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St. Olaf College Assistant Professor of Psychology Jessica Benson’s research has found that when people disclose their emotions about discriminatory events in their life, they have a boost in cognitive performance.

Now, under Benson’s guidance, St. Olaf students are taking this research one step further to examine why.

“Why is it that when someone writes about their emotions, about a horrible negative event that happened to them, they actually have these cognitive benefits?” asks Benson.

Three students worked alongside Benson this summer to study the benefits that can come from discussing personal discriminatory events. Their work is part of St. Olaf’s Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI) program, which provides opportunities for St. Olaf students from all academic disciplines to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular subject by working closely with St. Olaf faculty members in a research framework.  This project was additionally supported by St. Olaf’s TRIO McNair program, a graduate school preparatory program funded by the U.S. Department of Education and sponsored by St. Olaf College.

“When people experience discrimination, especially when it’s subtle, they often internalize the experience as something that is either their fault or in their head,” Benson says. “We know from other research that this internalization is not positive, so the more someone can attribute this discrimination to a societal problem, the better their well-being and self-esteem will be — and hopefully the more proactive they will be about educating other people.”

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jessica BensonWhen people experience discrimination, especially when it’s subtle, they often internalize the experience as something that is either their fault or in their head. We know from other research that this internalization is not positive, so the more someone can attribute this discrimination to a societal problem, the better their well-being and self-esteem will be.

The student researchers — Lori Tran ’21, Laila Rahman ’21, and Megan Hussey ’20 — have been conducting both qualitative and quantitative research in a longitudinal study that is continuing this fall.

“We actually want to see if finding meaning moderates these other effects I found,” Benson says. “So if respondents are able to find meaning and attribute this to discrimination, does this lead to academic achievement? So hopefully in the long run we can test this with adolescents to see if this can lead to more resilience and better academic outcomes.”

Rahman notes that the work is particularly rewarding because of its potential practical applications.

“Once completed, this research will prove that emotional disclosure writing therapy not only works for PTSD patients, but is also an effective self-therapy method and healthy coping mechanism for people who experience discrimination on a daily basis,” she says.

Hussey agrees, noting that the work has had a powerful impact on how she views the world.

“It’s really easy in research studies to forget about the implications, or the ‘so what?’ part of why you are doing this. For me, this project was especially exciting because I never lost sight of the ‘so what?’ behind it all,” she says. “Our society has become more and more prone to discriminate against others, and researching possible coping mechanisms and strategies people can use following an adverse experience with discrimination is so relevant and important in today’s world. I came into work every day knowing exactly how relevant and important the research we were doing was.”

Our society has become more and more prone to discriminate against others, and researching possible coping mechanisms and strategies people can use following an adverse experience with discrimination is so relevant and important in today’s world.Megan Hussey ’20

Tran says that presenting the team’s research at the CURI symposium and talking about its impact made her realize that she wants to continue this type of work.

“I think the value of being part of in-depth undergraduate research is that it can help you realize your passions and what you want to do with your future,” she says.