General Academic Background

Cynthia Willis Esqueda received the PhD in Social Psychology from University of Kansas in 1990 (Lawrence S. Wrightsman, Jr., major advisor) and held a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology (Social/Cognitive and Psychology/Law Programs) and the Institute for Ethnic Studies (Indigenous Studies and Latinx Studies. Dr. Esqueda's research interests are focused on the motivations for and cognitive processes concerning "race" and ethnic bias, particularly against America's indigenous populations. Dr. Esqueda and her past and present students maintain an interest in the manifestations of bias at the individual (internalized stigma, self-conceptions, self-esteem), cultural (images, stereotypes, cultural traditions), and structural (law, health) levels. Dr. Esqueda is particularly interested in how race essentialism is manifested in trait attributions and conceptualizations of behavior.

Some current projects were designed to understand 1) the impact of ideology systems on preferences for certain immigrant groups over others and the meaning of preference for procedural justice, and 2) the notion of essentialism and the influence on POC (particularly Latinxs) and perceptions of criminality and culpability. With a team of researchers, Dr. Esqueda has examined the impact of acculturation on dental health status and perceptions of Latinx immigrants and families.

Dr. Willis Esqueda was co-chair of Diversity Committee for Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Division 8 of APA.

Dr. Willis Esqueda is past chair of BRIDGE Committee (Broadening Representation, Inclusion, and Diversity for Global Equity or BRIDGE Committee) for American Psychology - Law Society, Division 41 of APA. She currently serves as chair of the AP Award (Access Path to Psychology and Law Experience Research Award), and is a member of BRIDGE Committee. 

Dr. Willis Esqueda is a past Research Fellow at the Boston University Anti-Racism Research Center.

Dr. Esqueda is Executive Editor of Journal of Social Psychology, the oldest social psychology journal in publication. She focuses on race and ethnicity issues, group conflict, and prejudice and discrimination.

Dr. Esqueda served as the Director/Coordinator for Indigenous (formerly Native American) Studies in the Institute for Ethnic Studies for seven years (1997-2005) and was Chair of the Department of Psychology's Sarata Diversity Enhancement Committee from 2001 to 2016.

She is a fellow of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, SPSP, Division 8 of APA, and she is a fellow of Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA).

Dr. Esqueda and her former graduate student and current colleague, Dr. Russ Espinoza, were honored at the annual 2015 meeting of Death Penalty Focus, an organization dedicated to ending the US death penalty and to equalizing disparities in all areas of the US justice system.

Recent Representative Peer Reviewed Publications

Millar, M., Berryessa, C. M., Willis-Esqueda, C., Cantone, J. A., Goldfarb, D., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Perillo, A. D., Taylor, T. O., & Becker, L. T. (2024). Essentialism and the criminal legal system. Law and Human Behavior, 48(5-6), 597–612. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000576.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Estrada Reynolds, V. (2024). Structural inequality and the COVID-19 experience. In M. Miller (Ed.) The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers. Oxford University Press.

Estrada Reynolds, V., & Willis Esqueda, C. (2024). Xenophobia, prejudice and stigma related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In M. Miller (Ed.) The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers. Oxford University Press.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Gilbert, K. N. (2023). Thinking critically about race bias and culpability perceptions of Latinxs in the criminal justice system. In Journal of Social Issues. Online, open access. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12603.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Sutherland, T. (2022). Language use and the legal implications. Boston University Anti-Racism Research Center. Annual Report on Bigotry. Boston University, Boston, MA.

Willis-Esqueda, C., & Schlosser, M. J. (2021). The implications of threat for blind and constructive patriots and immigration attitudes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.libproxy.unl.edu/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/…

Willis-Esqueda, C. (2020). Bad characters and desperados: Latinxs and causal explanations for legal system bias. UCLA Law Review, 67(5), 1204-1223. https://www.uclalawreview.org/bad-characters-and-desperados-latinxs-and….

Palmer Bacon, J., Willis-Esqueda, C., & Spaulding, W. (2019). Stress, trauma, racial/ethnic group membership, and HPA function: Utility of hair cortisol. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 193-200. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31566392/.

Shepherd, S. M., Willis-Esqueda, C., Newton, D., Sivasubramaniam, E., & Paradies, Y. (2019). The challenge of cultural competence in the workplace: perspectives of healthcare providers. BMC Health Services Research, 9, 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-3959-7.

Cantone, J. A., Martinez, L. N., & Willis Esqueda, C. (2019). Sounding guilty: How accent bias affects juror judgments of culpability. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 17(3). 1-26. doi:10.1080/15377938.2019.1623963.

Willis Esqueda, C; Schlosser, M.J.; Delgado, R.H.; Orozco Garcia, D. (2019), Perceptions of the criminal justice system by minority and majority group university students: The role of ethnic identity. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 17(1), 1-15, DOI: 10.1080/15377938.2018.1512918).

Recent Representative Professional Conference Presentations

Invited Presentations and Colloquia

International

Willis Esqueda, C. (2017, May 31). Keynote address: Intercultural Psychology and Law. Paper presented at the European Association of Psychology and Law. Mechelen, Belgium.

United States

Willis Esqueda, C. (2026, March). Social psychological perspectives on health inequality: Can we be saved? Diversity, Equity, and the Social Sciences Speaker Series. University of Nevada, Reno.

Willis-Esqueda, C. (2023, February 9). Immigration in a time of rising demographic change. College of Arts and Sciences. Loyola University of Chicago. Chicago, IL.

Willis-Esqueda, C. (2021, February 6). Language Use and Linguistic Profiling Issues: Ramifications for Legal Decisions. Webinar presentation for The Constance Baker Motley Speaker Series on Structural Racism and Inequality: Language and the Law. Connecticut Bar Association. New Britain: CT.

Willis-Esqueda, C. (2020, February 21). I see this, while you see that: The impact of psychological perspectives on race/ethnic views. United States Air Force Academy. Colorado Springs, CO.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2019, February 8). Bad characters and desperados: Latinos and legal system bias. In Devon Carbado, S. L. Johnson, & S. Thaxton (chairs), UCLA Law School Symposium: Latinos and the Criminal Justice System. University of California, Los Angeles.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2018, July 21). Reflections on joint appointments in psychology and ethnic studies. In J. Gone (chair), Ethnic Studies and Psychology: Emancipatory Prospects and Cross-Disciplinary Challenges. Paper presented at the annual meeting of Division 45 – Society for the Psychological Study of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Austin, TX.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2016, February 26). Latinos and Factors in Legal System Bias. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Conference Presentations

Willis Esqueda, C., & Parent, S. (2026, April). Influences of racial bias and punitiveness on carceral mental health. Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting. Chicago, IL.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Plant, S. (2026, March). Why should we care? Public attitudes towards mental health services within incarceration contexts. Paper presented at American Psychology Law Society. Reno, NV.

Willis Esqueda, C., Plant, S., & Zita, G. (2025, April). Ideology that facilitates carceral system race disparities in the US. Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting. Chicago, IL.

Willis Esqueda, C., Shogar, M., & Zita, G. (2025, April). How race bias and mental health attitudes predict punitiveness. Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting. Chicago, IL.

Willis Esqueda, & Zita, G. (2024, April 19). Feeling replaced? Effects of essentialism on White replacement attitudes Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Zita, G., & Willis Esqueda, C. (2023, April 20). American identity and implications for replacement beliefs and immigration attitudes. Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Choi, S., Sturges, H. A., Michalski, N. D., & Willis Esqueda, C. (2023, April 14). An ethnicity-inspired approach to studying the stereotypes and perceptions of Latino groups in the U.S. Rocky Mountain Psychological Association Meeting, Denver, CO.

Willis Esqueda, C., & Zita, G. (2023, March 17). Essentialism and modern conservatism: Influences on culpability attributions for race/ethnic groups. Paper presented at American Psychology Law Society. Philadelphia, PA.

Willis Esqueda, C., Zita, Gabriel, & Nguyen, D. (2022, April 21). Conservative Ideology and Race/Ethnic Bias in a Modern World. Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Willis Esqueda, C. (2021, April 22). The Impact of DNA Evidence and Race on Culpability Decisions. Paper presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting, Chicago, IL. Videotaped presentation.

Quiroz, K., & Willis Esqueda, C. (2021, April 22). Stereotyping in a New Age of Conservatism. Paper presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting, Chicago, IL. Videotaped presentation.

Nguyen, D. (2021, April 24). Impact of Race/ethnicity and LGBTQ+ Identity on Well-being. Paper presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting, Chicago, IL.