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CENS Technical Seminar Series

Multiple Identities: Putting Your Best Self Forward

Invited Speaker: Margaret Shih
Date: April 17, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Venue: Boelter Hall 4760

Abstract

The talk presents research examining the effects of making social identities salient on performance and behavior. By making a particular social identity salient at an implicit level, performance can be altered in the direction predicted by the stereotype associated with the identity. For instance, common cultural stereotypes hold that Asians have superior quantitative skills compared to other ethnic groups and that women have inferior quantitative skills compared to men. We found that Asian-American women performed better on a mathematics test when their ethnic identity was activated, but worse when their gender identity was activated, compared to a control group who had neither identity activated. Similar effects are found in other behaviors and performance domains.

Biography

Dr. Shih obtained her Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University after which she served on the faculty at the University of Michigan for 8 years and also worked at the RAND Corporation. Currently, Dr. Shih is an Associate Professor in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Her research focuses on the effects of diversity in organizations. In particular, she focuses on social identity and the psychological effects of stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and stigma in organizations.

Dr. Shih also serves on the executive committee for the International Society for Self and Identity and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. She was also an editor for the special issue of the Journal of Social Issues. She has received fellowships and grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, Social Sciences and Humanities of Research Council of Canada, John Templeton Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.