Jasmin Cloutier - Much of my research focuses on how race and status-based diversity impacts how we form impressions of others. This work stems from a theoretical framework that systematically investigate the different facets of how social status shapes the perception and evaluation of others. As socioeconomic stratification becomes increasingly prevalent and salient around the world, being able to identify when status-based biases occur and what are the consequences of these biases is vital to prevent discriminatory behavior. My other central research focuses on examining how interracial contact and motivation impacts our impressions of both outgroup and ingroup individuals. For example, my research reveals that perceivers with greater experience with racial outgroup members have differential brain responses to Black familiar faces than those with little contact, indicating a potential threat reduction. We are also investigating how interracial contact broadly shapes brain responses and mentalizing performance towards others beyond interracial interactions.
James Jones (Professor Emeritus) - James Jones has developed the idea of diversity competency—the perspective, attitude and motivation to interact in and benefit from diverse contexts and relationships. The diversity competence model consists of five main features: diversity self-awareness, perspective taking, cultural intelligence, personal and social responsibility and knowledge application. We have developed a 15-item diversity competency scale, which has demonstrated good psychometric properties and is associated with a variety of trait level characteristics integral to prosocial behaviors. Current research explores the ways in which diversity competency is expressed in problem solving, interpersonal relationships and interactions, decision-making and academic success. The research further explores how academic curriculum and co-curricular activities contribute to the development of diversity competency.
Jennifer Kubota - The aim of my work is to identify the factors that reduce implicit and explicit social group bias to better understand how to intervene in discrimination and decision-making. My approach to diversity science underscores my deep commitment to prejudice intervention research by not only identifying how we might decrease discrimination, but also testing these interventions in real-world settings in order to more appropriately inform public policy. I also enjoy serving as a mentor and providing a voice for diverse scholars and strive to include a variety of diverse perspectives in the courses I teach. Throughout my academic career, I have made it a priority to engage fellow members of underrepresented communities with the goals of highlighting resilience and building sources of mentorship to maximize positive academic outcomes. As a multiracial first-generation scholar my personal journey, research, teaching, and service can be characterized by a strong commitment to promoting and creating diversity and multicultural competency.
Peter Mende-Siedlecki - My primary program of research focuses on group-based influences on social perception. In particular, my work examines how the malleability of social perpeption can results in real-world disparities and inequality. For example, we've shown that racial disparities in pain treatment may stem, in part, from a perceptual source. White perceivers show more conservative thresholds for recognizing pain on Black (versus White) faces, and this gap in perception is driven by disruptions in human-typical face processing. Moreover, racial bias in pain perception predicts racial bias in treatment, above and beyond the influence of explicit stereotypes and prejudice. More recently, my lab's work has been focused on how racial bias in pain care is moderated by both bottom-up stimulus features, as well as top-down information regarding gender and social status. Beyond the focus of my research, I am deeply committed to fostering diversity in psychology and neuroscience, in terms of both demographics and viewpoints. In my lab in particular, I've made it a priority to recruit members of groups underrepresented in STEM at all levels of participation in my lab (from undergraduate research assistants to my graduate trainees) and I will continue to uphold this responsibility. Women of color are particularly underrepresented in my field, and thus are strongly encouraged to apply.
Mary Dozier - In our lab, we study the development of young children who experience early adversity. On the basis of our findings and the findings of others, we have developed a parenting intervention designed to enhance child outcomes. The parenting program, Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), helps parents provide nurturing, sensitive care. Through randomized clinical trials, we have been assessing the effectiveness of the ABC intervention over time. We have studied the effects among parents involved in the child welfare system, foster parents, parents adopting internationally, and parents who are dependent on opioids. With the exception of parents adopting internationally, these groups have been diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. We are disseminating the program nationally and internationally, adapting as needed to different cultures while retaining the essence of the intervention.
Julie Hubbard - My research program encompasses both basic and intervention work in the field of children's peer relations and aggressive behavior. At the level of basic research, I am particularly interested in furthering our understanding of the important role that bystanders play in children's bullying episodes, delineating the mechanisms underlying the reactive versus proactive functions of childhood aggression, and learning more about the precursors and outcomes of children's peer rejection and victimization. Over time, these topics have converged and provided the empirical foundation for an implementation and evaluation of a bullying prevention program in Delaware schools. Children and adolescents who are racial/ethnic minorities in the US are particularly likely to be involved in youth aggression as both perpetrators and victims, phenomena driven by cycles of discrimination and poverty that disproportionately affect minority youth in our society. For this reason, a critical goal of the work in my lab is to evaluate the efficacy of our school-based bullying prevention program for minority youth and the modifications that would increase its effectiveness.
Naomi Sadeh - The Personality and Dysregulation Lab conducts research that addresses issues that directly impact the lives of marginalized, disadvantaged, and minority groups, including drug addiction, traumatic stress, suicidal behavior, violence perpetration, and criminal behavior. The main focus of the lab is investigating the causes of these public health problems by studying psychological, biological, and environmental mechanisms that confer risk for impulsivity and difficulty controlling impulsive urges. For example, we are currently investigating what causes individuals with externalizing disorders (e.g., substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorder) to act impulsively in "risky" situations that evoke strong emotions and tax mental resources by looking at the contributions of brain circuitry, emotional and working memory processes, personality, and stress exposure. This research is expected to ultimately aid in the development of new treatments for mental health problems related to impulsivity by leading to a deeper understanding of the brain networks, emotional processes, and cognitive functions that support control of impulsive urges. Undergraduates who assist with research in the lab have the opportunity to directly engage with a diverse group of adults, as the majority of our research participants identify as ethnic minorities, come from communities with high rates of violent and nonviolent crime, report a history of repeated trauma exposure, and meet criteria for a range of psychiatric disorders.
Ryan Beveridge - The Center for Training, Evaluation and Community Collaboration (C-TECC) conducts research evaluating the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices in the community. The main focus of our work is to understand how evidence developed in intervention science laboratories can impact complex and diverse mental health systems of care that serve the public. We explore specific questions such as the effectiveness of laboratory-developed interventions in community settings, whether treatments can and need to be adapted to meet the needs of diverse populations, and how successful implementation efforts are in reaching underserved populations. In partnership with our community collaborators, we have assisted in training hundreds of community clinicians in evidence-based interventions, evaluated these efforts across the State of Delaware, and helped provide mental health services to thousands of individuals, most of whom identify as ethnic minorities and come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Our work is informed by a fundamental drive to increase the impact and relevance of clinical psychological science to reducing the burden of mental illness on individuals and society. Community projects are ongoing, and students interested in working with us are encouraged to learn more at Center for Training, Evaluation and Community Collaboration website.
