Research

Racial Diversity

The racial landscape in North America is drastically changing: Racial diversity is increasing in many Western countries. While most of the previous theorizing and research has assumed a homogeneous society with low levels of diversity, our research examines the impact of diversity on social cognitive processes related to racial attitudes, behaviors, and categorization.

Publications:

Meyers, C., Williams, A., Pauker, K., & Weisbuch, M. (in press). Bias contagion across racial group boundaries. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-023-00439-4 (PDF)

Meyers, C., Thai, S., & Pauker, K. (in press). Navigating race in a racially diverse environment: An experience sampling study on the daily use of race in Hawai‘i. The Journal of Social Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2022.2159783 (PDF)

Meyers, C., Aumer, K., Schoniwitz, A., Janicki, C., Pauker, K., Chang, E. C., Gaither, S. E., & Williams, A. (2020). Experiences with microaggressions and discrimination in racially diverse and homogeneously white contexts. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(2), 250–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000293 (PDF)

Pauker, K., Carpinella, C., Meyers, C., Young, D., & Sanchez, D. (2017). The role of diversity exposure in Whites’ reduction in race essentialism over time. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 9(8), 944–952. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617731496 (PDF)

Race-related Norms

A wealth of research demonstrates that social norms are critical in determining behavior. In our second line of research, we examine how features of a context (like racial diversity) drive race-related norms and behaviors. Understanding the factors that influence race-related norms provides a unique opportunity to predict and even change behavior.

Publications:

Meyers, C., Williams, A., Pauker, K., & Apfelbaum, E. (2021). The impact of social norms on navigating race in a racially diverse context. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220984228 (PDF)

Meyers, C., Leon, A., & Williams, A. (2020). Aggressive confrontation shapes perceptions and attitudes toward racist content online. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 23(6), 845-862. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220935974 (PDF)

Social Perception

In our third line of work, we investigate social perception processes of typically underrepresented groups. For example, we examine multiracial individuals, one of the fastest growing populations across North America. We examine the malleable nature of racial categorization.

Publications:

Chen, J. M., Meyers, C., Pauker, K., Gaither, S. E., Hamilton, D. L., & Sherman, J. W. (in press). Intergroup context moderates the impact of White Americans’ identification on racial categorization of ambiguous faces. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672231190264 (PDF)

Meyers, C., Gaither, S. E., Remedios, J., & Pauker, K. (in press). Detecting Biracial identity: Perceived phenotypicality is inaccurate. Self and Identity. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2022.2146742 (PDF)

Garay, M., Meyers, C., Remedios, J. & Pauker, K. (2019). Looking like vs. acting like your race: Social activism shapes perception of multiracial individuals. Self and Identity. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2019.1659848 (PDF)

Pauker, K., Meyers, C., Sanchez, D. T., Gaither, S. E., & Young, D. M. (2018). A review of Multiracial malleability: Identity, categorization, and shifting racial attitudes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12392 (PDF)

Other areas of interest

We also conduct research on other related areas on the topic of bias, essentialism, and racial discourse online.

Publications:

Kawakami, K., Vingilis-Jaremko, L., Friesen, J. P., Meyers, C., & Fang, X. (2022). Impact of similarity on recognition of faces of Black and White targets. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12589 (PDF)

Wilton, L., Bell, A., Young, D., Carpinella, C., Meyers, C., & Clapham, R. (2018). Lay theories of gender influence support for Women and Transgender people’s legal rights. Social Psychology and Personality Science. 10(7), 883–894. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618803608 (PDF)

Williams, A., Oliver, C., Aumer, K., & Meyers, C. (2016). Racial microaggressions and perceptions of internet memes. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 424-432.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.067 (PDF)