Advancing the use of immersive virtual environments to study the effects of racism on eating behavior in an Asian American population
Project Team
Travis Masterson, Broadhurst Career Development Professor for the Study of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
MSI-University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Project Description
Project Description: Asian Americans, the target population of this proposed study, have experienced a spike in overt racism during the COVID-19 pandemic with over 6,600 hate incidents reported between March 2020 and March 20211. Thus, overt ethnic-racial discrimination is particularly salient to young adults of Asian American descent, which can lead to increased health issues from emotional distress2. Harrell’s racism-related stress model3 posits that ethnic-racial discrimination can affect the overall well-being of individuals due to the negative psychological and physiological outcomes associated with experiencing stress. Previous research has demonstrated the links between ethnic-racial discrimination stress among ethnic minorities and adverse health outcomes (e.g., obesity, psychological disorders). However, there is a critical need to identify cultural, social, and emotional processes that underlie and moderate these links. With this knowledge, our theoretical frameworks and subsequent efforts to reduce adverse outcomes associated with ethnic-racial discrimination will be more effective.
In this proposed research, we will examine stress responses (both subjective negative affect and pupil dilation) resulting from ethnic-racial discrimination that alters food-related decision-making. We will also assess whether different cultural knowledge frameworks modulate Asian Americans’ responses to ethnic-racial discrimination and, in turn, their subsequent food decision-making patterns. Our proposed research uses an interdisciplinary and innovative multi-method combination of survey, experimental, psychophysiological, and immersive virtual reality (iVR) tools to examine emotions as the underlying mechanism linking effects of overt ethnic-racial discrimination and food-related decision-making among Asian Americans. The specific objective of our proposal is to identify the effect of cultural knowledge systems’ salience (i.e., Asian vs. American) on the subjective (i.e., self-reported negative affect) and objective (i.e., pupil dilation) stress responses evoked by ethnic-racial discrimination and subsequent food choices.
Centering belongingness, mattering, and inclusion (BMI) in the achievement and wellbeing of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students and faculty at MSIs and PWIs.
Project Team
Jose Soto, Professor of Psychology (PI, PSU)
Matt McCrudden, Professor of Education (Co-PI, PSU)
Javier F. Casado Pérez, Assistant Professor of Education (Co-PI, PSU)
Fred Bonner II, Professor of Education (Co-PI, Prairie View A&M University)
Project Description
For racially minoritized individuals in the United States, the problem of dwindling representation at increasingly higher levels of education is an all too familiar reminder of the structural oppression they face in society. As individuals move from K-12 to college to graduate school and into the professoriate, the racial diversity declines significantly (American Council on Education, 2020; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2020; US Department of Education, 2022). The lack of representation at each level presents a significant impediment to increasing the representation at subsequent and previous levels. For example, lack of racial diversity among graduate students limits the pool of future professors while also failing to reflect higher education as a viable option for undergraduates of color. While many are aware of these shortcomings in higher education, they are often seen as problems at each individual level that need to be primarily addressed within each respective level. In actuality, the problems of under representation of scholars of color at different levels of higher education are inextricably interrelated and they create a major impediment to cultivating a rich and inclusive scientific community that allow historically marginalized group members to thrive within the academy.
The current project aims to establish a partnership between PSU and Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Texas, in order to collect quantitative and qualitative data from BIPOC undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty to understand the experiences of belonging and alienation that individuals at PWIs and MSIs face and how these experiences have or have not influenced how they have engaged with their respective institutions, their perceived success and academic achievements, their interest/commitment to academic careers, and their overall mental health and wellbeing.
The 322 Research Exchange: A bidirectional research partnership between Cheyney and Penn State Universities
Project Team
Harrison Pinckney IV, Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
Project Description
The R322 will be a collaborative project between PSU RPTM faculty, CU RLM and HRTM faculty and undergraduate students to co-create a student-centered and faculty-mentored research program. Ultimately, we will be connecting all groups around student-centered research projects on the topics of environmental justice and recreation.
General Overview of the Research Program
With the support of the CU faculty, we anticipate recruiting 5-6 undergraduate students who will collaborate with us to design and implement a research project during the Summer, 2024 term. In addition to virtual meetings/sessions, the students will be hosted at PSU for a one-week period, where they will work closely with RPTM faculty and graduate students.
Strengths and Challenges
The two primary strengths of this proposal are the co-creation process and the centering of Black voices. Restorative practices suggest that researchers need to be more intentional about working withmarginalized groups as opposed to working for or on marginalized groups. This will allow for a more authentic collaboration between CU and PSU as both teams are considered partners with unique strengths that will benefit the collective good. The centering of Black voices throughout the entire research design process is a second strength of this proposed work. Black faculty and students will work to engage Black communities about their perceptions of environmental justice. This approach is often overlooked by researchers (especially those affiliated with Predominantly White Institutions) oftentimes taking advantage of marginalized communities without providing meaningful impacts. The most immediate challenge surrounding this project is that its success is hinged on effectively establishing a new collaboration. Although we are optimistic about the relationship between CU and PSU, new relationships do not come without their growing pains. The two institutions will have to get to know one another and establish a culture that allows both teams to work collaboratively towards the stated goals.