The White Racial Affect Scale (WRAS): Development and initial validation of a scale of White guilt, shame, and negation (original) (raw)
Related papers
The White Racial Affect Scale (WRAS): A Measure of White Guilt, Shame, and Negation
The Counseling Psychologist, 2019
The construct White guilt is typically motivated by the recognition of unearned and unfair racial privileges, the acknowledgement of personal racist attitudes or behavior, and/or the sense of responsibility for others’ racist attitudes or behavior. Empirical and conceptual work suggests mixed consequences of White guilt: it may correspond with antiracist attitudes and behavior, but it may also motivate defensiveness and disengagement. We addressed weaknesses in existing psychometric tools used to measure White guilt by synthesizing approaches from the literature on White racial emotions and self-conscious affect, and by attempting to distinguish between White guilt and shame. The results of Study 1 yielded a three-factor structure of White Guilt, Negation, and White Shame, and provided initial support for construct validity. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis provided mixed support for a three-factor structure. In Study 3, our results suggest test-retest reliability over two...
Psychol. Bull, 1999
Four studies examine the strength of feelings of White guilt, the relationship between White guilt and possible antecedents to this guilt, and the consequences of White guilt for attitudes toward affirmative action. Even though mean White guilt tended to be low, with the mean being just below the midpoint of the scale, the range and variability confirms the existence of feelings of White guilt for some. White guilt was associated with more negative personal evaluations of Whites and the theoretical antecedents of stronger beliefs in the existence of White privilege, greater estimates of the prevalence of discrimination against Blacks, and low prejudice against Blacks. Finally, results indicate that White guilt mediated the relationship from White privilege and beliefs about the prevalence of discrimination to attitudes toward affirmative action, and both White guilt and prejudice independently predicted attitudes toward affirmative action.
White Guilt and Racial Compensation: The Benefits and Limits of Self-Focus
Personality and Social …, 2003
In two studies, the authors investigated guilt as a response to group-based advantage. Consistent with its conceptualization as a self-focused emotion, White guilt was based in self-focused beliefs in racial inequality. Thus, guilt was associated with belief in White privilege (Study 1) and resulted from seeing European Americans as perpetrators of racial discrimination (Study 2). Just as personal guilt is associated with efforts at restitution, White guilt was predictive of support for affirmative action programs aimed at compensating African Americans. White guilt was not, however, predictive of support for noncompensatory efforts at promoting equality, such as affirmative action programs that increase opportunities (Study 2). In contrast, the other-focused emotion of group-based sympathy was a more general predictor of support for different affirmative action policies. Our findings demonstrate the benefits and limits of group-based guilt as a basis of support for social equality and highlight the value of understanding the specific emotions elicited in intergroup contexts.
White guilt: Its antecedents and consequences for attitudes toward affirmative action
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1999
Four studies examine the strength of feelings of White guilt, the relationship between White guilt and possible antecedents to this guilt, and the consequences of White guilt for attitudes toward affirmative action. Even though mean White guilt tended to be low, with the mean being just below the midpoint of the scale, the range and variability confirms the existence of feelings of White guilt for some. White guilt was associated with more negative personal evaluations of Whites and the theoretical antecedents of stronger beliefs in the existence of White privilege, greater estimates of the prevalence of discrimination against Blacks, and low prejudice against Blacks. Finally, results indicate that White guilt mediated the relationship from White privilege and beliefs about the prevalence of discrimination to attitudes toward affirmative action, and both White guilt and prejudice independently predicted attitudes toward affirmative action.
Exploring the Nature of Race-Related Guilt
Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 2001
In a hermeneutic phenomenology study, the main purpose of which was to explore how White graduate students made meaning of being White, racerelated guilt was found to be a prominent emotion. This article explores race-related guilt and suggests liberation therapy as a counseling tool to transform guilt to positive action.
White Guilt: Race, Gender, Sexuality and Emergent Racisms in the Contemporary United States
2010
White guilt is a culturally and historically contingent emotion rooted in White people's recognition of unearned privileges and collective and/or individual roles in the perpetuation of racism. Situated within the context of neoliberal multiculturalism, this interdisciplinary dissertation investigates contemporary manifestations of White guilt in popular discourse and the lived experiences of young White adults in the United States.
Collective Guilt and Shame as Motivation for White Support of Black Programs1
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2000
Two studies examined whether exposing Whites to collective guilt-and shame-inducing stimuli would lead to heightened support for Black programs. White participants watched either a civil-rights videotape or one of two control videos and then completed either a self-affirmation task or a tiller task. Support for Black programs was measured in a bogus second study. Those who watched the civil-rights video and completed the tiller task suppressed their support for Black programs, whereas those who watched the civil-rights video and then self-affirmed displayed the highest levels o f Black program support. Findings suggest that Whites might react antisocially to guilt-and shame-inducing situations, and react prosocially only after reaffirming their personal integrity.
Can White Guilt Motivate Action? The Role of Civic Beliefs
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Limited research has investigated factors that shape White youth's civic action aimed at social change. Investigating the relation between Whiteness and civic action is an essential step toward identifying and cultivating environments that encourage White youth to use their racial privilege to combat inequality through civic engagement. To address this gap in the literature, across two distinct samples, this study investigates the role of White guilt in motivating civic action and the moderating role of civic beliefs. Participants included all young adults who self-identified as White from two online survey studies (Study 1, N = 219 college students, 71.9% Women, 28.1% Men, mean age = 19.6; Study 2, N = 185, 50% current college students, 54.6% Women, 45.4% Men, mean age = 23.9). In Study 1, White guilt related to more civic action. In the context of high social responsibility, White guilt related to more civic action; in the context of low social responsibility, White guilt corresponded with less civic action. In Study 2, White guilt also related to more civic action, and civic efficacy emerged as a potential moderator. Collectively, these results highlight the potential for White guilt to be turned into meaningful civic action, particularly when coupled with civic beliefs.
2016
In this investigation we explored among a U.S. sample of White college students the effect of perceived race-informed culpability—conceptualized as the self-conscious emotions known as White guilt and shame—on two critical multicultural education outcomes: modern prejudicial attitudes and demonstrated anti-racist knowledge. Interaction effects by participants’ racial identity were also examined. Moderated hierarchical linear regression showed that the tendency to experience White guilt as well as White shame explained a significant portion of the variability in racist attitudes. For knowledge, only guilt had an effect. No interaction effects were observed. Limitations are discussed followed by implications for teaching and learning with an emphasis on affect-sensitive pedagogy.