Question

What are microaggressions?

Answer

Wing Sue et al (2007) define racial microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color” (p. 273). Results from a study by Boysen & Vogel (2009)  found that “38% of professors perceived an incident of bias in the classroom in the last year, and that they perceived overt (i.e., explicit) and subtle (i.e., implicit) bias with similar frequency” (p. 12).

Read more about microaggressions:

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice. American psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.

Boysen, G.A. & Vogel, D. L (2009) Bias in the classroom: Types, frequencies, and responses. Teaching of psychology, 36(1), 12-17