perez headshot

Efrén Pérez

Professor of Political Science and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
Chapter Member: Los Angeles Unified SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Efrén

Personal Website

About Efrén

Pérez's research centers on political psychology, with specific interests in intergroup politics, group identity, language and political thinking, implicit political cognition, and psychometrics. He has published more than thirty peer-reviewed articles and four books, including Diversity’s Child: People of Color and the Politics of Identity (Chicago University Press) and Voicing Politics: How Language Shapes Public Opinion (Princeton University Press). In addition to his research, Pérez directs the Race, Ethnicity, Politics, and Society (REPS) Lab at UCLA.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Why the Politics of Republican Latinos Suggests They Want To Be White

Commentary,

In the News

"Why Are Prominent Los Angeles Latinos Saying Such Racist Things?," Efrén Pérez (with Alisson Ramos, Crystal Robertson, and Bianca V. Vicuña), The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, October 13, 2022.
"The U.S. Is More Racially Diverse Than Ever. Will People of Color Unify Politically?," Efrén Pérez, The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, August 31, 2021.

Publications

"Voicing Politics: How Language Shapes Public Opinion" (Princeton University Press, 2022).

Brings together the latest findings from psychology and political science to reveal how linguistic peculiarities of different languages can have meaningful consequences for political attitudes and beliefs around the world.

"Diversity’s Child: People of Color and the Politics of Identity" (The University of Chicago Press, 2021).

Examines when and why multiple minority groups become politically unified and how these coalitions fall apart. Explores the impact of America's changing demographics, and argues that this demographic transformation is shaping a new identity for many as people of color.