The 2024 presidential election marked a historic moment as Kamala Harris became the first Black woman nominated by a major party for president. Her candidacy triggered widespread media coverage that frequently invoked racialized and gendered stereotypes, creating a context to examine how representations of Black women political leaders affect Black women voters.
Young Black people and other young people of color demonstrate strength in myriads ways but often face low expectations stemming from narrow narratives and negative stereotypes signaling that their racial/ethnic background misaligns with their aspirations. These harmful signals and their impact are rarely discussed, and while the means to counteract their effects could improve the odds of young people of color, such means are even more rarely examined.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more deeply embedded in the workplace and increasingly humanlike in its form and function, public perceptions of these systems may be shaped by existing social categories, including race. Psychologists Monica Gamez-Djokic and Adam Waytz will investigate the extent to which people perceive AI as racially White and whether these perceptions are related to beliefs about AI’s role in job displacement, trust in AI systems, perceptions of AI’s objectivity or neutrality, perceived fairness of AI-driven decisions, and willingness to adopt or rely on AI.
Asian and Latino communities often face stereotypes of being “perpetually foreign” and encounter distinct forms of prejudice and discrimination based on this stereotype. However, research has shown that Black immigrants are sometimes viewed more positively than Black Americans. Psychologist Sapna Cheryan will investigate the extent to which perceptions of foreignness and discrimination vary across different Black communities. She will conduct surveys and survey experiments for her study.
Although surveys suggest that most Americans view diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools and workplaces to be a good thing, a majority also oppose the consideration of race in educational and workplace decision-making. Such opinions illustrate a contrast between ideals regarding the value of diversity and preferences regarding efforts to expand diversity.
Research has shown that the White-Black income gap increases feelings of competition and negative perceptions between Black and White Americans. However, no work has examined how income gaps between Whites and other non-White groups impact relationships between groups. Psychologist Jonathan Gordils will investigate how the White-Hispanic/Latine and White-Asian income gaps influence intergroup competition and other psychological outcomes, such as feelings of mistrust and avoidance.
The U.S. is projected to become a “majority-minority” nation, with White Americans shifting from comprising the majority of Americans to a minority by 2044. While much is known about how White Americans respond to this anticipated shift, little is known about how racial minority groups, particularly the biracial population, respond to information about growing racial diversity. Psychologist Analia Albuja will examine how narratives about the majority-minority shift that emphasize the growth of the biracial population influence biracial people’s identity and political preferences.
Inadequate nutrition can harm children’s health and development, including academic outcomes. A promising way to boost child nutrition is through home meal programs. Psychologists Rebecca Ryan, Ariel Kalil, and Anna Gassman-Pines, sociologist Pamela Herd, political scientist and public policy scholar Carolyn Barnes, and public policy scholar and behavioral scientist Elizabeth Linos will evaluate the effects of a home meal program on student academic outcomes in a low-income community. They will conduct a field experiment for their study.
In our deeply divided legal and political climate, it is important to identify interventions that can improve the academic and psychosocial outcomes of disadvantaged students while avoiding claims of reverse discrimination. Psychologists Emma Adam and Adriana Umaña-Taylor will evaluate how a universally targeted ethnic-racial identity intervention offered to high school first-year students impacts academic, psychological, and social outcomes.