Thierry Devos

San Diego State University | SDSU · Department of Psychology

The issue of ethnic diversity and national identity in an immigrant nation such as the USA is a recurrent topic of debate. We review and integrate research examining the extent to which the American identity is implicitly granted or denied to members of different ethnic groups. Consistently, European Americans are implicitly conceived of as being m...

In academic settings, Asian students are often described as less talkative than White students. We provide an account of this phenomenon based on research on cultural influences on the self, self-categorization, and implicit social cognition. We hypothesized that the classroom context activates a process of implicit self-stereotyping. Asian and Whit...

A sample of 128 undergraduate women reported stronger identification with college education than with motherhood. In contrast, an Implicit Association Test revealed a slightly stronger identification with motherhood than with college education. Implicit attitudes toward college education and motherhood correlated with implicit (but not explicit) id...

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to anti-minority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority group members (European Americans) than among minority group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attri...

In two studies conducted during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, we sought to determine whether the relative ascription of the American identity to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was distinct from attitudinal responses and from associations about racial categories. We also tested the degree to which these associations accounted for voter support....

In the present work, we addressed the relationship between parental leave policies and social norms. Using a pre‐registered, cross‐national approach, we examined the relationship between parental leave policies and the perception of social norms for the gender division of childcare. In this study, 19,259 students (11,924 women) from 48 countries in...

Objectives: Asian Americans are often perceived as perpetual foreigners even when they are born and raised in the country. Such national exclusion is particularly evident when considering implicit biases that reveal American is more strongly associated with White than Asian identity. In the current research, we examined if living in a region where...

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender‐based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental‐leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identifi...

Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of thirteen classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, ten effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prej...

This manuscript contains our responses to several commentaries about the Many Labs Project (Klein et al., 2014).

This dataset is from the Many Labs Replication Project [1] in which 13 effects were replicated across 36 samples and over 6,000 participants. Data from the replications are included, along with demographic variables about the participants and contextual information about the environment in which the replication was conducted. Data were collected in...

The present research tested whether cultural tightness–looseness accounts for implicit associations between American and ethnic identities. Two datasets from Project Implicit were used to assess the extent to which the concepts American vs. foreign were associated with Asian or European Americans (N = 357,961) and Native or White Americans (N = 230...

The perpetual foreigner stereotype posits that members of ethnic minorities will always be seen as the “other” in the White Anglo-Saxon dominant society of the US (Devos & Banaji, 2005), which may have negative implications for them. The goal of the present research was to determine whether awareness of this perpetual foreigner stereotype predicts...

We provide an overview of research on the implicit social cognition of self and identity. We limit our coverage to aspects of the self that emerge when (1) viewed in the context of social group memberships and (2) measured via thoughts and feelings that are not consciously controllable or within awareness. We begin with research paradigms that link...

A robust relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress has been established. Yet, mixed evidence exists regarding the extent to which ethnic identification moderates this relationship, and scarce attention has been paid to the moderating role of national identification. We propose that the role of group identificat...

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to anti-minority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority group members (European Americans) than among minority group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attri...

When studying discrimination, it is important to examine both perceived frequency and stress associated with these experiences, as well as the interplay between these two dimensions. Using data from Latino/a participants (N = 168), we found an interaction effect of the reported frequency and reported stressfulness of discrimination on psychological...

The present research examined whether temporal fluctuations in context ethnic diversity account for current levels of implicit ethnic-American associations. Temporal fluctuations in ethnic diversity at the metropolitan level were assessed using data from four decennial U.S. censuses (1980-2010) and distinguishing three dimensions of context ethnic...

Using a nationally representative sample, the present research tested whether conceptions of national identity differentially predicted attitudes toward bicultural policies among New Zealanders of European, Māori, Asian, and Pacific descent. A series of multi-group structural equation models revealed that among members of the majority group and all...

Prior research documents that Asian Americans are implicitly seen as less American than European Americans (implicit American = White effect). The aim of the present research was to test whether this effect is weaker in more ethnically diverse metropolitan areas. Data from the 2010 U.S. Census were utilized to compute three indicators of context et...

Weapons are implicitly associated with Black Americans. We examined the extent to which this implicit stereotype fluctuates as a function of the ethnic diversity of contexts. Across 351 U.S. metropolitan areas, we tested whether three distinct indicators of ethnic diversity predicted implicit associations between the concept of “weapons” (vs. “harm...

The issue of ethnic diversity and national identity in an immigrant nation such as the United States of America is a recurrent topic of debate. We review and integrate research examining the extent to which the American identity is implicitly granted or denied to members of different ethnic groups. Consistently, European Americans are implicitly co...

This chapter provides an overview of core principles accounting for stereotypes and intergroup attitudes. The first three sections focus on the role of intraindividual processes: the contributions of cognitive, motivational, and affective processes are emphasized. The remaining sections examine how intergroup contexts shape stereotypes and intergro...

The present research sought to distinguish the role of socio-cultural negativity and social identification underlying gay men’s implicit attitudes towards sexual orientation. Fifty gay men completed two Implicit Association Tests. In both cases, the task required categorizing, as quickly as possible, pictures of gay vs. straight couples, but these...

Published studies point to heterogeneity in the relations between context diversity and implicit associations. To rule out methodological variations as an explanation, the relations between three dimensions of context diversity and four implicit associations were examined across 747 counties and 341 metropolitan areas, keeping constant as many fact...

A repeated cross‐sectional design was used to examine whether temporal changes in implicit Black‐weapon associations were dependent on the changing ethnic diversity of metropolitan areas over the course of a decade (2009–2018). Data on implicit Black‐weapon associations were obtained from Project Implicit. Three indicators of ethnic diversity were...

A repeated cross-sectional design was used to examine whether temporal changes in implicit Black-weapon associations were dependent on the changing ethnic diversity of metropolitan areas over the course of a decade (2009-2018). Data on implicit Black-weapon associations were obtained from Project Implicit. Three indicators of ethnic diversity were...

In the context of recent policies aimed at deterring immigration and criminalizing undocumented Latino immigrants, we examined factors predicting implicit and explicit attitudes toward this population. We hypothesized that more positive implicit and explicit attitudes toward undocumented Latino immigrants would be displayed by Latinxs (compared to...

This meta-analysis evaluated theoretical predictions from balanced identity theory (BIT) and evaluated the validity of zero points of Implicit Association Test (IAT) and self-report measures used to test these predictions. Twenty-one researchers contributed individual subject data from 36 experiments (total N = 12,773) that used both explicit and i...

Using a nationally representative sample, the present research tested whether conceptions of national identity differentially predicted attitudes toward bicultural policies among New Zealanders of European, Māori, Asian, and Pacific descent. A series of multi-group structural equation models revealed that among members of the majority group and all...

Approach/avoidance paradigms could constitute an interesting alternative in measuringintergroup attitudes, notably if they overcome one criticism often addressed toward classic indirect tasks: measuring attitudes beyond the influence of cultural knowledge. Using intergroup stimuli and a population likely to be exposed to a similar cultural knowledg...

Approach/avoidance paradigms could constitute an interesting alternative in measuring intergroup attitudes, notably if they overcome one criticism often addressed toward classic indirect tasks: measuring attitudes beyond the influence of cultural knowledge. Using intergroup stimuli and a population likely to be exposed to a similar cultural knowled...

The present research examined whether temporal fluctuations in context ethnic diversity account for current levels of implicit ethnic-American associations. Temporal fluctuations in ethnic diversity at the metropolitan level were assessed using data from four decennial U.S. censuses (1980–2010) and distinguishing three dimensions of context ethnic...

In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attack against Muslims in Christchurch, it is important to examine what psychological factors predict positive attitudes toward Muslims and acceptance of diversity, more broadly. The present work examines how beliefs about national identity predict attitudes toward Muslims and support for diversity in New...

Prior research documents that Asian Americans are implicitly seen as less American than European Americans (implicit American = White effect). The aim of the present research was to test whether this effect is weaker in more ethnically diverse metropolitan areas. Data from the 2010 U.S. Census were utilized to compute three indicators of context et...

We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories....

We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance to examine variation in effect magnitudes across sample and setting. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples and 15,305 total participants from 36 countries and territories. Using co...

We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories....

Weapons are implicitly associated with Black Americans. We examined the extent to which this implicit stereotype fluctuates as a function of the ethnic diversity of contexts. Across 351 U.S. metropolitan areas, we tested whether three distinct indicators of ethnic diversity predicted implicit associations between the concept of “weapons” (vs. “harm...

The goal of the present research was to document ingroup prototypicality effects in implicit associations between ethnic groups and the American identity. Across four studies, we compared implicit associations displayed by perceivers who either belonged to or did not belong to the target ethnic groups. In Studies 1 and 2, African, Asian, Latino, an...

About 70% of more than half a million Implicit Association Tests completed by citizens of 34 countries revealed expected implicit stereotypes associating science with males more than with females. We discovered that nation-level implicit stereotypes predicted nation-level sex differences in 8th-grade science and mathematics achievement. Self-report...

The university participant pool is a key resource for behavioral research, and data quality is believed to vary over the course of the academic semester. This crowdsourced project examined time of semester variation in 10 known effects, 10 individual differences, and 3 data quality indicators over the course of the academic semester in 20 participa...

Many Labs 3 is a crowdsourced project that systematically evaluated time-of-semester effects across many participant pools. See the Wiki for a table of contents of files and to download the manuscript.

Implicit preferences are malleable, but does that change last? We tested 9 interventions (8 real and 1 sham) to reduce implicit racial preferences over time. In 2 studies with a total of 6,321 participants, all 9 interventions immediately reduced implicit preferences. However, none were effective after a delay of several hours to several days. We a...

Implicit preferences are malleable, but does that change last? We tested nine interventions (eight real and one sham) to reduce implicit racial preferences over time. In two studies with a total of 6,321 participants, all nine interventions immediately reduced implicit preferences. However, none were effective after a delay of several hours to seve...

Based on Schwartz's (1992) theory of human values, we hypothesized that the level of trust in institutions should be related to the extent to which individuals cherish values linked to conservation vs. openness to change. We tested the stability of these relations across eleven European countries and between two versions of the Portrait Value Quest...

Social psychology instructors from five distinct state universities in California examined the effect of incorporating the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in a teaching module on students’ perceived knowledge of implicit biases and motivation to control prejudice. Students (N = 258) completed a knowledge survey on prejudice, stereotypes, and discri...

We live in a world defined by cultural diversity, and, thus, multicultural experiences and identities have become a regular component of many individuals’ lives. The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity: Basic and Applied Psychological Perspectives, which consists of 22 chapters written by some of the most accomplished scholars on the topic, r...

Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice –...

While direct replications such as the “Many Labs” project are extremely valuable in testing the reliability of published findings across laboratories, they reflect the common reliance in psychology on single vignettes or stimuli, which limits the scope of the conclusions that can be reached. New experimental tools and statistical techniques make it...

The present research sought to distinguish the role of sociocultural negativity and social identification underlying gay men’s implicit attitudes towards sexual orientation. Fifty gay men completed two Implicit Association Tests. In both cases, the task required cat- egorising, as quickly as possible, pictures of gay vs. straight couples, but these...

This dataset is from the Many Labs Replication Project [1] in which 13 effects were replicated across 36 samples and over 6,000 participants. Data from the replications are included, along with demographic variables about the participants and contextual information about the environment in which the replication was conducted. Data were collected in...

In this chapter, we explore the relevance of the implicit social cognition framework to research on multicultural identities. We posit that self-related mental processes underlying multicultural identities often operate at a largely automatic or non-conscious level. We propose a conceptualization of implicit multicultural identities as associative...

Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice –...

Although a greater degree of personal obesity is associated with weaker negativity toward overweight people on both explicit (i.e., self-report) and implicit (i.e., indirect behavioral) measures, overweight people still prefer thin people on average. We investigated whether the national and cultural context - particularly the national prevalence of...

A robust relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress has been established. Yet, mixed evidence exists regarding the extent to which ethnic identification moderates this relationship, and scarce attention has been paid to the moderating role of national identification. We propose that the role of group identificat...

Against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential election, we examined the extent to which the American identity was implicitly and explicitly associated with Barack Obama compared to Tony Blair (Study 1), Hillary Clinton (Study 2), and John McCain (Studies 3 and 4). When conscious control was relatively limited and targets were categorized based on r...

The goal of this article was to show how structural equation modelling associated to multilevel regressions represents a powerful tool to examine innovative cross-cultural research questions. The relationship between values and trust in institutions was investigated in four cross-cultural datasets: three were students and teacher samples; the last...

When studying discrimination, it is important to examine both perceived frequency and stress associated with these experiences, as well as the interplay between these two dimensions. Using data from Latino/a participants (N = 168), we found an interaction effect of the reported frequency and reported stressfulness of discrimination on psychological...

The human ability for self-awareness and self-reflection is so unique that tapping it as a primary source of information about mind and social behavior has come at the expense of confronting the severe problems of the knower also being the known and of using introspection as the primary path to discovery. In this chapter, we argue that at least one...

It is common to observe an asymmetry in judgements of intragroup variability: sometimes the outgroup is perceived as being more homogeneous than the ingroup, while the opposite is true at other times. A review of the literature on this theme is presented, including information on the techniques used to measure perceived variability within groups. T...

Despite the outcome of the 2008 presidential election, the scientific literature reveals that race and racial attitudes continue to shape how political candidates are perceived and voting behavior. This chapter discusses the multiple ways in which racial attitudes and identity play aubiquitous role in American politics. Blatant expressions of resen...

The perpetual foreigner stereotype posits that members of ethnic minorities will always be seen as the "other" in the White Anglo-Saxon dominant society of the United States (Devos & Banaji, 2005), which may have negative implications for them. The goal of the present research was to determine whether awareness of this perpetual foreigner stereotyp...

Implicitly, Americans of several ethnicities associate being American with being White (American = White effect). Three studies investigated the basis for this effect and tested its malleability. We predicted that African Americans would be included into the category American when they were perceived positively, but would be excluded when they were...

In three studies, implicit and explicit measures were used to examine the interconnections between ethnic and national identities among Latino Americans and Caucasian Americans. Consistently, Latino Americans as a group were conceived of as being less American than Caucasian Americans (Studies 1–3). This effect was exhibited by both Caucasian and L...

About 70% of more than half a million Implicit Association Tests completed by citizens of 34 countries revealed expected implicit stereotypes associating science with males more than with females. We discovered that nation-level implicit stereotypes predicted nation-level sex differences in 8th-grade science and mathematics achievement. Self-report...

The present research strives to identify one possible mechanism accounting for the American = White effect. In three experiments, a sequential priming task was used to examine the influence of Asian or White faces on the categorization of American or foreign landmarks. Process dissociation analyses revealed a stronger automatic tendency to respond...

The authors examined the associations that underlie the orientations of bilingual Latino college students toward family and school. Participants completed, in English or Spanish, 3 implicit association tests assessing their attitude toward family vs. school, identifications with these concepts, and self-esteem. Results revealed a more positive atti...

This research examined the extent to which parenthood and college education are incorporated into the self-concept of college students. A US sample of undergraduates (90 men, 87 women) attending a large and ethnically diverse university completed explicit and implicit measures of identification with “parenthood” and “college education,” association...

In four studies, we investigated the role of person construal on the implicit ascription of a national identity. Participants completed Implicit Association Tests (Studies 1 and 3) or Go/No-go Association Tasks (Studies 2 and 4) assessing the extent to which the concept American was linked to an Asian American celebrity (Lucy Liu) and to a White Eu...

http://implicit.harvard.edu/ was created to provide experience with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a procedure designed to measure social knowledge that may operate outside awareness or control. Significant by-products of the website's existence are large datasets contributed to by the site's many visitors. This article summarises data from m...

Despite notable steps toward gender equality and significant changes in gender roles, women continue to face tension between academic aspirations and the more traditional role of caregiver. The goal of the present research was to examine how this conflict might be revealed through assessments of associations that cannot be consciously controlled. I...

Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that identification with academic achievement among Latino college students was related to the extent to which their ethnic group and significant others were linked to academic achievement. Participants completed a series of implicit association tests measuring the interrelations among academic achi...

Three studies examined the explicit and implicit self-concepts of college women. Participants completed self-report measures and implicit association tests measuring identification with the concepts “college education” and “motherhood.” Explicitly, participants identified more with college education than with motherhood. Implicitly, however, partic...

Contemporary research on ethnic identity, acculturation, and cultural orientation suggests that, at least under some circumstances, individuals can successfully internalize or identify with more than one culture. Previous research on multicultural identity has relied almost exclusively on self-report measures. Using the Implicit Association Test (I...

Intergroup Emotions Theory (IET) provides a framework for understanding emotional reactions to outgroup members deriving from social identity concerns. IET posits that whenever a social group becomes part of the self, appraisals of situations relevant to that social identity may trigger social emotions. Depending on their appraisal of the intergrou...

Six studies investigated the extent to which American ethnic groups (African, Asian, and White) are associated with the category “American.” Although strong explicit commitments to egalitarian principles were expressed in Study 1, Studies 2–6 consistently revealed that both African and Asian Americans as groups are less associated with the national...

Recent advances in research on implicit social cognition offer an opportunity to challenge common assumptions about self and identity. In the present article, we critically review a burgeoning line of research on self-related processes known to occur outside conscious awareness or conscious control. Our discussion focuses on these implicit self-rel...

Institutions contribute to maintaining social order and stability in society. At the same time, they restrain the freedom of individuals. Based on the theory of value structure and content (Schwartz, 1992), we hypothesized about the relations of people's trust in institutions to their value priorities. More precisely, we predicted and found that th...

• The reviewer states that this book (sse record 2000-16933-000 ) is a testimony to the fertility of the social identity tradition. Some chapters review existing research programs, whereas others offer stimulating reflections and counterintuitive hypotheses. Readers may regret that the authors do not provide more compelling evidence to support thei...

Social representations of human rights violations (HRV) were investigated in a questionnaire study conducted in 5 countries (Costa Rica, France, Italy, Romania, and Switzerland). 1,239 secondary and high school students participated. The authors showed that Ss organize their understanding of HRV in similar ways across nations. At the same time, sys...

Investigated the impact of social norms on responsibility attribution. It was hypothesized that an actor would be held more responsible for a negative outcome when adopting counternormative, rather than normative, conduct. Under these circumstances, judging someone responsible consists of casting the negative social value of the conduct onto the ac...

Three studies tested the idea that when social identity is salient, group-based appraisals elicit specific emotions and action tendencies toward out-groups. Participants' group memberships were made salient and the collective support apparently enjoyed by the in-group was measured or manipulated. The authors then measured anger and fear (Studies 1...

Three studies tested the idea that when social identity is salient, group-based appraisals elicit specific emotions and action tendencies toward out-groups. Participants’ group memberships were made salient and the collective support apparently enjoyed by the in-group was measured or manipulated. The authors then measured anger and fear (Studies 1...