Date of Graduation

Spring 2013

Degree

Master of Science in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Donald Fischer

Abstract

A decrease in the overt expression of racist attitudes over the past half-century has been accompanied by evidence of pervasive implicit racial bias. Diversity training interventions often endeavor to help participants learn about their own attitudes as a way of motivating positive change. Despite the widespread use of these programs, empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness has been lagging – one survey of colleges and universities reported that 81% used diversity training programs to address racial discrimination without any evaluation of their effectiveness. The repeated measures design included two courses – an adjustment course (Psychology for Personal Growth) taught by a Black male and diversity course (The Psychology of Diverse Populations) taught by a White female. This study found mixed evidence supporting the effectiveness of interventions designed to change social attitudes used in university courses.

Keywords

diversity training programs, racial attitudes, implicit association test, motivation to control prejudice, racial resentment, modern racism, return on investment, organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage

Subject Categories

Psychology

Copyright

© Sequana La'Nique Tolon

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