White people who acknowledge personal white privilege—unfair advantages experienced personally due to race—are particularly likely to support policies combatting racial inequity. However, white people confronted with evidence of racial privilege often deny it extends to them personally. Here, we identify a factor rooted in white people’s everyday, lived experience that may promote their recognition of personal white privilege—experience of disadvantage along another social category dimension. Across six studies (N = 4,865), we find that white men—a uniquely privileged group in the U.S.—who have (vs. have not) experienced social category-based disadvantage (e.g., due to religion) become more aware of the impact people’s social categories have on life outcomes and consequentially more aware of their personal white privilege at work. We discuss how these studies contrast with research showing that white people cite general hardship to deny personal privilege and further illuminate the psychology of everyday white privilege awareness.
