As a result of multiple category membership, all people possess multiple social identities. These may include identities such as "friend," "student," and "athlete," as well as ethnic, gender, or religious identities. Depending on the requirements of the situation and which of a person's many identities is salient, the stereotypes associated with an identity may influence behavior in powerful ways.
Stereotype susceptibility
Some of our recent work has focused on the role of identity salience and stereotypes in influencing performance. We are learning that stereotypes can impact performance in a positive as well as a negative direction.
The social world of technologyWe are interested in how social interactions take place over electronic media. With so many channels of non-verbal communication removed, how are the nuances of interactions communicated? What are the most powerful social signals in an electronic world?
Currently we are running studies to test how people form impressions of others via e-mail and instant messaging programs. Eventually we hope to extend this work to how electronic communication impacts organizational performance.
During a negotiation, factors such as status and identity can affect whether people behave aggressively in reaching their goals. We are currently studying exactly how these factors influence negotiation behavior.
We are interested in the dynamics of the mentoring relationship. Specifically, we are currently researching how the mentor's perceived success interacts with the sex of the mentor and the protege to impact the future success of the protege.