Intergroup Relations Lab

Dr. Alison Chasteen

Principal Investigator

Alison Chasteen received her BA from Kalamazoo College and her PhD from Washington University in St. Louis.  She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan before joining the University of Toronto. She is a social psychologist with specialized training in aging and cognition. She is a consulting editor for the journal of Psychology and Aging and the Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. She also answers as a reviewer for numerous social psychology and aging journals.

Jordana Schiralli

Doctoral Student

I have two main lines of research in the area of prejudice and stereotyping. My first line of research examines how targets are perceived when confronting prejudice, particularly when prejudice is benevolent. In this research, I am interested in investigating how women can effectively confront benevolent forms of sexism (e.g., paternalistic or condescending attitudes). In a second line of research, I am investigating how racial stereotypes may influence how sexism is expressed toward and experienced by women of colour. 

Veronica Bergstrom

Doctoral Student

My interests lie very broadly in the area of prejudice and stereotyping. My primary research focuses on religious (Christian, Muslim) and nonreligious (atheist, agnostic) group biases and ways to reduce intolerance between these groups. I am also working on projects involving stereotype intersectionality, where I am investigating how intersecting identities affect stereotype content.

Joel Le Forestier

Doctoral Student

I examine people’s experiences and outcomes in intergroup contexts and study how to improve intergroup relations and minimize group-based disparities through intervention. Two specific questions motivate my research. First, how do members of stigmatized groups navigate intergroup contexts and what are the consequences of their navigation strategies? Second, what are the impacts of prejudice on people’s behaviors and outcomes, and how can we reduce prejudice? I consider both the perceiver and target perspectives of intergroup contexts, use diverse methodological tools (e.g., field, longitudinal, big data, etc.) and statistical tools (e.g., multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, etc.), and use open science practices throughout my research process. http://joelleforestier.com

Hannah Gans

Doctoral Student

Broadly speaking, my research interests are geared towards examining perceivers’ ageist stereotypes, while accounting for the target’s race and gender. More specifically, I am interested in how age can either compound or contradict the pre-held stereotypes that perceivers hold about the targets. 

Jaemin Hwang

Lab Manager

I am a fourth-year Psychology Research Specialist undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. My interests lie broadly in the area of bias and prejudice development, as well as how intersectionality shapes individuals’ experiences with discrimination. More specifically, I am interested in how social categories (e.g., race, gender) that individuals belong to and the broader system (e.g., institutional privilege, norms, stereotypes) intersect together to shape adults’ and children’s beliefs and interactions with others.

Project Students and Research Assistants

Lab Alumni

Former Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows

Former Undergraduates