Study: White people react to evidence of white privilege by claiming greater personal hardships

Researchers at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business have found that white people respond to evidence that they are privileged by their race by insisting that they face greater hardships in life. In a study published in the November issue of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, L. Taylor Phillips and Brian S. Lowery point out that progress on racial equality is limited by the fact that many whites deny the existence of inequities. “Despite this reality, policy makers and power brokers continue to debate whether racial privilege even exists and whether to address such inequity,” the researchers noted. “One reason for this inaction might be an unwillingness among Whites to acknowledge racial privilege — acknowledgment that may be difficult given that Whites are motivated to believe that meritocratic systems and personal virtues determine life outcomes.”

“However, claiming personal life hardships may help Whites manage the threatening possibility that they benefit from privilege.” The researchers argued that understanding the reaction to evidence of racial inequality was important because whites who did not feel that they personally benefited from their ethnicity would be less willing to support policies that were designed to reduce racial inequality.  Subjects in the study were separated into two groups. The group that was shown evidence of white privilege “claimed more hardships than those not exposed to evidence of privilege,” the study found. A second experiment suggested “that people claim more life hardships in response to evidence of in-group privilege because such information is threatening to their sense of self.” Researchers observed that whites who read self-affirming statements before completing the survey claimed less hardships, and they found that self-affirmations could actually reverse the denial of white privilege. “Furthermore, Whites’ claims of life hardships mediated their denials of personal privilege, supporting our hypothesis that hardship claims help people deny they personally benefit from privilege — that White privilege extends to themselves,” Phillips and Lowery wrote. “Importantly, these denials of personal privilege were in turn associated with diminished support for affirmative action policies — policies that could help alleviate racial inequity.”

Researchers recommended that efforts to reduce racial inequalities also include the education of advantaged populations. “Our work suggests that privilege reduction efforts might need to focus not only on convincing or educating advantaged group members about privilege, but also on reducing the feelings of self-threat this information induces,” Phillips and Lowery explained. “The existence of hardships does not reduce racial privilege, since racial privilege entails comparison to someone of a different race with equivalent hardships. People may erroneously think privilege entails complete ease in life and that the presence of any hardships denotes an absence of privilege.” In conclusion, the study postulated that whites may claim hardship “to maintain not only a positive sense of self, but also the material benefits associated with racial privilege.”  “Whites’ claims of hardship might also serve to legitimize the racial advantages they enjoy, and thereby justify a system that benefits their group.”


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/study-white-people-react-to-evidence-of-white-privilege-by-claiming-greater-personal-hardships/


So this study backs up exactly how some posters on here react to when they are told about the reality of white privildge.

lol Quell surprise.

It speaks exactly about educating about these privildges and people are so defensive about dicussing this.
Its time some people started to open their eyes.

I have never said that while people were not privileged in some areas and parts of the world.
I believe in most parts of the UK and perhaps even the U.S. this is becoming less the case as time goes on.

My point was that white people can experience racism and that some people experience white guilt (I do not)

I'm not sure anyone said that white privilege didn't exist in some parts of the world?

Oh and one other thing? In the UK, it seems to me from actually speaking to many people, that white privilege isn't so for the many Eastern Europeans in the UK......

Food for thought.

eddie wrote:I have never said that while people were not privileged in some areas and parts of the world.
I believe in most parts of the UK and perhaps even the U.S. this is becoming less the case as time goes on.

My point was that white people can experience racism and that some people experience white guilt (I do not)

I'm not sure anyone said that white privilege didn't exist in some parts of the world?

Oh and one other thing? In the UK, it seems to me from actually speaking to many people, that white privilege isn't so for the many Eastern Europeans in the UK......

Food for thought.

Yes people have stated quite clearly they are not privildged quite a few times on here.
You see you do as the article says and bring up white racism, when I have argued that white racism exist.
You try to balance this privilidge off white racism, when it has nothing to do with the advantage white people have. As to eastern Europeans, this is little different to how the Irish were once treated and remember what I stated about ther Irish? They still in areas though do experince this prividge also though just for being classed as white

if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

I wish there was a can of worms smiley.

There you go, what you call one hell of a deluded Dalek.
No wonder Dr Who keeps whopping them all the time.
Of course this Dalek will be able to back his unscientific claim with science I guess?

Raggamuffin wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

I wish there was a can of worms smiley.  

There you go Raggs happy to help

feelthelove wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

I wish there was a can of worms smiley.  

There you go Raggs happy to help

Oooh, thanks FTL.

science schmience

here is all the evidence i need


africa BLACK



Europe WHITE



questions???

lol so he wants to add some pictures as evidence to his peer review errrm post.

Cuchulain wrote:

eddie wrote:I have never said that while people were not privileged in some areas and parts of the world.
I believe in most parts of the UK and perhaps even the U.S. this is becoming less the case as time goes on.

My point was that white people can experience racism and that some people experience white guilt (I do not)

I'm not sure anyone said that white privilege didn't exist in some parts of the world?

Oh and one other thing? In the UK, it seems to me from actually speaking to many people, that white privilege isn't so for the many Eastern Europeans in the UK......

Food for thought.

Yes people have stated quite clearly they are not privildged quite a few times on here.
You see you do as the article says and bring up white racism, when I have argued that white racism exist.
You try to balance this privilidge off white racism, when it has nothing to do with the advantage white people have. As to eastern Europeans, this is little different to how the Irish were once treated and remember what I stated about ther Irish? They still in areas though do experince this prividge also though just for being classed as white

No didge I wasn't trying to set off one against the other (or balance it, as you put it) - I was reiterating my point about both subjects from the other thread I was posting in the other night.

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

Well I don't feel like that smelly. I don't feel I'm superior to any other human being.

eddie wrote:

Cuchulain wrote:

Yes people have stated quite clearly they are not privildged quite a few times on here.
You see you do as the article says and bring up white racism, when I have argued that white racism exist.
You try to balance this privilidge off white racism, when it has nothing to do with the advantage white people have. As to eastern Europeans, this is little different to how the Irish were once treated and remember what I stated about ther Irish? They still in areas though do experince this prividge also though just for being classed as white

No didge I wasn't trying to set off one against the other (or balance it, as you put it) - I was reiterating my point about both subjects from the other thread I was posting in the other night.

There was no need, as again this is about the very fact that as soon as white privildge is brought up you did exactly what the study said happens. You brought up white racism when there was no need.
Again we both know white racism happens.

eddie wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

Well I don't feel like that smelly. I don't feel I'm superior to any other human being.

Not even Didge? You should feel that way.

One more try:

The reason I brought up white racism was becasue I was referring the the thread the other night etc etc

It has nothing to do with this topic, I merely mentioned it as part of my stance and opinion.
Wish I hadn't now though as its been taken out of context.

eddie wrote:One more try:

The reason I brought up white racism was becasue I was referring the the thread the other night etc etc

It has nothing to do with this topic, I merely mentioned it as part of my stance and opinion.
Wish I hadn't now though as its been taken out of context.

But again white racism has nothing to do with this.
Again from my point of view you have done exactly what the study states.
So what relevance did white racism have here Eddie?
None

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

Lol!

At least you are honest about your bigotry.

Superior race.......

Reminds me of someone.

Cuchulain wrote:lol so he wants to add some pictures as evidence to his peer review errrm post.

He missed out Dubai

Obviously, if you accuse some people of being privileged, and they don't feel privileged, they're going to say that they're not privileged. If you don't accuse them of being privileged, they're not going to think about it much or say that they're not privileged. That seems logical to me.

Looks like another daft "study" to me.

Raggamuffin wrote:Obviously, if you accuse some people of being privileged, and they don't feel privileged, they're going to say that they're not privileged. If you don't accuse them of being privileged, they're not going to think about it much or say that they're not privileged. That seems logical to me.

Looks like another daft "study" to me.

Quell surprise.

It just further proves you do not recognise how you are privildiged.

eddie wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

Well I don't feel like that smelly. I don't feel I'm superior to any other human being.

not individually eddie

racially

why is it that europe is the primary desitiantion for those from the 3rd world?? why is it not the opposite way round?? even after WWII the internally displaced european (white) population didnt migrate to africa or the ME

SEXY MAMA wrote:

Cuchulain wrote:lol so he wants to add some pictures as evidence to his peer review errrm post.

He missed out Dubai

built by slaves dubai??

smelly-bandit wrote:

eddie wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:if white folks are priviledged, its because they possess superior racial gentics

blame nature, not the white man

Well I don't feel like that smelly. I don't feel I'm superior to any other human being.

not individually eddie

racially

why is it that europe is the primary desitiantion for those from the 3rd world?? why is it not the opposite way round?? even after WWII the internally displaced european (white) population didnt migrate to africa or the ME  

Hmmm well I still don't feel superior to any other race either. That's what I meant by "any other human being"

I dint know about Europe being considered favourite to those from the 3rd world? Why do they prefer europe? I guess it's the freedom it offers.

Cuchulain wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Obviously, if you accuse some people of being privileged, and they don't feel privileged, they're going to say that they're not privileged. If you don't accuse them of being privileged, they're not going to think about it much or say that they're not privileged. That seems logical to me.

Looks like another daft "study" to me.

Quell surprise.

It just further proves you do not recognise how you are privildiged.

You just want people to apologise for being born white.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Cuchulain wrote:


Quell surprise.

It just further proves you do not recognise how you are privildiged.

You just want people to apologise for being born white.

Incorrect and utterly wrong

Truth is, most people don't go about feeling "privileged" and most non-whites don't go about thinking, that whites are thinking, "we're privileged!"

When we drop theses labels and studies, perhaps we can all forget about colour and just live and love?

smelly-bandit wrote:science schmience

here is all the evidence i need


africa BLACK



Europe WHITE



questions???

Yellow Asia


Do you think Europe will start building big buildings soon

P.S.
South Africa , Durban