Faculty Sponsor: Michael Perez
Live Poster Session: Zoom Link
Sterling Rodas
I recently joined Professor Perez’s lab this semester. My research interest is in the field of cultural psychology, in which culture shapes individuals’ lives. During their time in the lab, they have gained experience, particularly in the area of neoliberalism and its impact on how immigrants are treated in the United States. This topic has become a primary focus of their research, as they are committed to shedding light on the social and economic impacts of neoliberal policies. Outside of this lab, I work on campus for Wes Athletics as a photographer at most home sporting events.
Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to deconstruct the various reasons in which people feel
that Hispanic/Latino immigration is both positive and negative for the United States (U.S.).
In this study, we were interested in participants lay theories of immigration and specifically
whether these lay theories reflected neoliberal ideologies. In total, 111 undergraduates
participated in this study and reported the possible reasons why the United States should
allow Hispanic/Latino immigrants to come to the U.S. and the reasons that the United
States should not allow Hispanic/Latino immigrants to come to the U.S. Our results
suggested that in many of the anti-immigration lay theories participants reported economic
concerns of immigration (e.g., labor force, infrastructure). However, even in the pro-
immigration lay theories participants reported immigrants as positive due to economic
benefits (e.g., cheap labor, undesirable jobs). Overall these results suggested that Latino
immigrants are heavily viewed in economic ways.