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Department of Psychology

College of Social and Behavioral Science

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Diversity and Culture

Social Area Students

The 21st century is an exciting but complex and challenging era. For better and worse, people all over the world can connect with a few clicks, social movements can begin on social media, and nations and economies are increasingly interdependent. Paradoxically, the ease with which we can communicate with others across the world also makes it easier to maintain an ingroup made up of people whose views and beliefs are similar to ours. Thus, despite the greater potential access to diverse peoples and cultures, issues of social stratification and inequality persist in our societies, as do biases against members of stigmatized social groups. In our department, researchers are interested in understanding the causes and consequences of social categorization, social identity, and biases; how psychological processes are shaped by and, in turn, shape diverse social interactions; and how to harness psychological interventions to reduce biases.

 

Below are some of the research questions that we are currently investigating:

  • How do people categorize others who are racially ambiguous? What social and individual differences influence the racial categories that people readily use? For instance, why are some individuals more or less likely to see Barack Obama as Black?
  • Under what conditions are people persuaded by an argument, and how do the social identities of the persuader influence the argumentʼs persuasive power? For instance, why might the same argument be more convincing when it comes from a Black person than a White person?
  • What factors enable people to excel in achievement contexts, and do these factors have divergent effects on people from different social groups? For example, what social, environmental, and cultural factors can differentially lead men and women to cultivate and sustain academic interest in STEM?
  • How does culture shape individualsʼ psychological well-being and their behavior in close relationships? For example, does social support work the same to influence physical and psychological health across cultures?

  • How is stigma related to the ongoing management of serious chronic illness, and what would need to happen for the benefits of precision medicine to be equally available to all people?

  • How do misperceptions about other groups contribute to bias and conflict? How do these dynamics play out in polarized societies and diverse global contexts? For example, how do Democrats and Republicans’ exaggerated assumptions about each other fuel political hostility?
  • How can interventions that target key psychological mechanisms reduce bias, improve intergroup relations, and foster understanding across diverse cultural and political contexts? For example, does correcting misperceptions about immigrants reduce dehumanization of them?
Social Area Faculty and Students 2

 



People

Social Area Faculty


Affiliated Faculty (Outside of the Social Area)

Papers related to research questions

Under what conditions are people persuaded by an argument, and how do the social identities of the persuader influence the argumentʼs persuasive power? For instance, why might the same argument be more convincing when it comes from a Black person than a White person?

  • White, P.H., & Harkins, S. G. (1994). Race of source effects in the elaboration likelihood model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 790-807. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.5.790
  • Fourie, M.M. & Moore-Berg, S.L. (2022). We cannot empathize with what we cannot recognize: Perceptions of structural versus interpersonal racism in South Africa. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 838675. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838675

 

How do people categorize others who are racially ambiguous? What social and individual differences influence the racial categories that people readily use? For instance, why are some individuals more or less likely see Barack Obama as Black?

  • Chen, J.M., & *Norman, J.B. (2016). Toward a comprehensive understanding of the factors underlying multiracial person perception. Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy. doi: 10.1111/asap.12122
  • Carpinella, C.M., Chen, J.M., Hamilton, D.L., & Johnson, K.L. (2015). Gendered facial cues influence race categorizations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41, 405-419. doi: 10.1177/0146167214567153
  • Chen, J.M., Moons, W.G., Gaither, S.E., Hamilton, D.L., & Sherman, J.W. (2014). Motivation to control prejudice predicts categorization of multiracials. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(5), 590-603. doi: 10.1177/0146167213520457
  • Moore-Berg, S.L. & Karpinski, A. (2019). An intersectional approach to understanding how race and social class affect intergroup processes. Social Psychology and Personality Compass, 13(1), e12426. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12426

 

What factors enable people to excel in achievement contexts, and do these factors have divergent effects on people from different social groups? For example, what social, environmental, and cultural factors can differentially lead men and women to cultivate and sustain academic interest in STEM?

  • *Geerling, D., Butner, J., *Fraughton, T., *Sinclair, S., Zachary, J., & Sansone, C. (2019). The dynamic association between interest and confusion: The potential for moderation by utility value and gender. Journal of Experimental Education. DOI: 10.1080/00220973.2018.1561403
  • Thoman, D.B., Lee, G.A., Zambrano, J., *Geerling, D.M., *Smith, J.L., & Sansone, C. (2019). Social influences of interest: Conceptualizing group differences in education through a self-regulation of motivation model. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22, 330-355. doi: 10.1177/1368430219838337
  • *Smith, J. L., Sansone, C., & White, P. H. (2007). The stereotyped task engagement process: The role of interest and achievement motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 99-114. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.99.1.99
  • Thoman, D. B., & Sansone, C. (2016). Gender bias triggers diverging science interests between women and men: The role of activity interest appraisals. Motivation and Emotion, 1-14. doi: 10.1007/s11031-016-9550-1

 

How does culture shape individualsʼ psychological well-being and their behavior in close relationships?

  • *MacKenzie, J., Smith, T. W., Uchino, B. N., White, P. H., & Light, K. C. (2014). Depressive symptoms, anger/hostility, and relationship quality in young couples. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33, 380-396. doi: 10.1521/jscp.2014.33.4.380

 

How is stigma related to the ongoing management of serious chronic illness, and what would need to happen for the benefits of precision medicine to be equally available to all people?

  • McGarrity, L.A., Farnsworth, H.R., Aspinwall, L.G., Ibele, A.R., & Terrill, A.L. (2025, advance online publication, June 5). Weight stigma and bariatric surgery: Prospective improvements, psychological health, and weight. Health Psychology.
  • Aspinwall, L. G., *Taber, J.M., Kohlmann, W., & *Bautista, L. B. (2022).Psychological aspects of hereditary cancer risk counseling and genetic testing: Toward an expanded and more equitable view.  In J. Steel & B. Carr (Eds.), Psychological Aspects of Cancer, 2e, pp. 359-398. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.

 

How do misperceptions about other groups contribute to bias and conflict? How do these dynamics play out in polarized societies and diverse global contexts? For example, how do Democrats and Republicans’ exaggerated assumptions about each other fuel political hostility?

  • Moore-Berg, S.L., Ankori-Karlinsky, L., Hameiri, B., & Bruneau, E.G. (2020). Exaggerated meta-perceptions predict intergroup hostility between American political partisans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 17(26), 14864-14872. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2001263117
  • Pasek, M.H., Ankori-Karlinsky, L., Levy-Vene, A., & Moore-Berg, S.L. (2022). Misperceptions about out‑partisans' democratic values may erode democracy. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1684. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19616-4

 

How can interventions that target key psychological mechanisms reduce bias, improve intergroup relations, and foster understanding across diverse cultural and political contexts? 

  • Moore-Berg, S.L., Hameiri, B., & Bruneau, E.G. (2021). Empathy, dehumanization, and misperceptions: A media intervention humanizes migrants and increases empathy for their plight, but only if misinformation about migrants is also corrected. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(2), 645-655. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211012793
  • Bruneau, E., Hameiri, B., Moore-Berg, S.L., & Kteily, N. (2020). Intergroup contact reduces dehumanization and meta-dehumanization: Cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental evidence from 16 samples in 5 countries. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(6), 906-920. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220949004
  • Moore-Berg, S.L., Hameiri, B., Falk, E., & Bruneau, E.G. (2023). Reducing Islamophobia: An assessment of psychological mechanisms that underlie successful anti-Islamophobia media interventions. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 26(3), 555-578. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302221085832

*denotes current or former Utah students


Relevant Course Offerings

Graduate Courses

  • PSY 7961 – Advanced Topics in Social Psychology
  • PSY 7963 – Social Psychological Approaches to Diversity and Culture
  • PSY 7860 – Culture, Diversity, and Mental Health


Undergraduate Courses

  • PSY 3040 – Psychology of Gender
  • PSY 3450 – Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • PSY 3960 – Psychology and Social Issues
  • PSY 4450 – Intergroup Relations


Additional Resources/Opportunities

Departmental

  • Social Computer Lab
  • Interaction Lab

University and Field at Large

 

Last Updated: 9/11/25