While colonialism and its ethos (referred to as coloniality) continue to exert significant influence in today’s world, social science has largely treated colonialism as a relic of the past, granting limited attention to contemporary colonial phenomena. My research aims to shift the focus from the colonial past to the present. I investigate the social and psychological impacts of coloniality, including its effects on intergroup relations, acculturation processes, ongoing social

practices, and ideological expressions that legitimize present-day social, economic, and political inequalities. In two lines of research, I explore how colonial ideologies: (a) internalize oppression and legitimize colonial structures within colonized (or formerly colonized) groups, and (b) perpetuate colonial structures within colonizers (or formerly colonizing) groups by fueling the denial of colonial injustices. While my work thus far has focused on the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S., I am particularly interested in how (post)colonial and neo-colonial experiences influence individuals’ beliefs, values, and actions in the context of regional and global inequalities. My ongoing work examines how shared prescriptive beliefs, termed “Coloniality Beliefs,” influence preferences for the desired structure of contemporary society across various contexts.

Biography: Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo, from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, is currently an NSF Postdoctoral Associate at Rutgers University, involved in a National Science Foundation collaborative research project with the University of Puerto Rico. This multi-year project examines the impact of colonialism on social identities, collective memories, and ideological beliefs in Puerto Rico. He holds a PhD in Social Psychology from New York University and an MA in Political Philosophy from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. His primary research focuses on the social-psychological effects of colonialism and coloniality, including their impact on intergroup relations, acculturation, and ideological expressions that endorse neo-colonial practices, thus legitimizing current social and political disparities. Additionally, his work investigates left-wing and right-wing populism, political psychological dynamics in the Global South, and broader system-justifying ideological processes.