Research presentation by Lucy De Souza (UBC)

Speaker Bio: Lucy’s research focuses on understanding inclusive action, mainly describing the broad range of action that people can take in support of people who are marginalized. In this line of work, she investigates the social-psychological factors that may motivate or inhibit people from taking these different forms action. Lucy is also interested in perceptions of and experiences in intergroup dialogue about prejudice from the perspectives of women and people of color. Lucy is passionate about learning intersectional and Black feminist theories, specifically understanding how racial/ethnic identity may distinctively shape gender stereotypes.

Synopsis: What can individuals do to take action in support of people who are systemically excluded and disadvantaged? Given broad definitions of action in the social psychological literature (e.g., confrontation, mentorship, collective action, intergroup friendship), we propose a taxonomy to organize the various actions that one can take in support of marginalized groups. In this talk, I suggest that actions can be evaluated as reactive behaviors that address bias when it occurs and proactive behaviors that increase feelings of inclusion and respect, both of which can take place at the individual, interpersonal, and systemic level. After reviewing our 2 X 3 theoretical framework, I present three empirical studies in support of these distinctions. In Study 1, we developed stimuli to capture our taxonomy and demonstrate that reactive and proactive action are characterized by three indicators: timing, aim, and focus. In Studies 2 and 3, we used our stimuli to compare reactive versus proactive actions’ perceived impact on increasing gender/racial equality and improving workplace culture for women/people of color across contexts. I end with our future directions to both expand these research questions and answer them through fieldwork.