Areas of Study
Research Topics
- Coping with stigma
- Emotion regulation
- Intergroup relations
- Social identity threat
- Stereotyping and prejudice
My research interests center broadly on understanding and addressing the factors that contribute to social inequality by focusing on social identity threat – i.e., instances where individuals feel like one or more of their social identities may be devalued or disrespected. Specifically, my work investigates how threats to social identity including group-based discrimination and stereotype threat shape cognitive, psychological, behavioral, and physiological outcomes that, in turn, have implications for disparities in many life domains. My research simultaneously considers the antecedents of social identity threat and demonstrates the consequences of contending with it. I adopt a multi-level, multi-method (e.g., experimental, physiological, longitudinal, experience sampling) approach to investigate these questions, and to identify strategies that can help members of stigmatized groups manage the challenges of navigating diverse spaces, including those most likely to trigger social identity threat.
Current work in this area examines how subtle situational cues in the environment contribute to subjective experiences of social identity threat including a decreased sense of belonging, which in turn, negatively impact academic performance and satisfaction with school.
In another line of research, I explore the efficacy of different types of cognitive–behavioral coping strategies in mitigating the effects of social identity threat. In particular, I examine the role of different emotion regulation strategies in shaping the affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological outcomes associated with contending with discrimination.
A final line of research explores strategies that mitigate social identity threat in interracial interactions.
