What Students Need to Know About Names: When the Need to Belong Backfires
Aimed at integrating cutting-edge psychological science into the classroom, columns about teaching Current Directions in Psychological Science offer advice and how-to guidance about teaching a particular area of research or topic in psychological science that has been the focus of an article in the APS journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.
When you meet a stranger, what do you first tell them? Before your profession or holiday plans, you tell strangers your name. We value our names, often more than we realize. We prefer the letters in our names more than the letters that aren’t in our names; we experience a “cocktail party” effect when we hear our name amidst a cacophony of nearby noises; and some researchers have even suggested that we make life-changing decisions on the basis of similarity with our name, such as the above-average tendency for men named Dennis deciding to become dentists and marry women named Denise (Cherry, 1953; Nuttin, 1985; Pelham et al., 2005).
Sometimes, people change their names to blend in with their new group. Monica Biernat, Xian Zhao, and Emily Watkins outline how ethnic minority-group members “whiten” their names to reduce the likelihood of discrimination and increase a sense of belonging. For example, emails sent to U.S. professors received more replies when sent by a Chinese student named Xian who wrote, “You can call me by my English name Alex” than when the same Chinese student did not change their name. International students applying for a teaching position received higher ratings when they introduced themselves as “John” rather than “Jian” (Zhao & Biernat, 2017). Whitening one’s first name increases job interest among both Asian (Luke Zhang vs. Lei Zhang) and African American (Lamar J. Smith vs. L. James Smith) job candidates (Kang et al., 2016). Hence, name-changing is effective at reducing discrimination and increasing belonging.
However, the desire to belong can sometimes have unintended consequences. Although name-whitening has been successful in reducing discrimination, Biernat and her team found that it is also associated with lower self-esteem and a diminished sense of well-being. They propose that if majority-group members were encouraged to learn and pronounce minority-group members’ names, it could potentially reduce the need for name changes. This, in turn, could help minority-group members feel protected from discrimination without experiencing a negative impact on their self-esteem and well-being.
You can bring this cutting-edge psychological science research to life by incorporating the following activities into your classroom. These activities aim to help students understand the implications of name whitening (name-changing) for ethnic minority discrimination and well-being. They will also prompt discussions about the decision to change one’s name. Each activity is brief, taking no more than 5 minutes, and can be done in person or virtually.
Activity #1: Who “whitens” their name?
Instruct students to read the following scenarios depicting two people who face the decision to change their names.
Scenario A: Zhansheng is a first-year student at a private college in the Northeastern United States. His father is a Chinese multibillionaire executive of one of the world’s largest publicly traded e-commerce companies. His mother is also a successful Chinese entrepreneur who has started and sold seven businesses. For safety purposes, Zhansheng has personal security that follows him wherever he goes, including to class. Zhansheng wants to have as close-to-a-typical college experience as any other student. Several of Zhansheng’s Chinese classmates have told him they may use a “Western” name (such as Paul) rather than their Chinese name.
Do you think Zhansheng will change his name to a Western name? Why or why not?
Scenario B: Yuwei is a first-year student at a community college in the Southern United States. His parents are factory workers in China. Yuwei must work as a custodian in the university student center for financial purposes. Through an agreement with his work supervisor, Yuwei is allowed to sleep in an equipment storage room. Yuwei wants to have as close-to-a-typical college experience as any other student. Several of Yuwei’s Chinese classmates have told him they may use a “Western” name (such as Peter) rather than their Chinese name.
Do you think Yuwei will change his name to a Western name? Why or why not?
Ask students whether their responses to the scenarios differed and, if so, why. Remind students that psychological research has shown that Americans often expect immigrants low in status to name-change, compared with those high in status (Zhao & Biernat, 2022).
Activity #2: How to undo the costs of name whitening
Ask students to read the following scenarios depicting a college professor about to take class attendance.
Scenario A: Imagine that you are a college professor about to take attendance on the first day of class. Before you start taking attendance, you ask students to let you know if they have a unique nickname they would like you to call them.
Scenario B: Imagine that you are a college professor about to take attendance on the first day of class. Before you start taking attendance, you ask students to let you know if they have a unique nickname they would like you to call them. Finally, you ask students to tell you how to pronounce their names—even if they are sure you will know how. We all have unique ways of pronouncing our names, and students should feel that you care about their names as much as they do. The pronunciations might add a few minutes to attendance, but it is important to you that you pronounce their names correctly.
In which scenario (A or B) do you think your Chinese student, Jing Chen, is more likely to change her name to a Western name? Why or why not? How might name-changing affect her self-esteem and well-being?
Ask students to discuss their responses with a partner. Remind students that psychological research has shown that immigrants who change their names often experience less discrimination but also report lower self-esteem and well-being.
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Cherry, E. C. (1953). Some experiments on the recognition of speech, with one and two ears. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 25, 975–979. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1907229
Kang, S., DeCelles, K., Tilcsik, A., & Jun, S. (2016). Whitened résumés: Race and self-presentation in the labor market. Administrative Science Quarterly, 61, 469–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839216639577
Nuttin, J. M., Jr. (1985). Narcissism beyond Gestalt and awareness: The name letter effect. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, 353–361. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420150309
Pelham, B. W., Carvallo, M., & Jones, J. T. (2005). Implicit egotism. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 106–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00344.x
Zhao, X., & Biernat, M. (2017). “Welcome to the U.S.” but “change your name”? Adopting Anglo names and discrimination. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.12.008
Zhao, X., & Biernat, M. (2022). Status of immigrants’ country of origin and Americans’ assimilation expectations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 122, 443–468. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000370
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