Collective Action, Resistance, and Political Solidarity

This program of studies investigates how members of groups with differing power approach and understand contact with each other, with a particular focus on the experience of racial, ethnic and religious minority group members. This research is not only focused on the implications of intergroup contact for intergroup relations (e.g., attitudes), but also the potential consequences of particular types of intergroup contact for minority group members’ notions of injustice and support for action to change social inequality. A second focus within this work is the investigation of the construction of meaningful common social categories, either between diverse groups or within tense environments. This research includes promoting researcher and law enforcement collaborations with the goal of creating mutually respectful and beneficial working relations between racial, ethnic and religious (e.g., Muslims) minorities and law enforcement agencies. I am available and have experience teaching courses, workshops and consulting on issues related to diversity and intergroup conflict.

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Interdisciplinary Work and Public Policy

<spantimes new="" roman',="" serif;="" color:="" black;="" "="">As a social psychologist, I am interested in how the interplay between individual and contextual factors often leads to unexpected behavioral outcomes. However, my approach is interdisciplinary, such that my collaborators and I often use social psychology, political psychology, economics, political science, media studies and international relations to inform the investigation under study. Broadly, I seek to ground my research within the larger goal of discovering solutions to everyday problems, but also to help inform domestic and foreign policy.