STEPP Lab Co-Director

Having grown up in a multicultural/multiracial family, I have long been interested in issues relating to the experiences of underrepresented minority groups. These interests range from poor academic performance to leadership development to the adverse effects of potentially discriminatory public policies. I examine these issues largely from the target, rather than the perpetrator’s perspective. Although I take a social-cognitive approach to understanding the processes underlying the impact of stereotypes and group-based differences, my research also has an applied quality to it because I focus on interventions against the negative effects of these biased perceptions. In my research on understanding the processes underlying stereotype-based performance effects I examine the role of emotions, cognitions, identity salience, and the concerns associated with experiencing stereotype threat. In my intervention-based work I investigate how counter-stereotypic ingroup members (role models) buffer fellow ingroup members from the threat of negative ability-based stereotypes.

Education
BA, University of California, Berkeley (Social Psychology)
PhD, Harvard University (Social Psychology)
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado, Boulder

E-mail:
dmarx [at] sdsu [dot] edu