Race, Identity & Belonging

My research examines how people experience, interpret, and respond to stereotyping and prejudice, with a focus on how social identities shape perception, evaluation, and interpersonal decision-making. Across projects, I study how individuals recognize bias in themselves and others, and how these perceptions influence trust, belonging, and social judgment in diverse contexts.

In my Master's research, I led a series of studies (N ≈ 900 online participants) investigating how monoracial White individuals in the United States evaluate Black–White Multiracial people in anticipated social interactions. This work examined how racial stereotypes associated with whiteness (e.g., perceptions of being racist, prejudiced, or biased) shape expectations of interaction and influence judgments of Multiracial individuals' group membership and social fit. The findings speak to how identity cues and stereotype expectations shape decision-making in intergroup contexts, particularly in situations where individuals are forming impressions prior to direct contact.

Building on this foundation, my subsequent research has focused on the lived experiences of Multiracial women in the United States and how they navigate identity across shifting social contexts. Using survey data collected via Prolific (N = 316 Multiracial women, ages 18–35), I examined how identity integration and experiences of race- and gender-based discrimination shape racial-ethnic identity development and self-identification patterns. This work highlights how intersecting identities inform how individuals make sense of themselves, particularly during key developmental periods.

My dissertation research extends this program by focusing on health inequities among Multiracial women in the United States. This project examines how intersecting social identities—including race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status—shape experiences of stress, access to care, and psychological and physical health outcomes. Drawing on intersectional and MultiCrit frameworks, this work aims to clarify how structural and interpersonal processes jointly contribute to health disparities in an increasingly diverse population.

Across these projects, my research emphasizes translating social and identity psychology into applied insights relevant to organizational decision-making, healthcare contexts, and equity-focused policy.