Past Graduate Students

 

Maryam Motia

Birth Place/Raised: Iran

Cultural Ethnicity: Iranian (Persian)

Education: PhD candidate, Family Relations and Human Development, University of Guelph

Previous: Masters in Counselling (Specialist in Family Counselling), Iran

Research Interests: Generally speaking, I am interested in positive psychology and its components including social support. I like to focus on immigrants' social network and support, and ways through which social support can be related to mental health, wellbeing, and happiness. I also have a yearning for studying gender issues, similarities, and differences between men and women in their social relationships. The overarching goal of my research would be the empowerment of immigrant women to have more pleasant relationships with members of their networks, specifically with their husbands/partners, that eventually enhance their quality of life. 

 

Stryker Shay Calvez

Stryker Calvez

Birth Place/Raised: Canadian Prairies

Cultural Ethnicity: Métis – French, Cree, Salteaux, Mohawk, Irish/Scottish

Education: Ph.D. (2014), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph

Previous: M.A. Applied Social Psychology, University of Saskatchewan; B.A. Honours, Psychology, University of British Columbia.

Research Interests: I am interested in the application of social theory on sociocultural issues. To this effect, I completed research examining the effects of narcissism and culture on an individual's ability to effectively self-present in an interview situation, explored how knowledge of cultural values and social axioms affects adaption to Canada for immigrants and international students, evaluated Aboriginal support services offered at the University of Guelph and Saskatchewan, completed discrimination assessment of vulnerable populations in the OPS, and worked with Six Nations Health Services to better understand community health. For my dissertation research, I employed alternative methods of conducting cross-cultural training courses with newcomers to Canada.

Sample Publications:

Safdar, S., Calvez, S. S., & Lewis, R. J. (2012). Multi-group Analysis of the MIDA Model: Acculturation of East Indian and Russian Immigrants to Canada. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36, 200-212.

Paulhus, D. L., Westlake, B. G., Calvez, S. S., & Harms, P. D. (2014). Self-Presentation Styles in Job Interviews: The Role of Personality and Culture. The Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Kim Chuong

Birthplace: Vietnam

Ethnicity: Chinese

Education: Ph.D. (2015), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph

Previous: M.A. Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph; B. Sc. Honours, Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Toronto

Research Interests: My research interests include social issues related to multiculturalism and immigration. Specifically, my research explores the mutual adjustment processes in both immigrants and the receiving society, including how immigration impacts the sociocultural adaptation of immigrants and the ideologies, policies and institutes of the receiving society. I also have research interests in health beliefs, attitudes and behaviours concerning health, health care and alternative therapies.

Sample Publications:

Chuong, K.H. & Safdar, S. (in press). (De)Constructing multiculturalism: A discourse analysis of immigration and refugee system in Canadian media. International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Congress Proceeding.

Safdar, S., Choung, K., & Lewis, J.R. (2013). A review of the MIDA model and other contemporary acculturation models (213-230). In E. Tartakovsky (Ed.), Immigration: policies, challenges and impact. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publisher.

Vanessa Hazell

Birth Place/Raised: Toronto

Education: M.A. (2014), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph.

Previous: B.A. Honours, Psychology & Sociology- Wilfrid Laurier University; M. A. Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University

Research Interests: I am generally interested in coping and resilience processes in ethnic minorities. Specifically, I am interested in the internal resources ethnic minorities use to cope with stress, which include such factors as self-efficacy, bicultural competence, and ethnic identity. I am also interested in mental health issues in ethnic minorities.

Sample Publications:

Hazell, V. F., & Clarke, J. N. (2008). Race and gender in the media: A content analysis of advertisements in two mainstream Black magazines. Journal of Black Studies, 39, 5-21.

Colin Scott

Birth Place/Raised: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (link to actual Google Map of Location)

Cultural Ethnicity: Newfoundlander (Irish/British ancestry)

Education:  MA (2015), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph; MA Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland (expected completion, Fall, 2013).

Previous: BA Psychology, Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Research Interests: My research interests are in the field of Political Psychology.  Broadly, I study citizen security and political behaviour in Latin America.  Specifically, my research focuses on how perceptions of violence affect political attitudes, and the social identification of youth gang members and indigenous groups.  Ultimately, I am interested in how these phenomena influence social and political development.  I am also interested in organized crime in the Americas, particularly as it relates to refugeeism and stress.  For my Master's thesis, I investigated how perceptions of violence influence political attitudes in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Sample Publications:

Scott, C., Safdar, S., Desai Trilokekar, R., & El Masri, A. (2015). International Students as ‘Ideal Immigrants’ in Canada: A disconnect between policy makers’ assumptions and the lived experiences of international students. Comparative and International Education. Vol. 43(3), Article 5. Available at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cie-eci/vol43/iss3/5

 

Darcy R. Dupuis

Darcy Dupuis

Education:  MA (2008), Ph.D. (2012), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph 

Research Interests: Darcy is is interested in the unconscious activation of thoughts and behaviour. Darcy's interests include developing an understanding of money's unconscious effects on behaviour and the application of unconscious goals to environmentally responsible behaviour (learn more about Darcy's research at darcydupuis.ca).

Sample publications:

Safdar, S., & Dupuis, D. (2011). Review of D. Matsumoto & F. van de Vijver ‘s “Cross-cultural research methods in psychology.” Journal of Canadian Psychology, 52(4), 325-326. Doi: 10.1037/a0025496

Dupuis, D. R. & Safdar, S. (2010). Terror management and acculturation: Do thoughts of death affect the acculturation attitudes of receiving society members? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34, 436-451.

Safdar, S., Rasmi, S., Dupuis, D. & Lewis, J.R. (2009). An investigation into the cross-cultural adaptation of immigrants to urban and rural Canada using the multidimensional individual difference acculturation (MIDA) model (22-41). In A. Chybicka, S. Safdar, & A. Kwiatkowska (Eds.). Culture and Gender: An Intimate Relations. Gdansk, Poland: Gdanskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.

Safdar, S., Dupuis D. R., Lewis R., El-Geledi S, & Bourhis, R. Y. (2008). Social axioms and acculturation orientations of English Canadians toward British and Arab Muslim immigrants. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 415-426.

 

Sarah Rasmi

Education:  MA (2008), Ph.D. (2012), Applied Social Psychology, University of Guelph 

Research Interests: My research interests lie within the area of cross-cultural psychology, with an emphasis on the psychological and sociocultural adaptation of immigrant youth and families in their new cultural milieu. For my Master's Thesis, I examined the adjustment of first-generation Arab Canadian and Arab youth in the Middle East under the supervision of Prof. Safdar. My results stressed the importance of examining Arab youth to further delineate cultural and acculturation influences, as well as challenging our current assumptions of Arab families.

My focus on Arab families stems not only from my personal experiences (having lived in the Middle East for 8 years), but also because of the rapid population growth of Arab Canadians (sevenfold the general population, the cultural divergence between Arab and Canadian culture, and the pervasiveness of group misunderstanding misrepresentation that has been exacerbated post 9/11.

Sample publications:

Rasmi, S., Safdar, S., Chuang, S. (2012). The relationship between perceived parental rejection and adjustment for Arab, Canadian, and Arab Canadian youth. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 43, 84-90. Doi: 10.1177/0022022111428172

Safdar, S., Rasmi, S., Dupuis, D. & Lewis, J.R. (2009). An investigation into the cross-cultural adaptation of immigrants to urban and rural Canada using the multidimensional individual difference acculturation (MIDA) model (22-41). In A. Chybicka, S. Safdar, & A. Kwiatkowska (Eds.). Culture and Gender: An Intimate Relations. Gdansk, Poland: Gdanskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.

Rasmi, S., Safdar, S. & Lewis, J.R. (2009). A longitudinal examination of the MIDA Model with international students (42-57). In A. Chybicka, S. Safdar, & A. Kwiatkowska (Eds.). Culture and Gender an Intimate Relations. Gdansk, Poland: Gdanskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.

 

 
Lab tag: 
Centre for Cross-Cultural Research