Colleen Ward

Colleen Ward is a Professor at the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research and Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington, where she received a PhD in Psychology from the University of Durham in 1977. Ward's research addresses acculturation theory, migrant adaptation, and multicultural identity, with particular attention to how individuals negotiate bicultural and multicultural identities across cultural transitions. More recent work has examined digitally mediated acculturation and the role of digital technologies and social media in the experiences of migrants and diaspora communities, as well as efforts to incorporate Indigenous and Māori perspectives into acculturation science. Ward has also contributed to applied policy questions concerning multiculturalism and immigration, including research on the social and contextual conditions that support successful settlement in receiving societies.