica Aguirre

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

The term microaggression is used to describe daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental occurrences that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages towards stigmatized or culturally marginalized groups (Sue et al., 2007). Whether intentional or unintentional, the message of these verbal and nonverbal behaviors is to invalidate the identities, realities, or cultural practices of people belonging to a marginalized group (Sue et al., 2007; Sue, 2010a, p.3). The existing research on microaggressions focuses on examining how different demographics experience microaggressions, the influence of intersecting identities, and how microaggressions are expressions of oppression. Previous studies have focused on college students and their experiences with microaggressions, however little research has been conducted on the prevention of microaggressions or effective interventions. The field of behavioral analysis has demonstrated potential in reducing bias through the use of derived relational responding (DRR), which allows for the emergence of associations between stimuli that have not been directly taught (Matsuda et al., 2020). The current study aimed to teach college students microaggression terminology that will aid in their understanding of microaggressions. Results and implications will be discussed.