SSI-VR Lab
SSI-VR Lab News
SPSP 2025!
February 2025 — Members of the SSI-VR lab (postdoc Jared Culter, Ph.D.; graduate students Tamara Franklin, MA, and Sandra Manfreda; lab manager Aries Contreras; and PI, Valerie Jones Taylor, Ph.D.) will present their research at the Society for the Personality and Social Psychology annual convention in Denver, CO, February 20-22, on topics ranging from stereotyping, prejudice, and interracial interactions to applications of VR technology. See pics on our Team page!
Research accepted at JEP-G!
January 2025 — Dr. Taylor publishes new work with former SSI-VR postdoc, Cailtyn Yantis, Ph.D. (Villanova University), The racial shared reality scale: Capturing Black Americans’ perceived consensus with White Americans about race and racism, at the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Research accepted at Race and Social Problems!
December 2024 — Former SSI-VR lab member, doctoral student Raihan Alam, publishes research with Dr. Taylor and collaborator Dr. Angela Bell, titled, The Roles of Entitativity and Collective Blame in Conservative Opposition Toward BLM and Anti-Racism.
Welcome postdocs!
Sept-Oct 2024 — The SSI-VR lab is excited to welcome postdocs Jared Cutler, Ph.D. and Tugba Metinyurt, Ph.D. to Rutgers! Please read more about our newest team members here.
New manuscript under review!
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!
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.).
SSI-VR Lab Moves to Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Sept 1, 2023 — Dr. Valerie Jones Taylor and the SSI-VR Lab relocate to Rutgers University. She is joined by an amazing team, including graduate students Tamara Franklin and Sandi Manfreda and lab manager Aries Contreras.