Black Kristen, Li Manyu
Department of Psychology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P. O. Box 43644, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2020 Nov 5;10(11):168. doi: 10.3390/bs10110168.
The recent surge in acts of violence motivated by intergroup biases in the United States are of great concern. If allowed to progress, these conditions could create an unwelcoming atmosphere and could foster further division within the United States. Based on previous culture-related studies, multiculturalism is a possible solution to reducing intergroup biases, as it positively affects implicit and explicit cultural attitudes, perceptions, as well as behaviors. The current study developed a virtual multiculturalism intervention as a means to improve intergroup relations and combat cultural biases within the undergraduate student population. Specifically, 249 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to the intervention condition and the control condition. Results showed that participants in the intervention condition had a significantly higher improvement in multiculturalism scores, supporting the incorporation of a virtual multiculturalism intervention in higher education. This study calls for the implementation of a better framework of understanding of how changes in multicultural events are perceived and how this can be used to create a more empathetic population who are more comfortable and understanding with one another. This inexpensive and timesaving model holds the possibility of being used in the future to aid in overcoming cultural differences between student populations and varying ethnics groups alike.
近期美国因群体间偏见引发的暴力行为激增，令人深感担忧。如果任其发展，这些情况可能会营造出不友好的氛围，并加剧美国国内的进一步分裂。基于以往与文化相关的研究，多元文化主义是减少群体间偏见的一种可能解决方案，因为它会对隐性和显性的文化态度、认知以及行为产生积极影响。本研究开发了一种虚拟多元文化干预措施，作为改善本科生群体间关系和对抗文化偏见的一种手段。具体而言，249名本科生被随机分配到干预组和对照组。结果显示，干预组参与者的多元文化得分有显著更高的提升，这支持了在高等教育中采用虚拟多元文化干预措施。本研究呼吁实施一个更好的框架，以理解如何看待多元文化事件的变化，以及如何利用这一点来培养更具同理心的人群，使他们彼此之间更自在、更能相互理解。这种低成本且节省时间的模式未来有可能用于帮助克服学生群体和不同种族群体之间的文化差异。
