Research Interests
Objectification, dehumanization, gender and sexuality, intergroup relations, stereotyping and prejudice, discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, violence, aggression, and women in STEM
Research Approach
Prejudice and violence are inextricably linked to the maintenance of the status quo. Objectification, dehumanization, and aggression illustrate just some of the means by which prejudice and violence may serve to reinforce (or sometimes challenge) existing power differences between social groups. My approach to research examines the relationship between prejudice and violence using perspectives from social psychology, gender and sexuality studies, law-psych, and public health.
In my work, I focus on the social-psychological aspects of prejudice and aggression. As a result of this focus, my research participants often engage in actual or imagined (through the use of virtual reality or highly trained confederates) interactions with other people in my experiments. This is a feature that differentiates my work from most contemporary research on prejudice and violence. By taking this approach, I have been able to simultaneously examine (a) the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people who perpetrate prejudice and violence and (b) the consequences for targets of these experiences.
I adopt an apprenticeship model in my graduate and undergraduate training
Current Projects/Grants
The BAR Project
Integrating alcohol myopia and objectification to understand sexual assault. Principal Investigator, RO1 AA025090, National Institutes of Health.
Bystanders in Sexual Assault Virtual Environments (Bystanders-SAVE)
Prejudice and violence are inextricably linked to the maintenance of the status quo. Objectification, dehumanization, and aggression illustrate just some of the means by which prejudice and violence may serve to reinforce (or sometimes challenge) existing power differences between social groups. My approach to research examines the relationship between prejudice and violence using perspectives from social psychology, gender and sexuality studies, law-psych, and public health.
The JUST (Jurors Understanding of Scientific Testimony) Project
Principal Investigator, SES-1733957, National Science Foundation.
Additional Projects
1) The Psychology of Affirmative Consent in Sexual Interactions
2) Self-Fulfilling Consequences of Objectification in Social Interactions
3) Lay People’s Understanding of Gender Ideologies
4) Needs-Based Approaches to Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Reduction
5) Objectification in STEM domains
6) Dehumanization of Children
7) The Psychology of Bro Talk
Completed Grant Projects
Interpersonal interaction, affective forecasting, and harassment in the workplace
Co-Principal Investigator, SES-1122683, National Science Foundation.
Research Funding Sources
National Science Foundation. Objectification, Affective Forecasting, and Sexual Harassment (SES-1122683).
Please contact me, sgervais2@unl.edu, for more information about specific projects.
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