One general line of research our lab focuses on involves the impact of sociocultural group membership on various intra-individual and interpersonal processes. This work has found that group memberships have pervasive effects on thought, behavior, and mood, and thus represent an important factor to be considered in order to better understand all dyadic and group-level interactions. Below we briefly discuss two major foci of our work: stereotype susceptibility and dyadic interactions of differential status groups.

STEREOTYPE SUSCEPTIBILITY

Stereotypes, the categories people use to organize their social world, have been found to exert powerful effects on the cognition and behavior of stereotyped individuals. Our research extends this broad finding by examining the effects of stereotypes across multiple levels, with the realization that individuals simultaneously belong to multiple sociocultural group categories which may be associated with positive or negative stereotypes, depending on the situation. Thus, for instance, an Asian American woman possesses at least two distinct identities, each associated with different and sometimes conflicting domain-specific stereotypes. As an Asian American she is stereotyped to possess superior quantitative skills; as a woman, on the other hand, she is stereotyped to possess poorer quantitative skills. The opposite is true in the domain of qualitative skills. Our research has shown that the subtle activation of these identities produces stereotype-consistent behavior, such that both positive and negative identity-relevant stereotypes differentially affect cognition and behavior. We refer to this process as stereotype susceptibility, and we are now beginning to examine it in other domains, with a broad range of racial and ethnic identities, and across the lifespan.

DYADIC INTERACTIONS OF DEFFERENTIAL STATUS GROUPS

This line of research also examines the ways in which social group memberships impact cognition, affect, and behavior, but does so at both the intraindividual and interindividual levels. In particular, this work examines the influence of social identity group memberships (such as race and gender) on 1) psychological processes during dyadic interactions between members of different groups; 2) perceptions of, reactions to, and behavior with other group members who either conform to or contradict group norms and stereotypes; and 3) the academic achievement of group members in the face of relevant social stereotypes. Further, this research considers the perspectives of both members of low status, stigmatized groups and members of high status, nonstigmatized groups. The larger aim of research program is to contribute to a comprehensive examination of interactions between members of stigmatized and nonstigmatized groups, as well as to highlight the qualitative experiences of members of stigmatized social groups.