Work

Interpreting Microaggressions: The Role of Discourse Context, Recipient Status, and Observers’ Political Orientation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Microaggressions require an inferential process for their aggressive intent to be recognized. Using approaches from pragmatics, especially relevance theory, we conducted experiments to examine factors predicted to influence perceptions of an utterance as a microaggression. Participants read scenarios describing an interaction between two people and indicated their perceptions of a target remark. We expected and found that an utterance was more likely to be perceived as a microaggression if (a) it occurred in a context for which its relevance was not clear, thereby prompting observers to infer an aggressive intent, and (b) the recipient was a person of marginalized status. Furthermore, these effects were larger for participants with a more liberal political orientation relative to those who were more conservative. This was due, in part, to variability in Theory of Mind capabilities and beliefs about microaggressions associated with political orientation.

Source: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

DOI: 10.1177/01461672251377809

Authors: Thomas Holtgraves, Rishi Sarin, Rebecca Wood, Emily Cronk, Ana Júlia Nogueira Mourão

Institutions: Ball State University, Auburn University

Language: English

Topic: Social and Intergroup Psychology

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation