MicroReport: Using a Mobile App to Report MicroaggressionsChristy M. Byrd, PhD, Michael Liber, Josue Ayala, & Kaitlin SousaUniversity of California, Santa Cruz

What are microaggressions?Microaggressions are subtle and often unintentional verbal or nonverbal slights that

demean an individual based on their membership in a marginalized group (Sue, 2010).

Examples

Being stared at in the dining hall

Someone asking to touch your hair because it is “exotic”

Being told you speak English well when it is your first language

Being mistaken for someone in a service role

What are the effects of experiencing microaggressions?Psychological effects

-Anxiety

-Depressive symptoms

-Self-esteem

Academic effects

-Lower feelings of belonging

-Lack of confidence in abilities

-Poor performance

-Disidentification with STEM field

What are the limitations in the existing literature?Research relies on recall weeks or months later - may be inaccurate and underestimate

impact

Daily diary studies are expensive and fatiguing

No existing research on effectiveness of different responses

No existing research on intervention strategies

What is MicroReport?MicroReport is a mobile app for Android and iOS phones developed at UCSC. The app

presents users with an interactive map of the campus and markers indicating anonymous

reports of microaggressions. Users can zoom and pan to different parts of the map and

read reports that have been submitted. When users submit a report, they can indicate

their location and include a description of the microaggression and how much it bothered

them. The app also includes a newsfeed displaying updates from the research team and

usersubmitted affirmations.

What is the structure of the study?• Participants use the app for one academic year

• Complete 4 surveys

• Invited to 2 workshops each quarter

Who are the participants?294 UCSC undergraduate and graduate students (71% women)

31% Android users, 68% iPhone users

About 25% each class year and 6 graduate students

62% STEM majors

3.4% transgender

18% lesbian, gay, or bisexual

25% Asian American, 5.8% Black, 31% Latino, 27% White, 9% Multiracial

57% first generation college student

14% not born in United States

What are the advantages of MicroReport compared to other programs?The app is easy to use and feels similar to commonly-used social media sites, so

participants are more likely to engage with it

The app is all real experiences with no facilitator to "preach" at participants or encourage a

particular point of view

Both targets and aggressors can benefit from using the app

The workshops not only offer opportunities to discuss experiences, they offer specific,

research-supported strategies for responding to them

What are the expected benefits?Research on coping with stressful events suggests that active coping, such as seeking

social support and confrontation, promote greater well-being compared to passive coping

(e.g., ignoring the incident and rumination). We promote active coping strategies by having

participants seek social support through the app and workshops, and by teaching them

skills to confront aggressors.

We also believe the app will help those with privileged identities to be more aware of

microaggressions and feel greater empathy for targets of microaggressions. Empirical

evidence suggests that encouraging perspective taking and empathy can be effective at

reducing prejudice and discrimination (Paluck & Green, 2009).This aspect is especially

important because many individuals can be both targets (in their marginalized identities)

and aggressors (in their privileged identities). For example, a White woman may be a

target of gender microaggressions in STEM but may be an aggressor toward peers of color.

What are the current findings?Survey #1 complete November 2015, Survey #2 in progress

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

Gender Race/ethnicity Culture Social class Religion* Sexual

orientation

Immigrant

status

Physical or

mental disability

Frequency of Identity-Based Discrimination

non-STEM majors STEM majors

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

2.20

2.40

non-STEM majors STEM majors

Frequency of racial microaggressions

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

In the situation Problem focused

coping*

Seeking social

support

Feelings of efficacy to use strategies

non-STEM majors STEM majors

College

Satisfaction

Belonging Competence Happines

s

Depressive

Symptoms

Stress Self-

Esteem

Non-STEM -.228 -.254 -.183 (ns) -.327 .476 .419 -.236

STEM -.174 -.181 -.014 (ns) -.193 .343 .138 (ns) -.071

Correlations between racial microaggressions and outcomes

App Access194 participants have accessed the app 2,481 times (on average 13 times per person),

ranging from 1 to 333 times.

Median time between access is about 8 hours.

Reports from November 2015 to January 2016336 Total

Targeted identity (self-report):

30% Race

13% Gender

13% Culture

6% Sexual orientation

How much it bothered them (0-100 scale): Mean = 53.87, SD = 31.90

What are the next steps?Logistical challenges

• Finding and incentivizing participants willing to complete an 8-month study

• Most participants are invested in understanding and addressing microaggressions

• Easiest to recruit psychology students

Expanding the research

• Specific samples: race/ethnicity, LGBTQIAP, first generation students, undocumented

students

• Exploring effects on: academic performance (official GPA), depressive symptoms,

feelings of belonging

• New measures: motivation, academic skills, involvement in student organizations

Changes to the app

• Broader access

• Interactivity (comments, etc.)

Involvement in the community

• Working with campus units and organizations to teach about and address

microaggressions

• Involvement with the public

• Research on public, non-academic spaces (malls, libraries, public transportation, etc.)

Examples (from pilot study)

A woman asked only White and Asian men for help with her programming homework and

avoided women and African Americans.

“I was walking by the dorms in Cowell and heard someone shout NIGGA”

“My friend asked if I was drinking for ‘Cinco de Drinko’”

“My friend asked me to wrap her burrito because it’s something I should be good at”

“I told a male identified friend that I am taking a class called ‘Women’s Lives’. He jokingly

said, ‘So are you going to learn how to make a sandwich or what’?”

Reports as of Jan 25