I joined the faculty of the Psychology Department at UIC as an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology in January, 2009.

Broadly speaking, my research focuses on developing and testing theories about how people's social identities and group memberships interact with the contexts they encounter to affect their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, physiology, and motivation.

Some questions I am exploring include:

• How is identity threat signaled to people with stigmatized or stereotyped social identities?
• Which cues can be added to threatening settings to make them more comfortable for people who are stigmatized or devalued?
• How do environments signal that their organization welcomes diversity, and how is that interpreted by newcomers?
• Why do women leave Math, Science, and Engineering fields at a much greater rate than men?
• When and why do people support policies and candidates that damage their self-interests?
• Why are interracial interactions often uncomfortable for both majority and minority members?  What can we do lessen that discomfort?
• What are the effects of interracial friendships for majority and minority members?

To learn more about my research and teaching, please explore the links to the left.

To apply for a PSCH 396 (research assistant) position in the lab, please click here.