Photo by Victoria Grima. Source: https://news.umanitoba.ca/from-the-lab-to-the-reserve/
* Product may not be exactly as pictured. :) This picture is from 2017.

BRIEF BIO

Katherine Starzyk, Ph.D., is a Professor in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Manitoba. She is also a Founding Member of the Centre for Human Rights Research and the Centre for Social Science Research & Policy. Born in Poland, Katherine brings her identities as a Polish Canadian woman to her work.

Through her research, teaching, and service, Katherine aims to contribute to social justice. Her research focuses on how to shift attitudes toward past and present human rights issues. In collaboration with students in her Social Justice Laboratory and others across disciplines and sectors, Katherine’s work is multidisciplinary and involves diverse methodologies, including interviews, focus groups, and public polling; survey, correlational, and experimental methods; as well as quantitative, qualitative, and archival analysis. Through this work, Katherine aims to make both scholarly and applied contributions.

Presently, alongside a dedicated team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners and collaborators, Katherine is spending much of her time on the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer. The team’s goals are to:

Understand what reconciliation means to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, on an ongoing and evolving basis.
Respectfully track reconciliation progress using best practices in psychometrics (the science of psychological measurement) and public polling.
Inform policy related to reconciliation, including developing recommendations on ongoing interventions that may be necessary.
Develop and evaluate evidence-based interventions and initiatives to promote reconciliation.

To this project, Katherine brings her expertise in psychometrics, the science of psychological measurement, and intergroup relations, as well as experience managing large projects. Such a tool is one way to track progress toward reconciliation as Canada works to resolve the serious and varied past and present harms perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples.

In the longer term, and with additional funding, the team will also build an international network among those who do similar work.

In collaboration with Dr. Becky Choma and Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff at Toronto Metropolitan University, Katherine is also investigating the role perceived norms and individual differences play in collective action.

Finally, Dr. Starzyk is involved in the Spectrum project, a social policy evaluation collaborative team.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Articles

White, E. E.-L., & Starzyk, K. B. (2025). Psychological factors associated with knowing an Indigenous language. First Nations Health and Wellbeing – The Lowitja Journal. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949840625000439

Efimoff, I. H., & Starzyk, K. B. (2025). A mixed methods investigation of Indigenous university students’ experiences with and strategies to challenge racism. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000734

Efimoff, I. H., & Starzyk, K. B. (2024). An example of embedding Indigenous research approaches into social psychology: A mixed methods program of research to reduce anti-Indigenous prejudice. SAGE Research Methods Cases: Diversifying and Decolonizing Research Case Studies. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529683400

Starzyk, K. B.1, Efimoff, I. 1, Neufeld, K. H. S., Woolford, A., Fontaine, A. S. M., Young, J., Bunt, A., Trickey, J., Sinclair, S., & Muller, A. (2024, June 25). The influence of Survivor stories and a virtual reality representation of a Residential School on reconciliation in Canada. In R. P. Eibach, S. Eidelman, & J. Friesen (Eds.), The political psychology of social change [Special issue]. Social Justice and Political Psychology Section, Frontiers in Social Psychology, 2. 1 = shared first author. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsps.2024.1346101

Efimoff, I. H., & Starzyk, K. B. (2023). The impact of learning about historical and current injustices, individual racism, and systemic racism on anti-Indigenous racism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2987

Woolford, A., Starzyk, K. B., Sinclair, S., Muller, A., & MacDonald, D. (2022). “I definitely felt like I was there”: Enacting empathy and negotiating a virtual reality Indian Residential School. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F11771801221117561 (open access)

Neufeld, K. H. S., Starzyk. K. B., Boese, G. D., Efimoff, I. H., & Wright, S. (2021). “The more you know”: Critical historical knowledge about Indian Residential Schools increases non-Indigenous Canadians’ empathy for Indigenous Peoples. Political Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12783 [KS1]

Starzyk, K. B., Neufeld, K. H. S., Gaucher, D., Quesnel, M., Fontaine, A. S. M., Vorauer, J. D., & Yakubovich, A.(2021). “Is water a human right?”: Priming water as a human right increases support for government action. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 12(3), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2021.12.3.9342

Starzyk, K. B., Fontaine, A. S. M., Strand, L. K., & Neufeld, K. H. S. (2021). Attitudes toward reconciliation in Canada: Relationships with connectedness to nature, animal-human continuity, and moral expansiveness. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science. Advance Online Publication. Https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000248

Neufeld, K. H. S., Starzyk, K. B., & Boese, G. D. B. D. (2020). The effects of potential benefit on support for reparations for intergroup harm. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000464

El-Gabalawy, R. M., Mackenzie, C. S., Starzyk, K. B., & Sommer, J. L. (2020). Understanding the relationship between traumatic suffering, posttraumatic growth, and prosocial variables. Journal of American College Health. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1705841

Neufeld, K. H. S., Funk, L. M., Starzyk, K. B., Gorea, M. I., & Dansereau, L. (2019). Barriers to and strategies for engaging non-Indigenous Canadians in fulfilling First Nations water rights: A qualitative inquiry. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 10(3), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2019.10.3.8291 (open access)

Neufeld, K. H. S., Starzyk, K. B., & Gaucher, D. (2019). Political solidarity: A theory and a measure. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(2), 726–765. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i2.1058 (open access)

Starzyk, K. B., Neufeld, K. H. S., El-Gabalawy, R. M., & Boese, G. D. B. (2019). The case for and causes of intraminority solidarity in support for reparations: Evidence from community and student samples in Canada. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(2), 620-650. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.673 (open access)

Neufeld, K. H. S., Gaucher, D., Starzyk, K. B., & Boese, G. D. B. (2019). How feeling connected to one’s own community can increase support for addressing injustice impacting outgroup communities. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22(4), 530-548. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430217749881

Mackenzie, C. S., Karaoylas, E., & Starzyk, K. B. (2018). Changes in eudaimonia across the lifespan: A cross-sectional comparison of younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 2465–2487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9932-4

Boese, G. D. B., Neufeld, K. H. S., & Starzyk, K. B. (2017). The validity of self-report measures in assessing historical knowledge: The case of Canada’s Residential Schools. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2017.8.3.3 (open access)

Starzyk, K. B., Fabrigar, L. R., Soryal, A. S., & Fanning, J. J. (2009). A painful reminder: The role of level and salience of attitude importance in cognitive dissonance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(1), 126–137. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0146167208325613

Starzyk, K. B., & Ross, M. (2008). A tarnished silver lining: Victim suffering and support for reparations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(3), 366-380. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0146167207311280

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

Starzyk, K. B., Gaucher, D., Boese, G. D. B., & Neufeld, K. H. (2014). Framing reparation claims for crimes against humanity: A social-psychological perspective. In. J. Wemmers (Ed.), Reparations for victims of crimes against humanity. The healing role of reparation (pp. 113–125). London: Routledge.

Starzyk, K. B., Blatz, C. W., & Ross, M. (2009). Addressing and acknowledging historical injustices. In J. T. Jost, A. C. Kay, & H. Thorisdottir (Eds.), Social and psychological bases of ideology and system justification (pp. 463-479). New York: Oxford University Press.

Other Publications

Fontaine, A. S. M., & Starzyk, K. B. (2021, August 10). Extending our understanding of reconciliation in Canada: The importance of our relationship with the natural world. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/people-who-feel-more-connected-to-the-natural-world-are-more-likely-to-support-reconciliation-164753?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton

Fontaine, A. S. M., Hunter, S., Roos, L., & Starzyk, K. (2020, November). Advancing substantive equality when working with Indigenous families. Psynopsis: Canada’s Psychology Magazine, 42(4), 8-9. https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Psynopsis/2020-Vol42-4/index.html#p=1 [national newsletter]

Starzyk, K., Moran, R., Sekwan Fontaine, L., Peachey, D., Neufeld, K. H. S., Fontaine, A. S. M., & Efimoff, I. (2019, December). Lessons learned for psychological research with Indigenous Peoples from the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer Project. Psynopsis: Canada’s Psychology Newsletter, 41, 26–27. [national newsletter]

Starzyk, K. B. (2017, March). Is water a human right? Asking this question leads people to support more government action on First Nation water issues. Water Canada. Toronto, ON, Canada: Actual Media. [magazine article, readership > 70,000]