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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Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.98.2.224 · Cited by 21,995
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“This insight derives from classic work in attribution theory—in particular, Harold Kelley’s examination of the lay theories, or “schemata,” that embody people’s beliefs about how multiple causes produce an effect (Kelley, 1973).”
Method
White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness
Frankenburg, R. (1993) · doi:10.4324/9780203973431 · Cited by 3,308
Group-level self-definition and self-investment: A hierarchical (multicomponent) model of in-group identification.
Leach, C. W., van Zomeren, M., Zebel, S., Vliek, M. L. W., Pennekamp, S. F., Doosje, B., Ouwerkerk, J. W., & Spears, R. (2008) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.144 · Cited by 1,826 · cited 1×
“Yet if the invisibility thesis is correct, then attempts to measure White identity in any of its possible senses—whether as a mental association between categories of the self and ingroup (Smith & Henry, 1996; Tropp & Wright, 2001), an emotional investment in the ingroup (Leach et al., 2008; Wohl, Branscombe, & Klar,…”
Background
Chronic thought suppression
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Race Talk: Assessing Awareness and Mood After a Difficult Dialogue
Conyers, A., & Stone, M. M. (2024) · College Teaching · doi:10.1080/87567555.2024.2333509 · Cited by 1
“Individuals resist by defending the status quo, denying bias and inequalities, and personally distancing themselves from bias (Knowles et al. 2014; Shuman et al. 2023).”
The Pigmentocracy of Executive Approval
Singh, S. P., & Carlin, R. E. (2024) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/00104140241237464 · Cited by 1
“For example, whites identify with their dominant ingroup to varying degrees and, when confronted with their privileges, may choose to distance themselves from or to dismantle their ingroup identity (Knowles et al., 2014).”
Color Blind Racism in the USA and China: A Comparative Analysis
Chen, B. (2023) · Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences · doi:10.54097/7377kf80
“Research has shown that color blind attitudes contribute to a lack of empathy among white Americans towards ongoing discrimination, thereby perpetuating systemic inequities [3].”
Background
Effects of a white privilege framing and a test of moderators
Tittler, M., Luoma, J., Wade, N., & Wei, M.-F. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04671-5
“D theory (Knowles et al., 2014 ).”
Influential
Perceptions of free will and self-control in a medically relevant treatment recommendation scenario
Alderson, C. J., Hagiwara, N., & Green, J. D. (2021) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2021.1953956 · Cited by 1
“The measurement of Whiteness, or “the attribute of being recognized and treated as a White person in society” (Knowles et al., 2014, p. 594), has been regarded by many as a low salience identity and therefore difficult to measure (Helms, 1990; Knowles et al., 2014, 2009, 2010; Perry, 2001, 2002).”
Background
The Role of Race, Racism, and Group Relevant Social Issues
Stamps, D. L. (2020) · Advances in Journalism and Communication · doi:10.4236/ajc.2020.84010
“In other words, racial identity is not necessarily prominent across all individuals within a group as there exists variability among white individuals (Knowles et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluential
Dialogues
Cohen-Aponte, A., & Sifford, E. F. (2019) · Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture · doi:10.1525/lavc.2019.130006
References
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.012
Appendix
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.010
Policies that Protect the Group
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.007
Who Identifies as White?
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.004
The Content and Contours of Whiteness
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.005
The Future of White America
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.009
Making the Invisible Visible
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.002
The Measurement and Meaning of Group Ties
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.003
The New American Minority
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.001
The Preservation of Whiteness
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.006
The subjectivity of objectivity: The effects of positionality statements on objectivity perceptions of psychological research
Auelua-Toomey, S. L., Reinhart, E. C., & Louis, K. (2026) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2026.104974
This Is America: Examining the Influence of White Privilege and the Propensity to Make Attributions to Prejudice on the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions
Sparrow, J. A. (2020) · doi:10.58809/wpoa2124
Index
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.013
Notes
Jardina, A. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108645157.011
An intergroup perspective on attitude moralization
Leal, A. (n.d.) · doi:10.33612/diss.826387152
Inside a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Process: A Practitioner’s Communicative Experience Navigating Processual and Relational Power Dynamics within YPAR
Stein, L. N. (2025) · Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver) · doi:10.56902/etdcrp.2025.37

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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