ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
Br J Soc Psychol. 2025 Jan;64(1):e12789. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12789. Epub 2024 Jul 18.
The concept of microaggressions alerts us how majority group members' everyday behaviour can impact minorities negatively. Recently, some researchers have questioned the criteria for identifying microaggressions and rejected the concept's utility. We maintain that attending to minorities' everyday experiences is important and illustrate this through a three-phase study with Roma in Hungary. First, we conducted interviews exploring their everyday interactional experiences (Phase 1, N = 17); second, Roma participants filmed (naturally occurring) interactions with majority group members (Phase 2, N = 10); third, we showed such filmed interactions to Roma focus groups and recorded their discussions (Phase 3, N = 28). Analysing these discussions, we focused on how the experience of surveillance when shopping (even when manifested in apparently helpful attention from shop assistants) impacted participants in ways that majority group members likely have little awareness of. Specifically, participants reported their need to (a) reflect on (and manage) their emotional reactions; (b) weigh a variety of strategic considerations as to how to respond; and (c) engage in in-the-moment interpretation as to the nature of the interaction. Such experiences negatively impact the use of public space and illustrate the value of adopting the minority's vantage point concerning the identification of microaggressive treatment.
微侵犯的概念提醒我们，多数群体成员的日常行为如何会对少数群体产生负面影响。最近，一些研究人员对识别微侵犯的标准提出了质疑，并拒绝接受该概念的实用性。我们认为关注少数群体的日常经历很重要，并通过在匈牙利对罗姆人进行的三阶段研究来说明这一点。首先，我们进行了访谈，探讨了他们的日常互动体验（第 1 阶段，N=17）；其次，罗姆人参与者拍摄了与多数群体成员的（自然发生的）互动（第 2 阶段，N=10）；最后，我们向罗姆人焦点小组展示了这些拍摄的互动，并记录了他们的讨论（第 3 阶段，N=28）。在分析这些讨论时，我们关注了购物时被监视的体验（即使这种体验表现为店员看似有帮助的关注）如何以多数群体成员可能很少意识到的方式影响参与者。具体来说，参与者报告说他们需要（a）反思（并管理）自己的情绪反应；（b）权衡各种策略性考虑，以决定如何回应；以及（c）在互动的当下对互动的性质进行解释。这种经历对公共空间的使用产生了负面影响，并说明了从少数群体的角度出发识别微侵犯行为的价值。
