The proposed research examines individual and situational determinants of psychophysiological responses to race-based discrimination. The project consists of two components. The primary aim of the first component is to evaluate individual and situational determinants of cardiovascular and electromyographic responses to race-based discrimination analogues in a laboratory setting. The primary aim of the second component is to use ambulatory physiological monitoring to examine individual differences in psychophysiological responses to race-based discrimination in the field. Psychophysiological methods are used to attain these objectives.
Intellectual Merit
To date, the majority of studies examining responses to race-based discrimination have focused primarily on individual determinants of responses to race-based discrimination and subjective data collected in a laboratory setting. The failure to consider how situational characteristics of race-based discrimination experiences also influence responses to these experiences lends itself to an incomplete and inaccurate picture of the underlying mechanisms that account for individual differences in responses to race-based discrimination. Reporter biases in subjective data are also problematic in studies of responses to race-based discrimination as participants can underestimate or exaggerate responses due to lack of awareness or social desirability. A final consideration is the fact that the majority of these studies have been conducted in laboratory settings, making it difficult to ascertain whether the findings in these studies generalize to real-world experiences of race-based discrimination. The proposed project uniquely addresses these shortcomings through the use of psychophysiological methods in laboratory and naturalistic settings and the consideration of situational correlates of race-based discrimination experiences. As such, the proposal seeks to increase basic knowledge about both the broader psychological and physiological impacts of race-based discrimination across settings.
Broader Impacts
Funding of the proposed Starter Research Grant would result in the increased participation of underrepresented minorities in U.S. science. Underrepresented ethnic minority undergraduate and graduate students would receive state-of-the-art training in psychophysiological methods in preparation for industry and academic positions. Execution of the proposed research would also help to lay the foundation for a fledgling research program whose success will directly lead to the increased presence of underrepresented minorities at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels.
A second impact of the proposed research concerns African American health and well-being. Although the proposed research does not focus explicitly on health outcomes, it stands to enhance the agenda of the health disparities research literature which seeks to examine the role of race-based discrimination and other factors in African American and other racial and ethnic health disparities. The proposed research activities are consistent with ongoing efforts to: (1) identify psychosocial variables that have the potential to influence and reduce health disparities; (2) promote minority health; and (3) reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities involving cardiovascular illnesses and other diseases.
