Victoria Esses - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Victoria Esses
Journal of International Migration and Integration
Recent decades have seen an increase in the popularity of international education. Approximately ... more Recent decades have seen an increase in the popularity of international education. Approximately 500,000 international students were in Canada in 2018 and this number is projected to grow. While we know that many international students decide to stay in Canada, we do not fully understand the decision-making process employed by international students regarding staying in Canada or going back home after completing their education. The purpose of this study was to explore how international students make decisions about their post-graduation destination and what factors they see as pivotal in shaping their decision-making process. We utilized a symbolic interactionist approach to analyze qualitative semi-structured interviews with 60 international students enrolled in post-secondary programs in Canada. Our findings suggest that the meaning students attach to staying in Canada varies from obtaining permanent residency to working for a few months upon graduation. We also demonstrate that ...
We examined whether symbolic racism is associated with anti-Black affect or more general anti-lib... more We examined whether symbolic racism is associated with anti-Black affect or more general anti-liberal affect. Across six studies (N = 14,078), we determined that symbolic racism is associated with more positive attitudes toward conservatives and more negative attitudes toward liberals, regardless of the target’s race. While high scorers on the symbolic racism scale show a slight preference for White vs. Black conservatives (d = .15) and White vs. Black liberals (d = .12), low scorers show a considerable preference for Black vs. White liberals (d = .42) and Black vs. White conservatives (d = .50). Lingering questions about the validity of the symbolic racism construct are justified on the basis that symbolic racism does not reliably measure anti-Black affect.
Cognition and Emotion, 1992
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2001
Three studies supported the proposal that one important aspect of contemporary sexism is greater ... more Three studies supported the proposal that one important aspect of contemporary sexism is greater respect for men than for women and that this differential respect has a unique role to play in mediating hiring discrimination, distinct from gender stereotypes. In Studies 1 and 2, participants in a hiring paradigm evidenced bias favoring men on both respect ratings and hiring recommendations. Moreover, higher respect for male than for female applicants accounted for hiring discrimination. Some evidence that gender stereotypes contributed to hiring discrimination also emerged but it was weaker and less consistent. In Study 3, respect was shown to have a causal effect on hiring recommendations for a high-status job. It is suggested that a focus on respect for men and women could complement currently popular stereotyping perspectives on sexism and discrimination.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2004
The present work investigated mechanisms by which Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks can be reduced ... more The present work investigated mechanisms by which Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks can be reduced (Study 1) and explored how creating a common ingroup identity can reduce prejudice by promoting these processes (Study 2). In Study 1, White participants who viewed a videotape depicting examples of racial discrimination and who imagined the victim’s feelings showed greater decreases in prejudice toward Blacks than did those in the objective and no instruction conditions. Among the potential mediating affective and cognitive variables examined, reductions in prejudice were mediated primarily by feelings associated with perceived injustice. In Study 2, an intervention designed to increase perceptions of a common group identity before viewing the videotape, reading that a terrorist threat was directed at all Americans versus directed just at White Americans, also reduced prejudice towardBlacks through increases in feelings of injustice.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1996
Previous research has found that ambivalence is an important characteristic of attitudes toward m... more Previous research has found that ambivalence is an important characteristic of attitudes toward minority groups. In the present research, we determined whether people who are ambivalent toward a minority group exhibit more systematic processing of persuasive messages pertaining to the group than do people who are not ambivalent toward the group. To test this hypothesis, we measured 113 participants' ambivalence toward Oriental people. After a delay, the participants were presented with a persuasive message that contained either strong or weak arguments in favor of immigration from Hong Kong. We examined the effects of the persuasive message on agreement with immigration from Hong Kong, attitudes toward residents of Hong Kong, and immigration-relevant thoughts. In accordance with our hypothesis that ambivalence leads to systematic processing, we predicted first that the strong message would cause ambivalent participants to be more favorable toward residents of Hong Kong and toward their immigration from Hong Kong than would the weak message; this tendency was expected to be weaker among nonambivalent participants. Second, we predicted that the effect of message strength on ambivalent participants' agreement with immigration from Hong Kong would be mediated by their immigration-relevant thoughts. Results indicated support for both predictions.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2005
This research examined the effects of Personal Need for Structure, Need for Closure, and Personal... more This research examined the effects of Personal Need for Structure, Need for Closure, and Personal Fear of Invalidity on information processing during the development of stereotypes. In Study 1, participants read as many group member descriptions as they wanted before expressing group stereotypes. Participants higher in Personal Fear of Invalidity sought more information; they also developed more detailed stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Personal Fear of Invalidity did not. There was a tendency for participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure to develop less accurate stereotypes. Finally, participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were less confident about their stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were more confident. In Study 2, participants were presented with two, four, or eight descripti...
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2011
We use the integrative prejudice framework to further our understanding of weight prejudice, whil... more We use the integrative prejudice framework to further our understanding of weight prejudice, while simultaneously testing the generalizability of this framework. Participants completed measures of implicit and explicit weight prejudice, egalitarian-based nonprejudicial goals, and perceived weight discrimination. In line with predictions of the integrative prejudice framework based on cognitive consistency principles, implicit and explicit weight prejudice were positively related when nonprejudicial goals were low and perceived discrimination was high, and when nonprejudicial goals were high and perceived discrimination was low, reflecting central components of old-fashioned and modern prejudice, respectively. Furthermore, implicit and explicit weight prejudice were negatively related when nonprejudicial goals and perceived discrimination were both high, reflecting central components of aversive prejudice. In addition to supporting the generalizability of the integrative prejudice fr...
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2007
This research attempted to extend the classic cognition study, Neely (1977), to the domain of soc... more This research attempted to extend the classic cognition study, Neely (1977), to the domain of social stereotypes. Neely demonstrated the existence of automatic and controlled processing in the same paradigm and the differing effects these processes have on accessing category information. The current research extended these findings by using social groups and stereotypes as stimuli, rather than nonsocial categories. Participants were told to expect characteristics of the Black stereotype following the prime CHINESE, characteristics of the Chinese stereotype following the prime BLACK, and characteristics of the criminal stereotype following the prime CRIMINAL. These expectancies were true most of the time. Participants then completed a lexical decision task in which SOA was manipulated (250 vs. 2,000 ms). Participants responded faster to semantically related targets (i.e., stereotypes) in the 250-ms SOA condition, regardless of their explicit expectancies. In the 2,000-ms SOA condition, participants responded faster to expected targets than to unexpected targets, regardless of whether or not the targets were semantically related to the primes. When the data from the two conditions were combined, the expectancy effect remained whereas the semantic relation effect did not. Results are discussed in terms of the automatic and controlled processing of social stimuli, and the importance of understanding expectancies in social stereotyping.
Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2010
Sage Foundation Summer Scholar in Residence, 2012 Prejudice, discrimination, and racism. New prej... more Sage Foundation Summer Scholar in Residence, 2012 Prejudice, discrimination, and racism. New prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. press). APA handbook of personality and social psychology: Interpersonal relations. However, work on these forms of prejudice focuses primarily on positive contact experiences. Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (pp.
Disability and Rehabilitation, 2012
Although providing culturally sensitive care is an important element of family-centered rehabilit... more Although providing culturally sensitive care is an important element of family-centered rehabilitation very is little known about providers' experiences working with immigrant families in pediatric settings. The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the experiences of service providers working with immigrant families raising a child with a physical disability. We draw on a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews and focus groups with healthcare and community service providers (n = 13) in two multi-cultural Canadian cities. The findings indicate that healthcare and community service providers encounter several challenges in providing care to immigrant families raising a child with a disability. Such challenges include the following: (1) lack of training in providing culturally sensitive care; (2) language and communication issues; (3) discrepancies in conceptualizations of disability between healthcare providers and immigrant parents; (4) building rapport; and (5) helping parents to advocate for themselves and their children. Service providers also have several recommendations for improving services to better meet the needs of immigrant families. Clinicians should be cognizant of how culture influences the care they provide to clients. More training opportunities are needed for enhancing culturally sensitive care. • Pediatric rehabilitation providers working with immigrant families raising a child with a disability should engage in training and education around culturally sensitive care to better meet the needs of these clients. • More time is needed when working with immigrant families to build trust and rapport. • Clinicians need to be sensitive around gender issues and try to involve both parents in the decision making around the care for their child. • Healthcare providers should help clients to become more aware of the resources available to them in the hospital and in the community.
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
... from the interaction between individuals and communi-ties of different origins; h) foster the... more ... from the interaction between individuals and communi-ties of different origins; h) foster the recognition ... suitable to their prior training and experience largely because of linguistic and economic factors. ... Ethnic stereotypes and prejudice: Al-berta Indians, Hutterites and Ukrainians ...
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
ABSTRACT
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
... DARRELL W. DONAKOWSKI and VICTORIA M. ESSES, University of Western Ontario ... The terms &quo... more ... DARRELL W. DONAKOWSKI and VICTORIA M. ESSES, University of Western Ontario ... The terms "Indians" and "Aboriginals" have their official origins in government documents and legislation dating back to the 1800s (see Valentine, 1992; Waldram, 1986). ...
Journal of International Migration and Integration
Recent decades have seen an increase in the popularity of international education. Approximately ... more Recent decades have seen an increase in the popularity of international education. Approximately 500,000 international students were in Canada in 2018 and this number is projected to grow. While we know that many international students decide to stay in Canada, we do not fully understand the decision-making process employed by international students regarding staying in Canada or going back home after completing their education. The purpose of this study was to explore how international students make decisions about their post-graduation destination and what factors they see as pivotal in shaping their decision-making process. We utilized a symbolic interactionist approach to analyze qualitative semi-structured interviews with 60 international students enrolled in post-secondary programs in Canada. Our findings suggest that the meaning students attach to staying in Canada varies from obtaining permanent residency to working for a few months upon graduation. We also demonstrate that ...
We examined whether symbolic racism is associated with anti-Black affect or more general anti-lib... more We examined whether symbolic racism is associated with anti-Black affect or more general anti-liberal affect. Across six studies (N = 14,078), we determined that symbolic racism is associated with more positive attitudes toward conservatives and more negative attitudes toward liberals, regardless of the target’s race. While high scorers on the symbolic racism scale show a slight preference for White vs. Black conservatives (d = .15) and White vs. Black liberals (d = .12), low scorers show a considerable preference for Black vs. White liberals (d = .42) and Black vs. White conservatives (d = .50). Lingering questions about the validity of the symbolic racism construct are justified on the basis that symbolic racism does not reliably measure anti-Black affect.
Cognition and Emotion, 1992
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2001
Three studies supported the proposal that one important aspect of contemporary sexism is greater ... more Three studies supported the proposal that one important aspect of contemporary sexism is greater respect for men than for women and that this differential respect has a unique role to play in mediating hiring discrimination, distinct from gender stereotypes. In Studies 1 and 2, participants in a hiring paradigm evidenced bias favoring men on both respect ratings and hiring recommendations. Moreover, higher respect for male than for female applicants accounted for hiring discrimination. Some evidence that gender stereotypes contributed to hiring discrimination also emerged but it was weaker and less consistent. In Study 3, respect was shown to have a causal effect on hiring recommendations for a high-status job. It is suggested that a focus on respect for men and women could complement currently popular stereotyping perspectives on sexism and discrimination.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2004
The present work investigated mechanisms by which Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks can be reduced ... more The present work investigated mechanisms by which Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks can be reduced (Study 1) and explored how creating a common ingroup identity can reduce prejudice by promoting these processes (Study 2). In Study 1, White participants who viewed a videotape depicting examples of racial discrimination and who imagined the victim’s feelings showed greater decreases in prejudice toward Blacks than did those in the objective and no instruction conditions. Among the potential mediating affective and cognitive variables examined, reductions in prejudice were mediated primarily by feelings associated with perceived injustice. In Study 2, an intervention designed to increase perceptions of a common group identity before viewing the videotape, reading that a terrorist threat was directed at all Americans versus directed just at White Americans, also reduced prejudice towardBlacks through increases in feelings of injustice.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1996
Previous research has found that ambivalence is an important characteristic of attitudes toward m... more Previous research has found that ambivalence is an important characteristic of attitudes toward minority groups. In the present research, we determined whether people who are ambivalent toward a minority group exhibit more systematic processing of persuasive messages pertaining to the group than do people who are not ambivalent toward the group. To test this hypothesis, we measured 113 participants' ambivalence toward Oriental people. After a delay, the participants were presented with a persuasive message that contained either strong or weak arguments in favor of immigration from Hong Kong. We examined the effects of the persuasive message on agreement with immigration from Hong Kong, attitudes toward residents of Hong Kong, and immigration-relevant thoughts. In accordance with our hypothesis that ambivalence leads to systematic processing, we predicted first that the strong message would cause ambivalent participants to be more favorable toward residents of Hong Kong and toward their immigration from Hong Kong than would the weak message; this tendency was expected to be weaker among nonambivalent participants. Second, we predicted that the effect of message strength on ambivalent participants' agreement with immigration from Hong Kong would be mediated by their immigration-relevant thoughts. Results indicated support for both predictions.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2005
This research examined the effects of Personal Need for Structure, Need for Closure, and Personal... more This research examined the effects of Personal Need for Structure, Need for Closure, and Personal Fear of Invalidity on information processing during the development of stereotypes. In Study 1, participants read as many group member descriptions as they wanted before expressing group stereotypes. Participants higher in Personal Fear of Invalidity sought more information; they also developed more detailed stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Personal Fear of Invalidity did not. There was a tendency for participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure to develop less accurate stereotypes. Finally, participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were less confident about their stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were more confident. In Study 2, participants were presented with two, four, or eight descripti...
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2011
We use the integrative prejudice framework to further our understanding of weight prejudice, whil... more We use the integrative prejudice framework to further our understanding of weight prejudice, while simultaneously testing the generalizability of this framework. Participants completed measures of implicit and explicit weight prejudice, egalitarian-based nonprejudicial goals, and perceived weight discrimination. In line with predictions of the integrative prejudice framework based on cognitive consistency principles, implicit and explicit weight prejudice were positively related when nonprejudicial goals were low and perceived discrimination was high, and when nonprejudicial goals were high and perceived discrimination was low, reflecting central components of old-fashioned and modern prejudice, respectively. Furthermore, implicit and explicit weight prejudice were negatively related when nonprejudicial goals and perceived discrimination were both high, reflecting central components of aversive prejudice. In addition to supporting the generalizability of the integrative prejudice fr...
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2007
This research attempted to extend the classic cognition study, Neely (1977), to the domain of soc... more This research attempted to extend the classic cognition study, Neely (1977), to the domain of social stereotypes. Neely demonstrated the existence of automatic and controlled processing in the same paradigm and the differing effects these processes have on accessing category information. The current research extended these findings by using social groups and stereotypes as stimuli, rather than nonsocial categories. Participants were told to expect characteristics of the Black stereotype following the prime CHINESE, characteristics of the Chinese stereotype following the prime BLACK, and characteristics of the criminal stereotype following the prime CRIMINAL. These expectancies were true most of the time. Participants then completed a lexical decision task in which SOA was manipulated (250 vs. 2,000 ms). Participants responded faster to semantically related targets (i.e., stereotypes) in the 250-ms SOA condition, regardless of their explicit expectancies. In the 2,000-ms SOA condition, participants responded faster to expected targets than to unexpected targets, regardless of whether or not the targets were semantically related to the primes. When the data from the two conditions were combined, the expectancy effect remained whereas the semantic relation effect did not. Results are discussed in terms of the automatic and controlled processing of social stimuli, and the importance of understanding expectancies in social stereotyping.
Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2010
Sage Foundation Summer Scholar in Residence, 2012 Prejudice, discrimination, and racism. New prej... more Sage Foundation Summer Scholar in Residence, 2012 Prejudice, discrimination, and racism. New prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. press). APA handbook of personality and social psychology: Interpersonal relations. However, work on these forms of prejudice focuses primarily on positive contact experiences. Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (pp.
Disability and Rehabilitation, 2012
Although providing culturally sensitive care is an important element of family-centered rehabilit... more Although providing culturally sensitive care is an important element of family-centered rehabilitation very is little known about providers' experiences working with immigrant families in pediatric settings. The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the experiences of service providers working with immigrant families raising a child with a physical disability. We draw on a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews and focus groups with healthcare and community service providers (n = 13) in two multi-cultural Canadian cities. The findings indicate that healthcare and community service providers encounter several challenges in providing care to immigrant families raising a child with a disability. Such challenges include the following: (1) lack of training in providing culturally sensitive care; (2) language and communication issues; (3) discrepancies in conceptualizations of disability between healthcare providers and immigrant parents; (4) building rapport; and (5) helping parents to advocate for themselves and their children. Service providers also have several recommendations for improving services to better meet the needs of immigrant families. Clinicians should be cognizant of how culture influences the care they provide to clients. More training opportunities are needed for enhancing culturally sensitive care. • Pediatric rehabilitation providers working with immigrant families raising a child with a disability should engage in training and education around culturally sensitive care to better meet the needs of these clients. • More time is needed when working with immigrant families to build trust and rapport. • Clinicians need to be sensitive around gender issues and try to involve both parents in the decision making around the care for their child. • Healthcare providers should help clients to become more aware of the resources available to them in the hospital and in the community.
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
... from the interaction between individuals and communi-ties of different origins; h) foster the... more ... from the interaction between individuals and communi-ties of different origins; h) foster the recognition ... suitable to their prior training and experience largely because of linguistic and economic factors. ... Ethnic stereotypes and prejudice: Al-berta Indians, Hutterites and Ukrainians ...
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
ABSTRACT
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1996
... DARRELL W. DONAKOWSKI and VICTORIA M. ESSES, University of Western Ontario ... The terms &quo... more ... DARRELL W. DONAKOWSKI and VICTORIA M. ESSES, University of Western Ontario ... The terms "Indians" and "Aboriginals" have their official origins in government documents and legislation dating back to the 1800s (see Valentine, 1992; Waldram, 1986). ...