Cognitive and Affective Outcomes among Targets and Non-Targets of Racist Hate Speech in the College Setting

The current study used a Solomon four-group, experimental design to investigate the influence racist hate speech has on college students' anxiety, affective state, and attentional functioning. This study also examined if racist hate speech has differential impacts between students of color (i.e. targets of racist hate speech) and White students (i.e., non-targets of racist hate speech). Participants included 591 undergraduate students predominantly from Arizona (n = 553, 93.57%). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups (i.e., pretest experimental, pretest control, posttest only experimental, and posttest only control). Participants assigned to the experimental condition read a vignette containing a classroom incident of racist hate speech, while participants assigned to the control condition read a vignette containing a classroom incident of speech remarking on a university’s football team. Repeated measures, within-between interaction analyses of variance as well as Spearman's bivariate correlations were conducted. Findings revealed that exposure to racist hate speech in a classroom setting can raise state anxiety for students of color and White students. Unexpectedly, exposure to racist hate speech reduced positive affect among White students, and previous experiences witnessing racist hate speech was associated with greater anxiety and attentional difficulty for White students; however, students of color did not experience changes in affective outcomes following exposure to racist hate speech, and previous experiences with racist hate speech were not associated with affective or attentional outcomes for students of color. The present study and future research on this topic can help to inform university policies and campus initiatives to support students impacted by racist discourse and create a more inclusive learning environment for all students.