Dr. Becky Choma

Biography

Prof. Becky Choma specializes in social and political psychology. She joined the Psychology Department at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in 2013, after three years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Plymouth in the UK. She is the Director of the Social and Political Psychology (SPP) Lab.

Prof. Choma’s research investigates psychological and social forces underlying social and political attitudes, prejudice and discrimination, mechanisms for reducing prejudice, and promoting harmonious and equitable intergroup relations. With support from several funding agencies including SSHRC, CIHR, Canadian Heritage, and others, she has studied how sociopolitical ideologies and beliefs, intergroup emotions, and contextual factors facilitate or obstruct positive intergroup relations, including collective action and intergroup contact. She has studied social inequalities based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, diet, and weight.

Most recently, in collaboration with Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff and Prof. Katherine Starzyk, Prof. Choma is studying the potential of social norms to combat intergroup prejudice and foster support for groups who face ongoing social oppression, such as Indigenous people in Canada. This research is also exploring the role of ideologies (e.g. post-colonial ideologies) and intergroup emotions (e.g. collective guilt). Other ongoing lines of research are examining self-objectification, political rhetoric, and how people interact with misinformation. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles or chapters on these topics in collaboration with spectacular mentors, peers, and students, all of whom have shared their invaluable insight and shaped her as a researcher and thinker.

Selected Publications

Da Silva Kasprowicz, G., & Choma, B. L. (2026). Self-objectification and sexual wellbeing among women: Exploring the roles of femininity, heteronormativity, and internalized heterosexism. Body Image, 57. 

Shayegh, J., & Choma, B. L. (2025). Testing the effects of politicians’ inclusive and prejudicial rhetoric towards Muslims on the perceptions and intentions for intergroup contact. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Shayegh, J., Choma, B. L., Cila, J., & Herkimer, J. (2025). Non-Indigenous Canadians’ attitudes toward renaming or removing statues as a reconciliation strategy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/casp.70043. (external link) 

Herkimer, J., Nasser, L., & Choma, B. L. (2025).Non-Indigenous Canadians’ Post-Colonial Ideologies, Allyship and Collective Guilt Predict Support for Reconciliation, Collective Action and Political Tolerance. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 35: e70043. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.70043 (external link) 

Choma, B. L., Cassin, S., Montemarano, V., Piazza, B., & Harrison, C. (2024). Women’s well-being post-partum: The role of self-objectification and self compassion. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. 

Choma, B. L., Sumantry, D., & Nasser, L. (2024). Sociopolitical ideologies as predictors of collective action across liberal and conservative domains: Injustice-based anger, efficacy, and empathy as mediators. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.13054. (external link)  

Shayegh, J., Jagayat, A., Sumantry, D., & Choma, B. L. (2023). Analysing Canadian politicians’ rhetoric on Twitter/X: Analysing prejudice and inclusion towards Muslims using structural topic modelling and rhetorical analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12707. (external link) 

Azevedo, F., Pavlović, T., Rêgo, G. G. d., Ay, F. C., Gjoneska, B., Etienne, T., … Sampaio, W. M. (2022). Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/a3562 (external link) 

Pavlovic, T. et al. (2022). Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Nexus, 1 (3). https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac093 (external link) 

Van Bavel, J. J., Cichocka, A., Capraro, V., Sjastad, H., Nezlek, J. B., Alfano, M., … Choma, B, L. … Palomaki, J. (2022). National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic: Results from 67 nations, Nature Communications, 13, 517. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27668-9#citeas (external link)   (PDF file) PDF

Sumantry, D.*, & Choma, B. L. (2021). Accent-based stereotyping, prejudice, and their predictors. Resubmitted to Personality and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110894 (external link)   (PDF file) PDF

Jagayat, A.*, & Choma, B. L. (2021). Cyber-aggression towards women: Measurement and psychological predictors in gaming communities. Computers and Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106753  (external link)  (PDF file) PDF

Earle, M.*, Prusaczyk, E.*, Choma, B. L., & Calogero, R. (2021). Compliance to COVID-19 Safety-Measures: A test of an Objectification Theory Model. Body Image. 37, 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.01.004 (external link) 

Choma, B. L., Hodson, G., Sumantry, D.*, Hanoch, Y., & Gummerum, M. (2021). Ideological and psychologial predictors of COVID-19-related collective action, opinions, and health compliance across three nations. Journal of Social and Political Psychology. 9(1), 123-143. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5585 (external link) 

Choma, B., Hodson, G., Jagayat, A., & Hoffarth, M. R. (2020). Right‐wing ideology as a predictor of collective action: A test across four political issue domains. Political Psychology, 41(2), 303-322. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12615 (external link)   (PDF file) PDF