Gains in ethnocultural empathy are one way to establish positive changes in social attitudes. The goal of the present study was to assess changes in ethnocultural empathy among students in a wide range of diversity courses. Preliminary data was collected from two groups of undergraduate students at a large, public university located in the Southeast (n = 47). Pre and post-test measures of ethnocultural empathy (EMC/RSEE) were completed by both the control group (i.e., undergraduate psychology students) and the experimental group (i.e., students enrolled in a diversity course). Post-test, qualitative data related to student perceptions and empathy was also collected and from the diversity course participants. I hypothesized that participants in the diversity course condition would see larger gains in ethnocultural empathy as noted by the quantitative and qualitative measures. A mixed groups factorial ANOVA was conducted for subscale scores (see Table 1). No significant differences between groups were found when comparing pre and post-test scores. However, demographic variables, such as discrimination acknowledgement and multiracial interaction, were positively related to ethnocultural empathy levels. Qualitative data supported several hypotheses. Specifically, most students, (84%) in the diversity condition, were better able to understand what life is like for people who are of a different background as it applies to social identity. Furthermore, most of these students (68%) were better able to understand the traditions and values of other cultures. Most students (68%) reported they were more likely to intervene if they witness someone making discriminating statements towards an individual because of their social identity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Gains in ethnocultural empathy are one way to establish positive changes in social attitudes. The goal of the present study was to assess changes in ethnocultural empathy among students in a wide range of diversity courses. Preliminary data was collected from two groups of undergraduate students at a large, public university located in the Southeast (n = 47). Pre and post-test measures of ethnocultural empathy (EMC/RSEE) were completed by both the control group (i.e., undergraduate psychology students) and the experimental group (i.e., students enrolled in a diversity course). Post-test, qualitative data related to student perceptions and empathy was also collected and from the diversity course participants. I hypothesized that participants in the diversity course condition would see larger gains in ethnocultural empathy as noted by the quantitative and qualitative measures. A mixed groups factorial ANOVA was conducted for subscale scores (see Table 1). No significant differences between groups were found when comparing pre and post-test scores. However, demographic variables, such as discrimination acknowledgement and multiracial interaction, were positively related to ethnocultural empathy levels. Qualitative data supported several hypotheses. Specifically, most students, (84%) in the diversity condition, were better able to understand what life is like for people who are of a different background as it applies to social identity. Furthermore, most of these students (68%) were better able to understand the traditions and values of other cultures. Most students (68%) reported they were more likely to intervene if they witness someone making discriminating statements towards an individual because of their social identity. Limitations and future directions are discussed. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Monroe, Addison Dean"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:47Z","subjects":["College","Culture","Diversity","Education","Ethnocultural Empathy","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Social Psychology and Interaction"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2018 Addison Dean Monroe"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/577","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Monroe, Addison Dean"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["College","Culture","Diversity","Education","Ethnocultural Empathy","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Social Psychology and Interaction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2018 Addison Dean Monroe"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/577"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Gains in ethnocultural empathy are one way to establish positive changes in social attitudes. The goal of the present study was to assess changes in ethnocultural empathy among students in a wide range of diversity courses. Preliminary data was collected from two groups of undergraduate students at a large, public university located in the Southeast (n = 47). Pre and post-test measures of ethnocultural empathy (EMC/RSEE) were completed by both the control group (i.e., undergraduate psychology students) and the experimental group (i.e., students enrolled in a diversity course). Post-test, qualitative data related to student perceptions and empathy was also collected and from the diversity course participants. I hypothesized that participants in the diversity course condition would see larger gains in ethnocultural empathy as noted by the quantitative and qualitative measures. A mixed groups factorial ANOVA was conducted for subscale scores (see Table 1). No significant differences between groups were found when comparing pre and post-test scores. However, demographic variables, such as discrimination acknowledgement and multiracial interaction, were positively related to ethnocultural empathy levels. Qualitative data supported several hypotheses. Specifically, most students, (84%) in the diversity condition, were better able to understand what life is like for people who are of a different background as it applies to social identity. Furthermore, most of these students (68%) were better able to understand the traditions and values of other cultures. Most students (68%) reported they were more likely to intervene if they witness someone making discriminating statements towards an individual because of their social identity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effects of College Diversity Education on Ethnocultural Empathy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Monroe, Addison Dean"],"dc:description.abstract":["Gains in ethnocultural empathy are one way to establish positive changes in social attitudes. The goal of the present study was to assess changes in ethnocultural empathy among students in a wide range of diversity courses. Preliminary data was collected from two groups of undergraduate students at a large, public university located in the Southeast (n = 47). Pre and post-test measures of ethnocultural empathy (EMC/RSEE) were completed by both the control group (i.e., undergraduate psychology students) and the experimental group (i.e., students enrolled in a diversity course). Post-test, qualitative data related to student perceptions and empathy was also collected and from the diversity course participants. I hypothesized that participants in the diversity course condition would see larger gains in ethnocultural empathy as noted by the quantitative and qualitative measures. A mixed groups factorial ANOVA was conducted for subscale scores (see Table 1). No significant differences between groups were found when comparing pre and post-test scores. However, demographic variables, such as discrimination acknowledgement and multiracial interaction, were positively related to ethnocultural empathy levels. Qualitative data supported several hypotheses. Specifically, most students, (84%) in the diversity condition, were better able to understand what life is like for people who are of a different background as it applies to social identity. Furthermore, most of these students (68%) were better able to understand the traditions and values of other cultures. Most students (68%) reported they were more likely to intervene if they witness someone making discriminating statements towards an individual because of their social identity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/577"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2018 Addison Dean Monroe"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["College","Culture","Diversity","Education","Ethnocultural Empathy","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Social Psychology and Interaction"],"dc:title":["The Effects of College Diversity Education on Ethnocultural Empathy"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:47Z"}