The concept of systemic racism—that racial bias has been embedded in structures, institutions, laws, and policies—is the subject of critical race theory (CRT) and has proven to be controversial.

How are social media users from diverse backgrounds, neighborhoods, and communities interacting about issues of race? Psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt and computer scientist Dan Jurafsky will examine the nature of online interactions about race on the neighborhood-based social networking platform Nextdoor, specifically around the issues of crime and safety, the treatment of African Americans who post about experiences of discrimination, and the impact of these posts on readers.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted college, particularly for low-income and first-generation (LI/FG) college students. Economists Jane Fruehwirth and Krista Perreira and developmental psychologist Shauna Cooper will examine the effects of the pandemic on resilience, grade point average, credit hours, graduation rates, and post-graduation wages of LI/FG college students. They will analyze longitudinal survey data for their study.

Research suggests that rising economic inequality may exacerbate political polarization. Social psychologists Erin Cooley and Jazmin L. Brown-Iannuzzi will examine the roles of envy and group threat in support for right-wing political extremism among Whites without a college degree. They will conduct a survey and an experiment for their study.

Housing instability is associated with numerous negative outcomes for adults and children, such as increased material hardship, limited healthcare access, and lower educational attainment. Housing assistance, including vouchers, is associated with improvements in these outcomes. However, the largest housing program, the Housing Choice Voucher program, is complicated, inflexible, and has administrative burdens for recipients.

This grant is co-funded with the JPB Foundation.

As COVID-19 spread, there was a marked increase in racially motivated incidents against Asian Americans. At the same time, political figures scapegoated Asian countries for the origin and spread of the virus. Social psychologist Michael W. Kraus will examine how pandemic-related anti-Asian bias affects Asian Americans’ beliefs about their position in society’s racial hierarchy and their willingness to engage in anti-racism efforts. He will conduct surveys and analyze data from the Pew Research Center for his study.

In a society that is becoming increasingly diverse, it is important to understand how people approach racial difference. Social psychologists Alexandra Garr-Schultz and Lydia Emery will examine how different ideologies on racial diversity (e.g., colorblindness vs. multiculturalism) affect relationship dynamics, individual wellbeing, and conversations with children about race. They will conduct a survey, a daily diary study, and participant observation for their project.