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Sophie Trawalter

Sophie Trawalter

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Psychology
Education & Training
Ph.D. in Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
M.A. in Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
B.A. in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
B.S. in Mathematics, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Courses taught
PSYC 2600 “Social Psychology”
PPOL 5025/PSYC 5559 “Wise Interventions: Social Psychology for Public Policy”
PPOL/PSYC 5035 “Leadership and Managing Diverse Groups”
PPOL 6745/PSYC 4750 “Stigma and Social Disparities”
Research interests
Social Psychology

I’m an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Psychology. I study phenomena related to social diversity. Specifically, I examine how people navigate intergroup contact and intergroup contexts. I am especially interested in how people develop competencies and learn to thrive in diverse spaces.

In one line of research, I investigate stress and coping responses to interracial contact. Within this line of research, I examine people’s short-term behavioral and physiological responses to interracial contact as well as longer-term, health-relevant physiological changes in response to diversity experiences. Other lines of research explore people’s ability to detect discrimination accurately and the social ecology of privilege. Ultimately, the aim of this work is to develop constructive strategies to cope with the challenges of diversity in organizations, public arenas, and private spaces. In time, such strategies may reduce intergroup tensions and improve outcomes for both traditionally stigmatized and non-stigmatized group members.

Related Content

What Is Good Isn't Always Fair: On the Unintended Effects of Framing Diversity as Good

Research

Many proponents of diversity stress that diversity is good—good for universities to further their educational missions and good for businesses, for hiring talent and generating financial returns to shareholders. In this work, we examined costs of framing diversity as good for organizations vs. fair; specifically, we examined whether framing diversity as good for organizations broadens people’s definitions of diversity and increases racial bias.

Suspicion of White People’s Motives Relates to Relative Accuracy in Detecting External Motivation to Respond without Prejudice

Research

As a result of prevalent pressure to inhibit prejudice, racial minorities may wonder whether White people’s nonprejudiced behavior is primarily motivated by personal commitments to egalitarianism (i.e., internal motivation) or superficial efforts to appear nonprejudiced (i.e., external motivation). The present work investigated whether minority group members chronically suspicious of White people’s motives (i.e., those who believe White people are more externally than internally motivated), are more accurate than those who are less suspicious in detecting the motives behind White individuals’ pleasant behavior toward minorities. 

Racial Bias in Perceptions of Others’ Pain

Research

The present work provides evidence that people assume a priori that Blacks feel less pain than do Whites. It also demonstrates that this bias is rooted in perceptions of status and the privilege (or hardship) status confers, not race per se. Archival data from the National Football League injury reports reveal that, relative to injured White players, injured Black players are deemed more likely to play in a subsequent game, possibly because people assume they feel less pain.
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