Are you a racialized person who has experienced a change in your personality around non-racialized people? Even if it is the slightest shift, you are not alone—according to a study from the Chung Lab at U of T Mississauga (UTM).

Stella Zhang, a researcher at the Chung Lab, sheds light on how self-identified racialized undergraduate students at UTM experience authenticity and personality expression in their everyday life.

According to the study, a convenience sample of racialized undergraduate students reported experiences that suggest that their personality expression differs depending on whether they are in public or private spaces on a daily basis. For example, participants adjusted their behaviour in public to be more careful, more agreeable and to show more enthusiasm, and the researchers wondered if this was to avoid being viewed negatively, or being discriminated against. Interestingly, when racialized students were in private spaces, or with others of the same ethnic background, their personality expression differed, raising the possibility that they were less likely to adjust their behaviour when by themselves or with similar others, also known as “code switching.”

The study also revealed that racialized people’s experiences of daily stigma, which include discrimination and stereotyping, may influence personality expression and be associated with students feeling less genuine. These students expressed that they were more comfortable when they were not actively looking for racial and ethnic cues to tell them how to speak and how to present themselves. The researchers speculate that having to be hyper-aware can become exhausting over time, and in turn, can affect how one truly feels about oneself and, of course, their well-being.

Results from this study suggest that scenarios like this occur daily, which strengthens the importance of this research. By examining sociocultural factors beyond an individual’s perspective, it offers a first look into a more comprehensive understanding of how and why people are variable in their personality expression.

Where did a study like this stem from? Personality psychology. Personality psychology is a field of research that aims to “develop a more holistic understanding of personality, and people in general,” according to Zhang. But, unfortunately, there is a lack of studies assessing the personality expression of racialized people, especially in Canada.

“Racialized people are historically underrepresented in personality research, so current understandings of personality are incomplete because they fail to account for how racialized people may navigate daily life and interact with social structures in unique ways,” says Zhang.

Personality psychology allows researchers to explore how an individual’s environment can structure and shape their personality. Acknowledging racialized people and their personality expression can help researchers to consider how social identities can affect personality, development, and well-being. Also, it is important to account for these aspects of racialized individuals’ day-to-day lives to get a more accurate representation of people’s experiences in our society.

It is important to note that this study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic when students’ mental health and well-being were likely to be impacted. The results from this study might have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns. Zhang mentioned that “students may have been spending more time at home and around their immediate circle of friends and family … rather than in public where they are engaging with various social structures.” During this time, students were mainly participating in online activities and the findings from this study may not be generalizable, or applicable to the same context compared to if this study was conducted after COVID-19 lockdowns. However, participants in this study followed similar protocols used in personality expression studies before the pandemic, and the results from this study align with past research.

Studies like this one encourage personality psychologists to include diverse people in personality expression studies as they share unique experiences, making our science more accurate, stronger, and informative. Notably, the importance of sociocultural variables is necessary to consider because as Zhang explains “having more diverse contributions will make our questions more applicable to society and will spark advancements in research and science.”

As reported by Zhang, the importance of spreading awareness of this study can hopefully allow more racialized students to “become more cognizant of the ways in which the social structures in their life affect their daily experiences and personality expression in daily life.” With the hopes of this insight reaching many students, the results from this study can hopefully spark the conversation with UofT and their stakeholders to make necessary adjustments, and according to Zhang, “identify ways in which the university can better support racialized students.” Having conversations like this one can help foster a campus environment that is warm and welcoming to racialized students.