ISSEP-2025-06

GRANT ID#: ISSEP-2025-06

GRANT TITLE: The Existential Experience of Racial/Ethnic Code-Switching: Implications for Authenticity and Shared Reality

GRANTEE: University of California Berkeley

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR: Nirupika Sharma

CO-PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR: Serena Chen

GRANT AMOUNT: USD $3,000

DURATION OF GRANT PROJECT: April 15, 2025 – April 15, 2026

Description of the Project

Executive summary:

Code-switching (CS) is a behavioral strategy that involves modifying one’s self presentation to fit a dominant cultural context. Two previous studies show that CS can diminish one’s authenticity and is associated with a sense of shared reality with racial/ethnic in-groups and dominant out-groups. Building on these findings, the proposed research aims to examine the causal links between code-switching, authenticity, and shared reality with in-group and out-group members. We will recruit 400 people of color relatively new to the workforce. Participants will tailor generic resumes to a company job ad described as either diverse (low CS-inducing) or predominantly White (high CS inducing). We predict that authenticity and shared reality with in-group members will be lower in the high-CS condition compared to low-CS condition, and shared reality with out-group members will be higher in the high-CS condition. This work contributes to our understanding of the existential challenges faced by individuals traversing different spaces and contexts.

Itemized budget:

Grant funding will cover the expenses detailed below:

• Incentives for participating. An a priori power analysis was conducted using G*Power (Faul et al., 1997) to determine the minimum sample size for this study. Results suggested a minimum of 400 participants to achieve 80% power for detecting a medium effect (f2 = .15, a = .05). Estimating $7.5 per participant, $3,000 total.

The total amount approved is USD $3,000.