SSI-VR
The Stereotyping and Social Interactions Virtual Reality Lab
Our lab examines three distinct but interrelated issues: how people 1) engage in interracial interactions, 2) experience and perceive race and gender in academic and workplace contexts and in racialized physical spaces, and 3) learn about and engage in social justice action. Across these areas, we examine virtual reality (VR) as a tool to reduce bias and systemic racism in individuals, interracial interactions, and institutions.
Stereotypes in Interracial Interactions
Race Relations in
Virtual Reality
Social Identity and
Stereotype Threat
Social Justice Education
& Collective Action
July 2024 — Congratulations to grad student Sandra Manfreda for submitting her first, first authored, manuscript! We'll keep the title under wraps for now, as we go through the review process, but stay on the lookout for her paper in the near future!
New manuscript under review!
Research accepted at GRIP!
May 22, 2024 — New work by Valerie Jones Taylor, Caitlyn Yantis, and Juan Valladares, entitled “Will they assume I’m racist?” How racial ingroup members’ stereotypical behavior impacts White Americans’ interracial interaction experiences will be out soon in the journal Group Processes and Intergroup Relations!
SPSSI 2024!
March 7, 2024 — Members of the SSI-VR lab will present their research at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in Philadelphia, PA, June 20-22! Topics include Black women's responses to racial group members' stereotypical behavior (Tamara Franklin, MA), racially minoritized group members' disclosure processes in interracial interactions (Sandra Manfreda), Black women's experiences with gendered racism and associated health outcomes (Mariah Lutchman), and applications of virtual reality (VR) to reduce bias and systemic racism (Valerie Jones Taylor, Ph.D.).