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Explicit and Implicit Biases Associated with the Perception of Microaggressions
Microaggressions are derogatory statements that cause harm to marginalized groups -- impacting trust, respect, and validation associated with the bond between the client and the clinician (Orlinsky, Ronnestad, Willutzki, 2004). ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) strives for diversity and cultural competence, knowing that the population of whom Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists work with is anything but homogenous. It is currently less clear if students undergoing training in helping professions are aware of culturally insensitive language. To research this, we used a computer mouse-tracking paradigm to evaluate explicit and implicit biases associated with the identification of microaggressions (Sue et al., 2009) among students in the college of Education, Health, and Human Services (divided into two groups: Speech Pathology and Audiology majors and other majors within EHHS, primarily education majors). Preliminary results from the study indicated that not all students recognize microaggressions, with only some believing their implications. With this preliminary data and with future data collection, this may suggest that more work may need to be done to promote the recognition of microaggressions in training.