EXPLORING THE MODERATING EFFECT OF SELF-ESTEEM ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLOR-BLIND RACIAL ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WHITE AMERICANS

Author

Darrien E. Hawkins, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

9-1-2020

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Greer-Medley, Tawanda

Abstract

This study was an exploration of the relationship between self-esteem, color-blind racial attitudes, and the perception of racial discrimination among African Americans and White Americans. Race-based discrimination is a complex amalgamation of factors which coalesce to form racially discriminatory thoughts and feelings, which then inform discriminatory behaviors. Color-blind racial attitudes is one such factor which has been demonstrated to negatively impact the perception of acts of racial discrimination. Another factor which influences race-based discrimination is self-esteem. Based on established literature, I hypothesized that self-esteem would moderate color-blind racial attitudes, such that lower levels of self-esteem would diminish the perception of racial discrimination. A total of 118 participants completed a web-based survey, which included demographic information, a vignette which captured an instance of race based discrimination, measures of color-blind racial attitudes, self-esteem, and perception of racial discrimination. Results of a hierarchal regression indicate that self-esteem did not significantly moderate the relationship between CoBRA and perception of racial discrimination in the workplace. Results further indicated that the total scores for color-blind racial attitudes were a significant predictor of a person’s decision about the influence of race in a workplace incident. Key words: color-blind racial attitudes, self-esteem, discrimination.