Jenniffer Wong Chavez

My research focuses on intergroup threat and conflict, the factors that contribute to prejudice, and strategies for reducing and confronting prejudice. My current work examines how people respond to perceived threats to their social groups, particularly threats to Whiteness, and how factors such as colorism and cultural similarity shape perceptions of immigrants in the United States. A related line of research examines the psychology of human rights, including how perceptions of who is entitled to fundamental rights vary across social groups and forms of group membership. In particular, I am interested in how immigration and citizenship status shape the extent to which people believe others are deserving of rights and protections, as well as whether certain types of rights are viewed as more universal than others.