Motives matter: White instructors' external race-based motives undermine trust and belonging for Black college students.

OBJECTIVE: Trust is fundamental to successful educational relationships. Yet, numerous barriers inhibit the development of trust between students of color (SOC) and White instructors. The current research examined a metacognitive obstacle to the development of cross-race classroom trust: Primarily External Race Motives (PERM). PERM was defined as the experience that instructors were more concerned with avoiding the appearance of prejudice than having self-directed egalitarian motives. METHOD: Using within-subjects vignettes (n = 313; 74.8% female), between-subjects cross-sectional designs (n = 386; 70.5% female), and longitudinal methods (n = 135; 45.2% female), the current work tested the primary hypothesis that PERM would undermine instructor trust and classroom belonging. Hypotheses were tested with Black adults (Study 1) and college students (Studies 2 and 3). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Whether with hypothetical, past, or present White educators, feeling that instructors have primarily external race-based motives undermined instructor trust and classroom belonging. In all studies, the relationship between PERM and classroom belonging was mediated by instructor (mis)trust. The results provide evidence that motives viewed to be primarily external undermine instructional relationships for SOC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Black Americans' racial socialization experiences and beliefs about White people's interracial motives.

OBJECTIVES: Suspect motives, conceptualized as beliefs that Whites' interracial motives are primarily driven by desires to avoid appearing prejudiced have been found to shape a number of intergroup outcomes for People of Color (POC). However, it is unclear what factors lead individuals to become suspicious of Whites' motives. Two correlational studies tested whether childhood racial socialization experiences relate to suspect motives. METHODS: 223 Black participants (94.2% female; M age = 42.01, SD age = 16.62) recalled childhood racial socialization experiences and completed the Suspicion of Motives Index (SOMI; Study 1). 226 Black parents (80.8% female; M age = 37.39, SD age = 9.17) reported racial socialization strategies and goals for their children to be cognizant of Whites' potentially suspect motives (Study 2). RESULTS: Driven by cultural socialization, racial socialization was significantly related to suspicion (Study 1). Racial socialization predicted parental desires that children recognize Whites' suspect motives and a combined measure of cultural socialization and preparation for bias was most strongly related to parental hopes (Study 2). CONCLUSIONS: These studies link racial socialization and suspicion of Whites' motives. These results suggest that among POC, racial socialization may shape beliefs about Whites' interracial motives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).