About Our Research
The CUSP lab is composed of social psychologists with common interests in a broad array of research questions relating to stereotyping, prejudice, and intergroup relations. Our research explores issues concerning factors that influence the development and expression of valenced beliefs about social groups. It also encompasses work on the consequences of these beliefs for both intergroup relations and public policy issues. Fundamental to our work is a deep concern about the multifaceted nature of group perceptions and the ways in which explicitly expressed beliefs or sentiments may or may not be consistent with those assessed at the implicit, automatic, or more spontaneous level. We are also interested in the ways in which the social positions occupied by perceivers, such as whether they are or are not members of dominant, majority groups in society, influence group stereotypes and sentiments. And finally, we are interested in naive theories or ideologies that perceivers espouse about the different ways in which intergroup hostility might be reduced.
We use a broad array of methods to examine these issues, including experimental laboratory procedures and survey and correlational data. Our measures include traditional questionnaire measures of stereotypes and prejudice, behavioral indicators of these constructs, priming and response latency procedures, and neural measures. We routinely gather data not only from White undergraduate college students but also from a broad array of minority groups and more representative samples. Our ultimate goal is to use a diverse set of research procedures to develop a sound, empirically-based understanding of stereotypes, prejudice, and intergroup relations
Lab members are currently researching social categorization, implicit stereotypes and their moderation, context effects on stereotyping, ideological perspectives on ethnic diversity, interpersonal and intergroup powers and stereotyping, visual salience in stereotyping, interpersonal communication and stereotypes, inhibition and control of stereotype and prejudice expression, affect and prejudice, and religious stereotypes...among others!