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Contact:
Stephen Wright, 604.291.4342 steve_wright@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca

Social psychologist Stephen Wright hopes that his pioneering research on discrimination will lead to strategies that cultivate respect and harmony in multicultural settings. Formerly an associate professor of psychology at the University of California in Santa Cruz, Wright has been appointed an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in social psychology at Simon Fraser University. Wright’s research is unique in social science in that it looks as much at how potentially conflicting groups get along as it does at the origins of prejudice. Most research focuses on the latter.

Wright pinpoints collective identities—the groups with whom a person associates, then analyzes how threats to collective identities can foster an us-against-them attitude. Many social psychologists view this as the root cause of both global and isolated incidents of prejudice. "Exclusion of a subgroup, for example Iraq, from a larger collective identity, say ‘peace-loving nations’, is a key determinant of our willingness to commit acts of discrimination and aggression against that group’s members," explains Wright.

Social and economic instability is one of the fuels that can fan the flames of discrimination, as it can threaten any number of a person’s collective identities, notes Wright. He points to ethnic cleansing, wrangling over banned beef and the invasion of Iraq as examples.

Some of Wright’s work could have important implications for educators. His research indicates that protectiveness about collective identities can lead educators to unwittingly undermine the learning of minority-language children. One way is a reluctance to instruct children in their mother tongue. Wright reveals, "We have strong evidence that school programs that support the child’s development of both strong verbal and literacy skills in his/her heritage language can be very effective in improving their subsequent learning in English."

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