My primary program of research focuses on social identity processes and how threat from important social categories, like race, gender, sexual orientation, or chronic illness, can affect cognitive, affective, and physiological processes over time. In particular, I take a “core needs” approach, viewing social identity threat as undermining psychological needs to belong and have control over important outcomes. This provides an explanation for how complex societal factors, such as stereotypes about groups, can “get under the skin” to affect performance, well-being, and health. My research also seeks to develop and test psychological interventions to reduce identity threat or mitigate its consequences. I also maintain a secondary program of research that investigates the psychological impact of technology and technological change, which is an area I am interested in exploring further.
