Cited by 340Social and Intergroup PsychologyRacial and Ethnic Identity ResearchSocial Power and Status Dynamics

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Deny, Distance, or Dismantle? How White Americans Manage a Privileged Identity

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Knowles, Eric D., Lowery, Brian S., Chow, Rosalind M., Unzueta, Miguel M.·2014·Perspectives on Psychological Science

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Abstract

Social scientists have traditionally argued that whiteness-the attribute of being recognized and treated as a White person in society-is powerful because it is invisible. On this view, members of the racially dominant group have the unique luxury of rarely noticing their race or the privileges it confers. This article challenges this "invisibility thesis," arguing that Whites frequently regard themselves as racial actors. We further argue that whiteness defines a problematic social identity that confronts Whites with 2 psychological threats: the possibility that their accomplishments in life were not fully earned (meritocratic threat) and the association with a group that benefits from unfair social advantages (group-image threat). We theorize that Whites manage their racial identity to dispel these threats. According to our deny, distance, or dismantle (3D) model of White identity management, dominant-group members have three strategies at their disposal: deny the existence of privilege, distance their own self-concepts from the White category, or strive to dismantle systems of privilege. Whereas denial and distancing promote insensitivity and inaction with respect to racial inequality, dismantling reduces threat by relinquishing privileges. We suggest that interventions aimed at reducing inequality should attempt to leverage dismantling as a strategy of White identity management.

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Background
Measuring Privileged Identity in Educational Environments: Development and Validation of the Privileged Identify Exploration Scale
Watt, S., Mueller, J. A., Parker, E., Neel, R., Pasquesi, K., Kilgo, C. A., Mollet, A. L., & Mahatmya, D. (2021) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2021.620827 · Cited by 5
Racial Identity Among White Americans: Structure, Antecedents, and Consequences
Hunt, M. O. (2020) · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-41231-9_6 · Cited by 5
Strength-Based Solidarity: Shared Strengths as a Novel Pathway Toward Holistic and Sustained Intraminority Solidarity
Pham, M. D., Chaney, K. E., & Garr‐Schultz, A. (2025) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683251392766 · Cited by 5
“Hence, empowered with a common-strength perspective, White women may experience less identity threat and therefore may be more likely to dismantle (rather than deny or distance themselves from) White privilege (Knowles et al., 2014).”
Parent-Child Conversations About Inequality: Perpetuating or Disrupting an Inequitable Status Quo
McLean, K. C., Raihl, L. F., LaFever, B., Park, A., Williams, Q. M., & Gonzalez, A. M. (2025) · Journal of Adolescent Research · doi:10.1177/07435584251322693 · Cited by 5
“We also note that a growing body of research in critical whiteness studies (e.g., Knowles et al., 2014; Mueller, 2017) argues for a different way of looking at strategies such as evasion.”
Perceptions of racism in voter suppression: Testing the Marley hypothesis and a brief educational intervention
Silva, M. F. R. M., Salter, P. S., & Bonam, C. M. (2025) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302241309576 · Cited by 4
“; e.g., Knowles et al., 2014; Rucker & Richeson, 2021).”
Minimization, denial, moralization, and exaggeration: A taxonomy of backlash to transgender recognition and rights
Vandello, J. A. (2024) · New Ideas in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101126 · Cited by 8
Tensions between collective‐self forgiveness and political repair
Wenzel, M., Quinney, B. A., Wohl, M. J. A., Barron, A., & Woodyatt, L. (2023) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.3006 · Cited by 5
It’s a problem, but not mine: Exploring bias-related message acceptance among teachers
Doyle, L., Easterbrook, M. J., & Harris, P. R. (2023) · Social Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s11218-023-09832-9 · Cited by 9
“As such, when confronted with notions of our own biases, rather than expressing concern and showing motivation to change, people are typically quick to deny or distance themselves from their biases and prejudices (Howell & Ratliff, 2017; Knowles et al., 2014; O’Brien et al., 2010 ).”
Diskriminierungssensible Psychotherapie: Wie hoch ist das Privilegienbewusstsein von Psychotherapeut*innen in Deutschland?
Krammer, T., Saase, S., Berth, H., & Kilian, C. (2024) · PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie · doi:10.1055/a-2244-7468 · Cited by 10
The relationship between visual confirmation bias, belief consistency, and belief polarization
Qu-Lee, J. W., Seidel, B., Harel, D., Granot, Y., & Balcetis, E. (2022) · Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/23743603.2022.2026214 · Cited by 5
“Sorry It Took a Pandemic and Multiple Murders to Get Here”: The Impact of Twin Pandemics on EDI in a Predominantly White School District
Coleman, B. R., Beattie, E., Raetz, A., & Wang, K. (2022) · Multicultural Perspectives · doi:10.1080/15210960.2022.2067856 · Cited by 4
“That emphasis may be more palatable than centering analyses of racialized power dynamics because reminders of racial privilege afforded by social structures and systems can be threatening to White individuals’ self-identities and White comfort (Bonam et al., 2018; Coleman et al., 2019, 2021; Knowles et al., 2014; Unzu…”
BackgroundInfluential
Leader group prototypicality and reactions to leader transgressions
Chang, J. W. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302211032284 · Cited by 6
“Furthermore, withdrawing support for an existing leader can potentially spur a change in leadership, which can signal to outsiders that the group will not tolerate the transgressing leader and that he/she is not reflective of the group (Chemers, 2001; Knowles et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluential
“I Realize My White Privilege Certainly Has Contributed to This Whole Experience”: White Undergraduate Sport Management Students Engagement With Racism in a Sport-For-Development Service-Learning Course
Klein, M., Zastoupil, G. J., & Evanovich, J. M. (2023) · Sociology of Sport Journal · doi:10.1123/ssj.2022-0034 · Cited by 3
A Black Man in the White House
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.008
Student Perceptions of US College Institutional Diversity Efforts and Identity Safety
Wilton, L. S., Salman, H., & Adams, N. (2026) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.70054 · Cited by 3
From the perspective of the Construal Level Theory: Examining the effect of psychological distance on system justification
Scarci, F., Bonora, M., Cristofaro, V. D., Pellegrini, V., & Giacomantonio, M. (2026) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.70047 · Cited by 3
“Our findings also speak to the broader literature on group status and political conservatism as motivated resistance to change and to challenges to the status quo (Jost et al., 2003; Knowles et al., 2014; Napier & Jost, 2008).”
Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: A Case Study for Inter-Minority Group Relations and Policy
Alt, N. P., Cho, S., Wong, S., & Youngs, K. (2025) · Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1177/23727322251405864 · Cited by 3
“White Americans frequently deny or dismiss their privilege (Knowles et al., 2014; Phillips & Lowery, 2018), even to the point of perceiving growing reverse racial discrimination (Norton & Sommers, 2011).”
The Prevalence and Correlates of Residential School Denialism in Canada
Beauvais, E., & Williamson, M. (2025) · Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique · doi:10.1017/s0008423925100899 · Cited by 3
“…denying historical injustices can assuage uncomfortable emotions such as guilt or shame or fear that the settler status quo is insecure (Iyer, Leach and Pedersen, 2004; Knowles et al., 2014; Maracle, 2017; Rotella and Richeson, 2013; Tuck and Wayne Yang, 2012; Wohl, Branscombe and Klar, 2006).”
Expressive Suppression in Response to Discrimination: Examining Its Motivational Antecedents and Consequences for Black Individuals
Green, D. J.-A., & Klein, N. D. (2025) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.70097 · Cited by 3
The line from systemic inequities to microaggressions for K-12 culturally diverse students: A systematic literature review
Arnette, S. A. (2025) · Equity in Education & Society · doi:10.1177/27526461251360429 · Cited by 3
Black Poverty Leads White Americans to Blame Racial Inequality on Black Americans Themselves
Sommet, N., & Payne, B. K. (2025) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506251329122 · Cited by 3
“Such internal attributions can be a way to deflect feelings of undeserved privilege (Knowles et al., 2014) and mitigate negative self-conscious emotions associated with benefiting from racial inequality (Ford et al., 2022).”
A Relational Approach to Coalitions: Pragmatic and Communal Interracial Coalitions
Orhan, I., & Craig, M. A. (2025) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/sipr.70001 · Cited by 4
Women underrepresented or men overrepresented? Framing influences women's affective and behavioral responses to gender gap in political leadership
Liaquat, U., Heilman, M. E., Godsil, R. D., & Balcetis, E. (2024) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104709 · Cited by 4
Responding to Microaggressions: Social Cost of Bystander Intervention Strategies
Xie, T.-Y., & Galliher, R. V. (2022) · Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/00110000221140482 · Cited by 3
“The literature on overcoming White defensiveness suggests that validating White peoples’ efforts and competency (Knowles et al., 2014) and approaching the microaggression nonjudgmentally (Buckley & Foldy, 2010; Sue, Lin, et al., 2009; Watt, 2007) increases White peoples’ willingness to learn and…”
Background
Examining awareness of privilege among midwestern college students: An analysis of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion
Todd, N. R., Blevins, E. J., Yi, J., Boeh, B. A., & Meno, C. G. (2022) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/ajcp.12625 · Cited by 5
Witnessing racism against racial minority individuals online and loneliness among White emerging adults: Anti‐racism advocacy as a moderator
Keum, B. T., Waters, E., Wong, M. J., & Salim‐Eissa, R. (2022) · Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcop.22944 · Cited by 5
George Floyd’s death affected Black and White families differently
Sinclair, S. A., & Starck, J. G. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2115351118 · Cited by 3
The Complicit, the Invisible, and the Forgotten: Critically Integrating Intersectionality Into the Psychology of Intraminority Solidarity
Pham, M. D., Pereira‐Jorge, I., & Chaney, K. E. (2026) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.70149 · Cited by 2
We Could Have Been Worse: ‘Whataboutism’ and Defensive Memory Among Perpetrator Groups
Kendall, J. (2026) · Political Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11109-026-10133-y · Cited by 2
Multiple Identity Construction at Work: An Intrapersonal Identity Network Approach to Intersectionality
Summerville, K. M., Tonidandel, S., Ruggs, E. N., & Traylor, H. D. (2025) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/peps.70017 · Cited by 2
“Even White individuals engage in identity work, such as suppressing racial identity to maintain a neutral, professional image, particularly in race-related discussions (Marshburn and Knowles 2018; Knowles et al. 2014).”
Buckets under a leaky roof: A dual pathway framework of obfuscated anti-egalitarian hierarchies in organizations
Figueroa, A., Osborne, M. R., & Hudson, S. T. J. (2025) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.riob.2025.100227 · Cited by 2
Managing a privileged group identity – Adaption and validation of a German 4D-scale
Schröder, A.-C., & Asbrock, F. (2025) · Measurement Instruments for the Social Sciences · doi:10.5964/miss.16079 · Cited by 2
Attitudes on affirmative action targeted to help Black and Hispanic individuals: The roles of knowledge, race, and perceived discrimination
Umanzor, M. J., Guerrero, D. J. R., Osborne, R., McField, A. A., & Oberle, C. D. (2024) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.12428 · Cited by 2
Contextualizing Fans' Divergent Experiences of Sport Activism through a Social Identity Threat Lens
Dalal, K., & Naraine, M. L. (2024) · Sport Marketing Quarterly · doi:10.32731/smq.333.092024.04 · Cited by 3
“” Reducing the call for racial equality to a political problem is an example of Knowles et al.’s (2014) “dis-tancing”, where threatened individuals act to protect their self-concept.”
Influential
Observers of social media discussions about racial discrimination condemn denial but also adopt it
Sanchez, K. L., Harrington, M., Lee, C., & Eberhardt, J. L. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-68332-8 · Cited by 3
The Effects of Morally Reframed Messages on White Individuals’ Attitudes Toward White Privilege
Deamer, S. K., Sonnentag, T. L., & Wadian, T. W. (2024) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941241265316 · Cited by 2
“Despite strong evidence of systemic racial inequity in the U.S. (Alexander, 2010; Martinovich, 2017), many White Americans are unaware of or tend to deny the existence of White privilege (Knowles et al., 2014).”
Influential
Perceptions of Falling Behind “Most White People”: Within-Group Status Comparisons Predict Fewer Positive Emotions and Worse Health Over Time Among White (but Not Black) Americans
Caluori, N., Cooley, E., Brown-Iannuzzi, J. L., Klein, E., Lei, R. F., Cipolli, W., & Philbrook, L. E. (2024) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/09567976231221546 · Cited by 3
White Students’ Perceptions of the Costs and Consequences of Being Black
Exum, M. L. (2022) · Race and Social Problems · doi:10.1007/s12552-022-09364-5 · Cited by 3
“Given that self-concept and self-esteem are derived in part from the larger groups to which we identify, any threats to the sanctity of the white race will also threaten the selfvalue of the white individual (Knowles et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluential
Children's distributive justice in group context
Danying, J., Yunmei, Y., & Jing, L. I. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2022.02004 · Cited by 2
“…所在小组胜出这一目标就分配更多资源给内群体成员，可能会对个人和所在小组的名誉带来负面影响，因此儿童抑制了他们的内群体偏爱倾向。以往资源分配研究中很少涉及儿童对名誉的考虑这一因素。事实上，在道德规范和小组规范相冲突时，小组的名誉、对小组的忠诚等都是儿童做决策时会考虑的因素 (Engelmann et al., 2018; Misch et al., 2018; Rapp et al., 2019),未来研究可以从这些角度继续深挖不同群体规范对儿童资源分配产生影响的背景条件及相关因素。 4.2…”
Influential
Diversity and Cultural Perspectives
Asnaani, A., Majeed, I., Kaur, K., & Chavez, M. G. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818697-8.00081-9 · Cited by 8
Exploring changes in high school teachers' culturally sustaining pedagogy after training for and implementing an ethnic-racial identity curriculum
Umaña‐Taylor, A. J., Satterthwaite‐Freiman, M., Tan, G., Hölscher, S., Parekh, I., Bhatt, K., & Ramanadhan, S. (2026) · Journal of School Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2026.101574 · Cited by 1
From inclusion to control: structural racism in medical organization governance
Faber, S. C., Wong-Lee, R., Zalewa, D., Buchanan, N. T., Quinn, D., & Williams, M. T. (2026) · International Journal for Equity in Health · doi:10.1186/s12939-026-02910-2 · Cited by 1
“Diversion attempts to reframe justice initiatives as distractions from more pressing matters, portraying efforts to correct systemic inequities as secondary to other institutional priorities [35].”
The potentially insidious consequences of belonging for inequality: associations between university students’ sense of belonging and perceived permeability
Fernández, D., Begeny, C. T., Lizzio‐Wilson, M., & Ryan, M. K. (2026) · Social Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s11218-026-10232-y · Cited by 1
“Moreover, for privilege groups, meritocratic beliefs are a way to deny their privileges (e.g., white people denying racial inequities, Knowles et al., 2014).”
Allyship Motives and Their Differential Associations With Identity and Collective Action
Hartwich, L., & Becker, J. C. (2026) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.70072 · Cited by 1
Twelve misconceptions about microaggressions and how they can appear in clinical practice
Saxberg, K., MacIntyre, M. M., Alftieh, A., Faber, S. C., Lamontagne, G., & Williams, M. T. (2026) · The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist · doi:10.1017/s1754470x25100470 · Cited by 3
No es Nada del Otro Mundo: Dissecting the racial and motivational predictors of the “Latino Vote”
Vega, M., Knowles, E. D., & Napier, J. L. (2026) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.70063 · Cited by 1
Self-citation
The moderating role of collective narcissism in White Americans’ psychological defensiveness to the history of racism
Vu, H. A., & Rivera, L. M. (2026) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302261418031 · Cited by 2
“Because the U.S. history of racism provides an account of White Americans’ past ingroup transgressions against Black people, such as slavery and racial segregation, White Americans can perceive it as a group-image threat and, thus, react negatively (Knowles et al., 2014; Shuman et al., 2024).”
How White people manage the weight of the past: The role of advantaged identity strategies in linking colonialism to current racial inequality
Quezada, E. C., Kende, J., Boiger, M., Hickson, H., Hitschfel, C., & Doosje, B. (2026) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.70054 · Cited by 1
“By conducting individual interviews in qualitative Study 1, we inductively extend on advantaged identity strategies research—only applied in settler co-lonial settings— (Knowles et al., 2014; Shuman et al., 2024) by exploring them in the Netherlands—a former colonial empire.”
Influential
Who Should Learn About Race in School? Lay Theories About the Relevance of Lessons About Race to Students of Color and White Students
Bourne, K. A., Xu, A.-N. X., & Levine, C. S. (2025) · Social Psychology and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506251385618 · Cited by 1
“Many also deny their privilege (Knowles et al., 2014) yet maintain biases (Banaji & Lai, 2019; Moberg et al., 2019; Tuch & Hughes, 2011) that inform their interactions, decisions, and policy preferences (Featherston et al., 2020; Glaser et al., 2014; Kurdi et al., 2019; Shelton et al., 2013).”
Agents of change: the role of health and nutrition female field technicians in transforming rural extension in the western highlands of Guatemala
Lamiño, P., Ceme, R., & Molina, J. A. (2025) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · doi:10.3389/fsufs.2025.1628099 · Cited by 2
Climate Privilege: Defensive disbelief in climate change science
Munro, G. D., Edun, J. F., & Mehiel, N. (2025) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102714 · Cited by 5
White Participants’ Perceptions of Implicit Bias Interventions in U.S. Courts
Lawrence, M., Gittings, K. L., Thomas, S. N., Eerdmans, R. E., Hans, V. P., Campbell, J. E., & Salerno, J. M. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15091269 · Cited by 1
“Even general discussions about bias and inequality can evoke feelings of defensiveness and threat among advantaged-group members (Knowles et al., 2014; Shuman et al., 2024).”

Authors: Knowles, E. D., Lowery, B. S., Chow, R. M., & Unzueta, M. M.
Affiliations: New York University (US)
Stanford University (US)
Carnegie Mellon University (US)
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID: Knowles, Eric D.
Lowery, Brian S.
Chow, Rosalind M.
Venue: Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2014-11
Volume: 9
Issue: 6
Pages: 594-609
ISSN: 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
1745-6924
DOI: 10.1177/1745691614554658
OpenAlex: W2144841272
Cited by: 340
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 35 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4
FWCI: 18.40
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
papers.ssrn.com
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
Keywords: whiteness, White Americans, privilege, denial, distancing, dismantling, racial inequality, anti-racism interventions, dominant group members
MeSH terms: Awareness, Humans, Models, Psychological, Race Relations, Self Concept, Social Identification, United States, White People

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Deny, Distance, or Dismantle? How White Americans Manage a Privileged Identity

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