Hi, there! My name is Elvira (El-vee-rah) Prusaczyk (Pru-sah-chick) and I’m an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX). StFX is situated in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. I recognize that long-standing colonial injustices continue to impact the Mi’kmaq People today, and I am committed to the 6 actions of ReconciliACTION outlined by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, namely, to learn, understand, explore, recognize, take action, and teach others.
At StFX, I teach Social Psychology, Psychology of Gender, and the Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Inspired by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall’s concept of two-eyed seeing (Etuaptmumk), I am currently adapting an existing open-access social psychology textbook to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing. This project is being supported by a 2026 AtlanticOER Development Grant.
As Director of the Prejudice Awareness and Reduction (PAR) Lab, I am inspired by Dr. Kurt Lewin’s foundational principle that behavior is a function of both the person and their situation. Applying this framework, my research investigates how individual and situational factors interact to influence the expression of bias, prejudice, and discrimination. Ultimately, the lab aims to understand how shifting these person-situation dynamics can foster cooperative, egalitarian, and prosocial systems. To learn more about the PAR Lab, visit the PAR Lab page. For journal article references and abstracts, visit the Research page. Psst…while you’re here, meet the PAR Lab Team — past and present!
