What We Do

The power of situations is a central theme in social psychology. Situations shape thoughts, emotions, motivation, and behavior in many ways—often more than we realize. The notion that human behavior is determined by the totality of a person’s situations is the basis of Kurt Lewin’s field theory.

Over the past 25 years, my research group’s work has been in the Lewinian tradition investigating how powerful situations shape the plasticity of attitudes, beliefs, and individuals’ self-concept in response to seemingly small changes in local environments.

Our work shines a light on unspoken assumptions about social groups, often called implicit stereotypes or biases, and the ways in which they impact people’s evaluations of, and actions toward, others. We also examine how implicit biases influence people's self-perceptions, performance, and academic and career choices.