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BENJAMIN GIGUÈRE

Department of Psychology, University of Guelph

I am an associate professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. Broadly speaking I am interested in understanding the influence of socio-cultural groups on thoughts, emotions and behaviour in order to foster positive social change. I conduct research aimed at this goal and share my expertise through my teaching and the work my group and I do with community stakeholders.

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ABOUT ME

I conduct research that aims to further our understanding of the influence of socio-cultural groups on thoughts, emotions and behaviour in order to foster positive social changes. My work focuses on issues related to health and well-being, immigration and biculturalism, as well as collective actions. I am involved with projects that aim to advance traditional basic research objectives, and typically yield scholarly contributions such as peer reviewed articles. I am also involved with projects that serve applied objectives, such as in the form of community informed interventions, and typically yield a variety of grey literature report. I have a broad background, which I rely on when I teach introduction to psychology. I also teach undergraduate and graduate courses related to my expertise. I typically also have a small group of undergraduate and graduate students working with me on research projects and other related projects.

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OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH

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GOING TOO FAR AND FEELING BAD ABOUT IT?

Many people struggle to manage a host of undesired behaviours such as binge drinking, procrastination, and wasteful consumption. These problematic behaviours, if left unchecked, can significantly affect the well-being and health of people and the vitality of their communities. One way we determine if something is good or bad is by using social norms that we learn from the socio-cultural groups around us. Part of my research aims to further our understanding of how we derive norms from social group,  how they guide our actions and how we can change group processes that foster social dysfunction.

Sample publications

Davis*, J., Desmarais, S., & Giguère, B. (2023). Under the influence: How viewing extreme partying and drinking on social media shapes group perceptions. The Journal of Social Psychology

Vaswani*, M., Esses, V.M., Newby-Clark, I.R., & Giguère, B. (2022). Cultural differences in fear of negative evaluation after social norm transgressions and the impact on mental health. Frontiers in Psychology.

Giguère, B., Beggs*, R. T., & Sirois, F. M. (2019). Social cognitive approaches to health. In K O’Doherty & D. Hodgetts (Eds), The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Psychology. London, UK: Sage.   

Shifrin*, A. & Giguère, B. (2018). Using group identity and norms to explain prosocial behavior in anonymous online environments. Journal of Interpersonal Relations, Intergroup Relations and Identity, 11, 90-104.

Giguère, B., Sirois, F. M., & Vaswani*, M. (2016). Delaying things and feeling bad about it? A norm based approach to understanding procrastination. In T. A. Pychyl & F. M. Sirois (Eds.), Perspectives on Procrastination, Health, and Well-Being. Toronto, Canada: Elsevier.   

Giguère, B., Lalonde, R. N., & Taylor, D. M. (2014). Drinking too much and feeling bad about it? How group identification moderates experiences of guilt and shame following norm transgressionPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 617-632, doi: 10.1177/0146167214521836.

Female Student

HOW DO BICULTURAL YOUTH NAVIGATE TWO CULTURES?

Bicultural youth have access to two sets of cultural norms to guide their actions. While for the most part these norms offer similar expectations about what is normal to do in situation, sometimes they suggest incompatible course of actions. Part of the work I do examines the experience of normative conflict among bicultural youth. The goals of this work include to understand this experience in order to advocate for bicultural youth and work toward approaches to facilitate the negotiation of multiple normative reference point.

Sample publications

Hou*, S. H., Safdar, S., Newby-Clark, I. R., & Giguère, B. (2023). Navigating parent-child value differences: Capturing strategies used by immigrant parents from the perspective of East Asian young adult children of immigrants. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 97, 101902.

Vaswani*, M., Esses, V.M., Newby-Clark, I.R., & Giguère, B. (2022). Cultural differences in fear of negative evaluation after social norm transgressions and the impact on mental health. Frontiers in Psychology.

Vaswani*, M., Safdar, S., Newby-Clark, I. R. & Giguère, B. (2021). Canadian Identity Attenuates the Negative Impact of Familial Rejection on Psychological Distress. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 81, 142-153.

Vaswani*, M., Alviar*, L., & Giguère, B. (2020). Can cultural identity clarity protect the well-being of Latino/a Canadians from the negative impact of race-based rejection sensitivity? Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26, 347-355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000302

Lou, E., Lalonde, R. N., & Giguère, B. (2012). Making the Decision to Move Out: Bicultural Young Adults and the Negotiation of Cultural Demands and Family Relationships. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 43(5), 663–670. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022112443414


Giguère, B., Lalonde, R. N., & Lou, E. (2010). Living at the crossroads of cultural worlds: The experience of normative conflicts by second generation youths. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 14-29.

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OVERVIEW OF TEACHING

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GRADUATE STUDENTS

I typically have a small number of graduate students working with me. I accept to supervise the work of students enrolled in the Applied Social Psychology program and in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology program. Graduate students I have supervised have received prestigious awards, including the Joseph-Armand Bombardier-CGS Doctoral scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. They have gone on to a variety of careers including academic careers, senior research scientists for public (provincial and federal government and NGOs) and private organizations, marketing, user experience and the practice of clinical psychology


If you are interested in applying to work with me please feel free to contact me.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Students who work with me gain insight into various aspects of applied social psychology tied to my work and have the opportunity to develop their research skills by participating in the research process (e.g., recruiting participants, collecting data, analysing data). Involvement in research also fosters the development of multiple "soft skills", such as team work, project management and ethical responsibility. The skills gained through this experience are thus well suited for students who wish to pursue an honours thesis, a graduate degree, as well as many professions, such as social work, law and medicine. Some students become involved through undergraduate research internship (PSYC*3240; PSYC*4240) or by completing their honours thesis under my supervision.

Undergraduate students who have worked with me have gone on to graduate school, including social and clinical psychology and other disciplines, such as social work, education, law, and medicine. They are now working in a range of careers linked to their degrees or in other career paths, including humanitarian, politics and venture capital. They have also received major awards including master's and doctoral scholarships from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and others. 


Feel free to email me if you are interested in working with me. Please include a copy of your unofficial transcript and of your résumé/CV in your email. Please note that because people who work in my group frequently handle confidential sensitive psychological data I do have a selection process. 

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

I typically teach PSYC*1000 Introduction to Psychology and PSYC*3350 Cross-Cultural Psychology. I also instruct a 4th year seminar PSYC*4310 as the Psychology of Social Groups. This course aims to change how you view the world from a psychological perspective by introducing you to the notion of social groups and their influence on human psychology. Whether they are defined through a shared characteristic (e.g., ethnicity, language) or a common interest (e.g., occupation, sport) socio-cultural groups help people define who they are and provide norms on how members should typically act. Throughout the course, we examine the psychology behind joining and maintaining membership in socio-cultural groups, as well as the consequences, both functional and dysfunctional, of the influence of groups for human emotions, thoughts and behaviour.

GRADUATE COURSES

I primarily teach two graduate courses. PSYC*6920 Applied Social Psychology and Interventions examines social cognitive theories and research in the field of applied social psychology with a particular focus on the design of intervention strategies to ameliorate social and practical problems. PSYC*6930 Community, Culture and Global Citizenship focuses on theories and methods for understanding such issues as community health, poverty and violence, immigration and acculturation, as well as equity, diversity and inclusivity, in an increasingly interconnected, interdependent and globalized world. An important theme of the course is how applied social psychology can theorize and intervene at the intersection of individual and social issues to ameliorate social and practical problems.

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GET IN TOUCH

4007 MacKinnon Extension

Department of Psychology
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario,
Canada, N1G 2W1

519-824-4120 ext 56862

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