As a social psychologist, I seek to understand how individuals influence and are influenced by one another. In particular, I take a social cognitive perspective as I investigate two areas of our social lives: 1) How does categorization into various social memberships (e.g., racial membership, social class membership) influence our judgments and behaviors toward others? 2) How does one’s religious perspective influence our judgments and behaviors toward others? As part of my research efforts, I value working alongside undergraduate research collaborators. Working a research project is like working a puzzle in that there are problems to solve and pieces to put together; I enjoy engaging that process with students and trying to spark something like my own enthusiasm in them. In addition, with a history of working at liberal arts colleges, I believe this is the very best environment for developing the skill set and knowledge students need to succeed.
