White selves: conceptualizing and measuring a dominant-group identity.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Racial Identity Research
• Social Cognition

Background:

• White racial identity is a significant aspect of social psychology, yet it remains under-researched.
• Understanding White identification is crucial for comprehending intergroup relations and social dynamics.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the automatic and evaluative components of this identity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize and measure White identification as an automatic association between the self and the White ingroup.
• To investigate the antecedents and consequences of White identification.
• To validate a novel measure of White identification against theoretical predictions.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of the White Identity Centrality Implicit Association Test (WICIAT).
• Four studies were conducted to assess the WICIAT's predictive validity.
• Methods included implicit association tasks, correlation with census data, and examination of intergroup biases and emotional reactions.

Main Results:

• The WICIAT successfully predicted self-ingroup merging, indicating automatic self-White ingroup association.
• WICIAT scores correlated with exposure to non-White populations, suggesting a link to social context.
• The measure predicted identity-relevant biases in categorization and emotional responses to ingroup actions.

Conclusions:

• The White Identity Centrality Implicit Association Test (WICIAT) provides a valid measure of White identification.
• White identification is fostered by social exposure and links self-evaluation to ingroup evaluations.
• This research highlights the importance of studying White identity as an individual difference construct with significant social implications.