2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

Helping professionals may (unknowingly) hold certain stereotyped views towards specific social class groups. These types of beliefs can have a significant impact on one’s work with an individual in a helping relationship. This workshop is designed to help working professionals, such as psychologists, social workers, and other helping professionals become aware of the importance of social class during cross-class encounters. Diversity training frequently focuses on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation; diversity training typically fails to acknowledge the importance of social class, and the intersection of class, race, and gender. Class is at best acknowledged as impacting the individuals’ access to resources; the culture of class is not acknowledged or examined. Social class can be signaled in interpersonal interactions, through language, dress/appearance, and values (Fiske & Markus, 2012). Differences in social class can impact how one treats an individual during cross-class encounters. This workshop examines the culture of class and how this culture influences one’s understanding of the world and interactions with others. This workshop will consist of interactive activities, discussion, and role plays. Participants will generate stereotypes of 4 class groups, and discuss the origins and consequences of such stereotypes. A short presentation on the myth of meritocracy will be followed by a discussion of how this ideology impacts interactions across class boundaries. A series of role play will be used to demonstrate the role of social class and class-based micro-aggressions that might occur in helping relationships. The workshop is designed to help mental health professionals to have insight into their own beliefs about members of specific class groups, and will be better able to navigate cross-class encounters.