Distinguished Speaker Talks
The 2019 Weary Symposium will feature several talks by distinguished scholars who study diversity and social identity.
Early-Career Talks
Jin Bak, University of Virginia: “Whites Confronting Racism: What Do Blacks Appreciate?”
When asked to evaluate confrontations to racist comments Whites had generated, Black participants appreciated almost all confrontations, especially those that were direct, targeted the action (but not the person), and acknowledged racism beyond the individual level. This work has important implications for promoting White allies and reducing prejudiced behavior.
Katie Boucher, University of Indianapolis: “Reactions to Social Psychological Interventions Aimed at Reducing Achievement Gaps”
Recent interventions have successfully reduced achievement gaps, but less is known about how people view them. We examined perceptions of two existing interventions and the hypothetical results of similar interventions. Participants were sensitive to intervention content and which groups’ performance improved, and this attention influenced ratings of success and support.
Katie Kroeper, Indiana University: “Counterfeit Diversity: When the Diversity Advertised is not the Diversity Encountered”
Across 3 experiments, we find that exaggerating the gender diversity of a workplace (vs. honestly reporting workplace diversity) decreases interest in the company, increases identity threat concerns (particularly among women), and undermines confidence that the organization is ethical, internally motivated, and sincerely interested in tackling diversity issues.
Allison Earl, University of Michigan: “The Behavior of Same-Race Others and its Effects on Black Patients’ Attention to Publicly Presented HIV-Prevention Information”
In a field study conducted in a public health clinic, Black patients were less likely to pay attention to HIV information in the presence of other Black patients, unless those patients were also attending to the information. In contrast, Black patients’ attention was unaffected by the presence of White patients.
Arielle Lewis, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI): “An Examination of Intersectional Organizational Identity-Safety Cues for Black Women”
We examined whether a Latina successful employee could serve as an organizational identity-safety cue for Black women. Compared to an Asian or White woman, a Latina did elicit more trust in a company and was perceived as more similar; however, the Black woman remained the most effective identity-safety cue.
Stephanie Reeves, The Ohio State University: “Whose Good Old Days? Organizational Approaches to History Shape Experiences for Members of Historically Marginalized Groups”
Many mainstream organizations have histories in which women and racial minorities were marginalized. We examined whether the ways in which organizations approach their histories would shape experiences of identity threat among historically marginalized groups. Across three studies, we find that organizations that emphasize their history undermine feelings of trust and belonging among African Americans.
Jordan Starck, Princeton University: “The Best Case for Diversity: Value vs. Values”
Universities discuss diversity more in instrumental (i.e., the value it provides) than moral terms. Instrumental language reflects the preferences of White (but not Black) Americans. Parents and admissions officers expect universities’ instrumental language to privilege White students, and it is indeed correlated with real-world disparities in White-minority student graduation rates.
Matthew Wilmot, The Ohio State University: “A Spoiled Barrel: Blacks Endorse An Entity Theory of Societal Prejudice in Response to Observing Blatant Racism”
Black and White Americans use theories of individual (or societal) racism to address identity threats brought on from witnessing blatant racism. A correlational study and two experiments test the implications of holding an entity theory of individual and societal racism for Blacks and Whites perceptions of race relations in America.
Data Blitz
Xanni Brown, Yale University: “A Changing US: Increasing Racial Diversity Affects White Americans’ Attitudes About Confederate Monuments”
Lucy De Souza, University of British Columbia (UBC): “She’s Got It: Perceptions of resilience, social pain, and the strong Black woman stereotype”
Erin Hennes, Purdue University: “Optimizing Statistical Power in Studies of Underrepresented Populations by Oversampling Well-Represented Group Members”
Laura Hildebrand, Purdue University: “Honey, Sweetie, Dear: Terms of Endearment as an Environmental Cue to Potential Devaluation”
Chanel Meyers, York University: “Experiences with Microaggressions and Discrimination in Racially Diverse and Homogenously White Contexts”
Ariel Mosley, University of Kansas: “The New Identity Theft: Perceptions of Cultural Appropriation in Diverse Intergroup Contexts”
Paolo Palma, University of Western Ontario: “Does location matter? Attitudes towards refugees as a function of race and where refugee claims are made”
Michael Rosenblum, University of California Berkeley: “Not all egalitarianism is created equal: how underlying prejudices leak from expressions of egalitarian beliefs”
Zachary Roth, Ohio University: “Self-Enhancement Drives Perceptions of Racism”
Katharine Scott, University of Wisconsin – Madison: “Parents’ Expectations for and Reactions to Children’s Racial Biases”
Elysia Vaccarino, York University: “Confronting sexism: Social context and the power of the target”
Heidi Williams, Indiana University: “Money Can’t Buy Identity Safety: Identity and Economic Tradeoffs for Women in Tech”
Poster Session
A poster session will feature many early-career researchers (pre-tenure faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduates) who will share their work through a poster presentation.