"Past research has focused on demographic and skill-acquisition variables, such as age of arrival and length of residence in the host country, to predict accent strength in a non-native language. The present research investigated the relationships between accent strength and social psychological orientations of non-native English speakers in the United States. Employing causal modeling techniques, this research extended previous work by examining non-native speakers’ identification with the US along with age and length of residence as predictors of both other- and self-perceived accent strength. The research further investigated how accent strength may predict speakers’ perceptions of communication challenges and lack of social belonging. The results supported the proposed model over alternative models. The importance of taking into account sociopsychological factors as both predictors and consequences of accent strength is considered, along with implications for research on the stigma of non-native accents."

"White–Black relations have historically been the defining form of intergroup relations in the study of prejudice and discrimination. The present article suggests that there are limitations to applying this model to understanding bias toward other groups and proposes that a comprehensive view of the dynamics of the Anglos’ bias toward Latinos requires consideration of the distinctive elements of this form of intergroup relations. In four empirical studies, we experimentally document discrimination against Latinos (Study 1), explore the potential dimensions that underlie bias against Latinos (Study 2), and examine the effect of a particular social identity cue, accentedness, on perceptions of acceptance and belongingness of Latinos and members of other groups (Studies 3 and 4). These studies consider general processes of prejudice and identify how particular facets of bias against Latinos can shape their experiences and, taken together, illustrate how understanding bias against Latinos can reciprocally inform contemporary theories of prejudice."

"Whereas past research on nonnative accents has focused on the attitudes and perceptions of listeners, the current research explores the experiences of speakers with nonnative accents. Two studies investigated the role of nonnative accents and their strength in perceptions of stigmatization and discrimination, problems in communication, and feelings of social belonging. Study 1 demonstrated that individuals with nonnative accents experienced two different, but related facets of stigmatization: expectations of stigmatization and problems in communication. Study 2 extended this research by examining the effects of the experience of stigma and communication problems associated with nonnative accents on social belonging in the United States The results showed that speaking with a nonnative accent, but not a regional native accent, was significantly associated with feeling less belonging, and this difference was mediated by perceived problems in communicating."

"The present review seeks to bridge research on accents, stigma, and communication by examining the empirical literature on nonnative accents, considering the perspectives of both speakers and listeners. The authors suggest that an accent, or one’s manner of pronunciation, differs from other types of stigma. They consider the role of communicative processes in the manner in which accents influence people and identify social and contextual factors related to accents that affect the speaker, the listener, and the interaction between them. The authors propose a framework of stigma of accents and possible future avenues of research to examine the social psychological and communicative effects of accents. They also discuss implications for stigma of other types of accents (e.g., other native, regional, and ethnic). Understanding how stigma of accents and communication affect each other provides a new theoretical approach to studying this type of stigma and can eventually lead to interventions."

"A non-native accent—the way one pronounces words differently from the accepted standard—is an important social identity. It is also a prevalent form of stigma. Native speakers show widespread stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination toward people who speak with non-native accents. However, research on the speaker‘s perspectives on accents has been limited. The present dissertation seeks to advance, both theoretically and empirically, a social psychological approach to investigating the role of non-native accents in speakers’ perceptions and experiences. Moreover, it proposes a theoretical model of stigma of accents in communication, which, in addition to the speaker, considers the listener, the contextual factors, and the interaction between non-natively and natively accented speakers.
The dissertation‘s primary goal is to contribute to the existing theoretical and empirical literature on non-native accents in social psychology. The three specific aims include, first, to present and further a theoretical approach and empirical evidence on the speaker; second, to advance understanding of accents as a stigma; and third, to underscore the role of communication in the stigma of accents. Because an accent is a cue for individual‘s out-group status and may lead to either perceived or actual challenges in communication, I consider how accents constitute a unique type of stigma due to their fundamental connection with communication. iii The dissertation comprises six chapters: the General Introduction to the dissertation (Chapter 1), four papers (one theoretical and three empirical; Chapters 2-5), and the General Discussion (Chapter 6). Chapter 2 proposes a theoretical model of stigma of non-native accents in communication, a foundation for the subsequent empirical research. Chapters 3 and 4 empirically demonstrate that perceptions of stigmatization and communicative challenges are important in shaping speakers‘ experiences, in particular social belonging, and examine the role of accent strength in those perceptions. Chapter 5 applies an experimental approach to examine social consequences of having a non-native accent in an anticipated interaction with a native speaker. The General Discussion (Chapter 6) considers other relevant theories and proposes future research directions. Throughout the work, the importance of considering non-native accents, especially from the speaker‘s perspective, in the globalizing world, is emphasized."

"Immigration remains one of the major issues of dispute in the United States (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006). One of its relatively under-explored aspects in the social psychological literature is the stigma of having a non-English accent. I suggest that having a non-English accent constitutes a unique type of stigma, which does not fit neatly into current models. I propose a new framework to study the stigma of accents in communication. This paper seeks to bridge social psychological research on stigma, accents, and communication by providing a model of stigma of non-English accents in conversational settings. I argue that the stigma of accents negatively influences the speaker and the listener and in turn leads to negative outcomes in communication. Understanding how stigma of accents affects communication provides a new theoretical approach to studying this type of stigma and can eventually lead to interventions that address this issue."

"The assumption that one needs flexibility in academic settings to perform well may be wrong when it comes to groups that may be negatively stereotyped or devalued in intellectual settings. Individuals facing identity threat may prefer to enter more structured environments. Such settings provide clear and unambiguous rules and guidelines as to how one needs to behave in order to succeed, and thus they reduce anxiety and uncertainty. Our study used a correlation design to examine whether students contending with identity threat in intellectual settings would rate the importance of structure in a typical class higher than students without such concerns. The results demonstrated that having a vulnerable identity is correlated with a stronger preference for structure."

"Cross-cultural psychological research has demonstrated that the processes once thought universal often do not exist in other cultures or vary among cultures (e.g. Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Almost any phenomenon demonstrated in Western cultures has to be reexamined in other countries, in order to assess its ability to generalize across cultures. Past research has shown that one of the most important distinctions between cultures is how people relate the self to others. In individualistic cultures, people see the self as unique and seek to highlight their distinctiveness from others. In collectivistic cultures, people consider the self as interconnected with other people; collectivists look for harmony with the goal to fit in with others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The present research was designed to examine how people from collectivistic and individualistic cultures might approach competition in different ways. Recently, Windschitl, Kruger and Simms (2003) suggested that people show egocentrism and focalism when making predictions about likelihood of winning in various competitions. Egocentrism refers to the general salience of the self, and focalism - to focusing on one outcome of an event and ignoring its alternatives. Due to these mechanisms, people ignore shared benefits and adversities that by definition affect everyone equally, and think that those effects will have a larger influence on them than on others. However, this effect has not been studied in other cultures. The present research sought to assess whether the level of egocentrism would be reduced in collectivistic cultures, since people in those cultures tend to focus on their relationships with others more than individualists. Five major studies and three revisions were conducted in order to test this hypothesis. The results, though inconsistent, provide some initial grounds for the future research."