Psychology

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Psychology.

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A “BAD APPLE” OR A “SPOILED BARREL”?: OBSERVING OVERT RACISM PREDICTS DIVERGING PERCEPTIONS OF RACISM AND RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA
(University of Waterloo, 2019-06-03) Wilmot, Matthew; Bergsieker, Hilary
Blacks and Whites draw different interpretations of the blatant racism that they witness, even when their reactions appear to be identical. Across three studies, we hypothesized that Blacks would endorse the idea that societal racism is unchangeable and pervasive. Separately, Whites would believe that individual prejudice is immutable but rare. In Study 1, we constructed a measure of people’s lay theories of societal racism and established its construct and predictive validity. Blacks who endorsed an entity theory of societal racism were more likely to estimate a high prevalence of racism in the US and expect people who enter into hierarchy-maintaining careers (i.e., police) to become more racist. In Studies 2 and 3, we manipulated the presence of overt racism by having participants read about discrimination in the workplace. In both studies, Blacks and Whites differentially endorsed the two types of lay theories of racism (individual and societal). Differential endorsement of lay theories of racism predicted opposing estimates about the prevalence of racists and reported self-efficacy with regards to pursuing a current goal. All three studies lend an account for why witnessing blatant racism may accentuate intergroup tensions.
Correlates and Consequences of Misjudging Romantic Partners’ Work and Family Priorities
(University of Waterloo, 2023-12-05) Cyr, Emily; Bergsieker, Hilary
Women still complete the preponderance of unpaid domestic labour, even when employed full-time. Conversely, despite lessening pressures on men to provide financially, men have not seen a commensurate uptick in domestic work. I propose that inaccurate interpersonal perceptions between men and women are a key mechanism driving these uneven changes to gender roles. I mega-analytically analyzed the work and family goals of 435 mixed-gender romantic couples in Canada, then calculated women’s and men’s inaccuracies when appraising their partners’ goals. On average, women wanted more egalitarian romantic relationships than men, a gap compounded by men underestimating their partners' desire for egalitarianism. Further, men (especially those who saw their partners as highly feminine) simultaneously overestimated their partners' orientation toward family goals (over career goals) and their career intensity. Women also misperceived their partners, but here expectations were fairly low: Women underestimated their partners' family goals and career intensity. Turning to long-term outcomes, modest evidence emerged that people with inaccurate partners experienced lower relationship well-being within the next two years. Perceiving partners as being generally poor at perspective-taking (distinct from their actual inaccuracy) was the most powerful predictor of both relationship dissolution and worsened relationship well-being. These findings clarify common misperceptions between romantic partners and illuminate the consequences of having—or perceiving you have—a partner who does not understand your work and family goals.
Do Inclusive Norms and Diversity Statements Increase Intended Allyship and Advocacy Against Discrimination?
(University of Waterloo, 2022-09-14) Trickey, Jessica; Bergsieker, Hilary
Many companies signal support for diversity (e.g., via statements and training) yet show group-based disparities, with people of color or women underrated or underpaid relative to White or male coworkers. For White women, who may experience both race privilege and gender marginalization, what factors motivate action against bias, either as an ingroup advocate or an outgroup ally? In a 3 (company cues) x 2 (pay gap) design, 459 White American women with work experience viewed company mission statements and employee profiles containing weak, mixed, or strong inclusion cues. Next, a salary gap revealed either racial or gender disparities, creating an opportunity for allyship or ingroup advocacy. Although White women were more willing to act against the race (vs. gender) gap, this difference was smaller for women who more strongly identified as White. Also, higher conservatism predicted less willingness to challenge any pay gap, but the inclusive norms condition reduced this difference for certain actions (e.g., alerting other managers about the gap). Finally, inclusive (vs. control) norms lowered fear of backlash, resulting in stronger action intentions.
Egalitarian yet Unequal? Gender Stereotyping in Romantic Relationships
(University of Waterloo, 2018-08-31) Cyr, Emily; Bergsieker, Hilary
In three studies (Ns = 225, 182, 378), heterosexual participants reported their career / family priorities, plus those of their romantic partner, in 10-15 years. Predictions for romantic partners’ career / family goals were more gender-traditional than self-reports, indicating an over-reliance on gender stereotypes when perceiving partners. This pattern was stronger amongst those espousing gender-traditionalism in their romantic relationship. In dyadic Study 3, self-reports and partner perceptions were directly compared (e.g., his perception of her goals versus her self-reported goals), revealing broadly accurate predictions about partners, as well as assumed similarity. Preliminary results may indicate higher accuracy amongst gender-traditionalists than those endorsing egalitarianism. Romantic partners play a key role in supporting or hindering each other’s goal achievement (Kvitkovičová, Umemura, & Macek, 2017), with individuals in relationships with goal-supportive partners experiencing greater relationship and life satisfaction (Overall, Fletcher, & Simpson, 2010). Accurate detection of goals is a prerequisite to appropriate deployment of support, so reliable monitoring of partner goals is an essential element in strong relationships.
Intersectional Invisibility: Whose Discrimination Experiences Are Recognized?
(University of Waterloo, 2024-08-27) Denney, Grace; Bergsieker, Hilary; Eibach, Richard
In two studies, diverse Canadian undergraduate samples evaluated vignettes depicting ambiguous anti-Black racism, sexism, or homophobia towards a target individual. Pre-Study participants (N = 226) rated how typical the vignette was of identity-specific discrimination. Study 1 (N = 867) tested whether attributions to identity-specific discrimination varied based on the number of marginalized identities held by the target (one, two, or three). Consistent with predictions derived from intersectional invisibility theory, "prototypical" targets with only a single marginalized identity were seen as more likely to be experiencing discrimination than targets who held multiple marginalized identities. Within discrimination domain, this effect remained significant only for homophobia evaluations, but had a comparable marginal effect for racism evaluations. Participants who held more (vs. fewer) marginalized identities or who had higher (vs. lower) intersectional awareness made stronger attributions to discrimination, both overall and within each domain. Notably, the focal target marginalization (or intersectional invisibility) effect was not moderated by participants' own marginalization, their intersectional awareness, or vignette typicality and harm (as rated during material validation). I discuss the implications of these findings for discrimination recognition, as well as limitations and future directions.
Perceptions of Social Support in Response to Racism: Consequences of White People Validating Versus Reframing Racial Discrimination
(University of Waterloo, 2022-09-19) Campos-Ordonez, Pamela; Bergsieker, Hilary
People of color (POC) commonly experience racism, yet little research examines how POC wish to be supported after instances of discrimination. This research draws on close relationship and intergroup relations literature to theorize which types of social support are perceived as more responsive. In past experimental work (Jansen, Kwok, Ashcroft, Marigold, & Bergsieker, in prep.), White people intended to give negative validation (acknowledging difficulty) more than positive reframing (downplaying negatives) after reading about racial discrimination experiences. The current experiments (N = 435) examine how such responses are received by POC (and Whites). Participants (270 POC, 165 White) viewed realistic Facebook posts where POC shared racial discrimination versus non-racial negative experiences, then rated the supportiveness of validating, reframing, and claimed understanding responses from Whites. POC (and Whites) rated negative validation and claimed understanding as more supportive than positive reframing, especially for reactions to racial (vs. non-racial) experiences. In the racial experience condition, negative validation was perceived more supportive (overall and relative to positive reframing) when participants more strongly attributed the experience to race. Implications for how White people can provide more responsive support to POC who disclose racism are discussed.

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Browsing Psychology by Author "Bergsieker, Hilary"