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The anti-Asian sentiment in Canada and the U.S during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic centers on perceptions of East and Southeast Asians as “health hazards”, due to their alleged animal-eating habits, uncleanliness, and tendency to spread diseases. In a preregistered study, we demonstrated that for East and Southeast Asians in Canada and the U.S., their belief that society holds the Asian health hazard stereotype was associated with higher distress and lower life satisfaction. No differences were observed between East and Southeast Asian Americans (n = 352) and Canadians (n = 351), as well as Chinese and non-Chinese participants. Importantly, these effects were robust to pandemic- and discrimination-related stressors. We also demonstrated that Asian health hazard and perpetual foreigner stereotypes were psychometrically distinct. Overall, our findings highlight how perceptions of negative societal views, particularly those reminiscent of the Yellow Peril narrative, are uniquely associated with psychological well-being among East and Southeast Asian Americans and Canadians.

We examined whether activating independent or interdependent self-construal modulates attention shifting in response to group gaze cues. European Canadians (Study 1) and East Asian Canadians (Study 2) primed with independence vs. interdependence completed a multi-gaze cueing task with a central face gazing left or right, flanked by multiple background faces that either matched or mismatched the direction of the foreground gaze. Results showed that European Canadians (Study 1) mostly ignored background gaze cues and were uninfluenced by the self-construal primes. However, East Asian Canadians (Study 2), who have cultural backgrounds relevant to both independence and interdependence, showed different attention patterns by prime: those primed with interdependence were more distracted by mismatched (vs. matched) background gaze cues, whereas there was no change for those primed with independence. These findings suggest activating an interdependent self-construal modulates social attention mechanisms to attend broadly, but only for those who may find these representations meaningful.

Objectives: Ethnic first names are a visible product of diversity in the West, yet little is known about the psychological factors that influence naming preferences and choices among bicultural individuals. Method: Participants in Studies 1a (South Asian Canadians; N ϭ 326) and 1b (Iranian Canadians; N ϭ 126) were prospective parents who completed an online survey with measures of naming (consequences of ethnic naming, naming preferences) and psychological factors related to naming: heritage and mainstream acculturation, ethno-cultural continuity. Study 2 participants (N ϭ 211) were parents of an Indian background living in three English speaking countries (Canada, United States, UK). They completed an online survey with measures of naming (consequences of ethnic naming, names as markers of cultural identity, actual naming choices) and psychological factors: heritage and mainstream cultural identifications, ethno-cultural continuity. Results: Across all 3 studies we observed a strong preference for ethnic over mainstream names. In Studies 1a and 1b heritage acculturation and motivation for ethno-cultural continuity predicted stronger preference for ethnic names. In contrast, a preference for mainstream names was predicted by mainstream acculturation and expectations of negative consequences of ethnic names. In Study 2 choice of an ethnic name was positively related to beliefs about names as markers of ethnic identity, and negatively related to expectations of negative consequences of ethnic names. Conclusions: Baby naming among ethnic minorities is a complex cultural decision, reflecting both identity and pragmatic concerns. Implications for studies of acculturation and identity, and future research directions are discussed. Public Significance StatementFirst names are an important part of our identity and can covey a lot of important social information about us, especially those identifying with more than one culture. Across three studies we found that cultural minorities often view names as a way to ensure the continuation of their ethnic cultural heritage, while also being aware that having an ethnic name can have drawbacks in a mainstream Western society.

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