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Department of Psychology

Faculty

Cynthia Willis-Esqueda   
Office: 336 Burnett Hall
(402)472-3740
cwillis-esqueda1@unl.edu

Research

Dr. Willis Esqueda joined the Department of Psychology and the Ethnic Studies Institute in 1991. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Kansas. Dr. Willis Esqueda is interested in the social cognitive processes of and motivational aspects for social categorization, stereotyping, and discrimination. Dr. Willis Esqueda and her graduate students examine the origins of "racial" and ethnic stereotypes and their influence on the processing of social information and interpretation of social behavior. The ramifications of racial and ethnic bias on legal system issues, particularly for United States indigenous populations, is a research focus.

Teaching

Dr. Willis Esqueda teaches a graduate professional seminar in Social Psychology that provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of social psychology, as well as current research issues in the field. Other courses taught by Dr. Willis Esqueda include Psychology of Racism and a graduate seminar in the Psychology of Race and Ethnicity.

Service

Dr. Willis Esqueda serves as the chair of the Department's Sarata Diversity Enhancement Committee. This committee promotes diversity within the department in general, and within psychology as a discipline. Dr. Willis Esqueda holds a joint appointment with the Institute for Ethnic Studies, where she served as the Coordinator for Native American Studies for several years.
 

Representative Publications

Espinoza, R. K. E., & Willis Esqueda, C. (in press). The effects of defendant and defense attorney characteristics on juror decision making and prejudice against Mexican-Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

Willis Esqueda, C., Espinoza, R. K. E., & Culhane, S. (2008). Effects of race, ses of defendant, and ses of crime on culpability decision making: A cross-cultural examination of European American and Mexican American mock jurors. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 30, 181-199.

Tehee, M. & Willis Esqueda, C. (2008). American Indian and European American women’s perceptions of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 25–35.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2007). Racial profiling as a minority issue. In R.L. Wiener, B.H. Bornstein, R. Schopp, & S. Wilborn (Eds.), Legal Decision Making in Everyday Life: Controversies in Social Consciousness (pp. 75-87). New York: Springer.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Tehee, M. (2006). Legal and psychological approaches to understanding domestic violence for American Indigenous women. In B. Brooks-Gordon & M. Freeman (eds.), Current Legal Problems: Law and Psychology (pp. 257-273). London, UK: Oxford University Press.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2007). The 53rd Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Motivational Aspects of Prejudice and Racism. New York: Springer.

Wunder, J. & Willis Esqueda, C. (1997 - 2005). Native Americans: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Garland Press/Routledge Press. This was an on-going edited book series with Routledge Press.