Summer 2020 Remote Research

Thinking about multiple identities (e.g., social identities, gender, race, family identities, group identities, etc.) boosts creativity and cognitive flexibility in both monoracial and multiracial individuals. However, the mechanism of this multiple identity mindset and whether its influence extends to social interactions remains unknown. In light of these gaps, I designed an online study to investigate if a multiple identity mindset differentially affects cognitive depletion, creativity, and persistence in monoracial versus multiracial adults following a cross-race interaction. We expect to find differences between monoracial and multiracial individuals due to their varying degrees of exposure to cross-race interactions and experiences from naturally lived multiple identities. We preregistered this study on the Open Science Framework and it has launched on Qualtrics Panels. We aim to recruit 300 participants (150 monoracial and 150 multiracial). In the upcoming academic year, I will continue this research through my Senior Honors Thesis and potentially launch subsequent follow-up studies to further investigate how the multiple identity mindset influences cross-race interaction outcomes differentially for monoracial and multiracial individuals. It is my hope that the conclusions drawn from this research will provide insights to mitigate the discomfort and anxiety caused by cross-race interactions in order to improve cross-race interpersonal connections in healthcare, the workplace, and educational environments.