Cynthia Willis Esqueda
Cynthia Willis Esqueda ()
received her BA from Washburn University, and MA and PhD from the University of
Kansas. She joined the faculty in 1991 and is currently an Associate Professor of
Psychology and Ethnic Studies. Dr. Willis Esqueda is of Cherokee descent and her
family resides in and around Vinita, Oklahoma. The research of Dr. Willis Esqueda
and her graduate students focuses on the content and expressions of bias against
American indigenous populations, particularly in the legal system. Her current research
work has investigated conceptualizations of and perceptions about American Indian
domestic violence, as well as the ways in which the stereotypes about American Indians
can impact governmental resource allocations. She has also examined biased culpability
assignment for Mexican American criminal defendants and the origins of such bias.
Her teaching includes courses on the introduction to Native American studies, foundational
aspects and current issues in social psychology, the psychology of race and ethnic
bias, and comparative ethnic studies.
Representative publications:
Tehee, M. & Willis Esqueda, C. (in press). American Indian and European American
women's perceptions of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence.
Willis Esqueda, C. (2007). Racial profiling as a minority issue. In R.L. Wiener,
B.H. Bornstein, R. Schopp, & S. Wilborn (Eds.), Legal Decision Making in Everyday
Life: Controversies in Social Consciousness (pp. 75-87). New York: Springer.
Willis Esqueda, C., & Tehee, M. (2006). Legal and psychological approaches to
understanding domestic violence for American Indigenous women. In M. Freeman (Ed.),
Current Legal Problems: Law and Psychology (pp. 257-273). London, UK: Oxford University
Press.