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In the Social Perception and Cognition lab, we examine how subtle patterns people encounter every day can reinforce and even challenge social inequities.  We integrate social cognition, vision science, and developmental methods to answer questions about the maintenance of power differences among social groups.  We draw on various approaches with the goal of designing research questions so that they contribute to scientific knowledge and have clear, broad social benefits.  Click the links above to learn more about the lab and how you can get involved.

Note: I will not be reviewing PhD applications for the upcoming cycle, but my colleagues (Garriy Shteynberg, Lowell Gaertner, Jeff Larsen, and Michael Olson) will all review applications for PhD students who would like to join the Social Psychology PhD program in Fall 2025. Check out more info about applying to the program here.

LAB
News

Undergraduate Student News: (4/30/24) Congratulations to Clara Bunnell for being awarded a position in the Advanced Undergraduate Research Activity (AURA) program for Summer 2024!

 (5/9/24) Congratulations to Willem Touzel and Hayley Simpson for being recognized with Awards of Excellence for their research presentations at the annual undergraduate research symposia (EURECA & ASURES). A second congratulations to Hayley Simpson for being recognized as a Volunteer of Distinction and the Top Psychology Major!

Graduate Student News:(4/15/24) Welcome Megan Ruskey, our incoming PhD student, to the lab!

(5/26/23) Congratulations to Darla Bonagura for successfully proposing her Masters, titled: Survivors as Objects: How Media Coverage of Sexual Assault Impacts Perceptions of Survivors and Perpetrators and for being selected for the Graduate Diversity Advocacy Award in the Experimental Psychology program! 

Grant & Award News: (2/2/24) Congratulations to PI, Sarah Lamer, for being recognized as an APS Rising Star!

(6/1/22) Congratulations to PI, Sarah Lamer, for her recent National Science Foundation Social Psychology grant to explore biases in the perception of a crowd's emotion. 

Publication News: (11/1/22) Check out our recent pub in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and our corresponding blog in SPSP's Character & Context about the role of nonverbal behavior in socializing gender roles among children. 

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