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Sarah Elizabeth Gaither

Nicholas J. and Theresa M. Leonardy Associate Professor
Psychology & Neuroscience
417 Chapel Hill Dr, Box 90086, Durham, NC 27708
417 Chapel Drive, 324 Reuben-Cooke Building, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Humans are fundamentally social beings, and their interactions represent a core aspect of human nature. My research focuses on how individuals’ social identities and experiences across the lifespan motivate their social perceptions and behaviors particularly in diverse settings.

More specifically I am interested in three main questions:
1) how intergroup contact shapes interracial interaction outcomes for both racial majority and racial minority individuals
2) how having multiple racial or social identities more broadly affects various types of behavior including complex thinking, social behavior, and identity malleability
3) what contexts in particular may influence how people perceive or socially categorize each other across group boundaries

Therefore, the overall goal of my research program is to investigate the attitudinal and behavioral effects stemming from exposure to racial and gender diversity as a means to pinpoint pathways that one can utilize to foster more positive group relations for both adult and child populations. By exploring the developmental origins of social identity and intergroup perceptions we can pinpoint some of the antecedents that predict adult behavior in diverse settings.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Nicholas J. and Theresa M. Leonardy Associate Professor · 2023 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2023 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2024 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy · 2023 - Present Center for Child and Family Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

In the News


Published May 24, 2024
Unlikely Roommates
Published May 24, 2024
Unlikely Roommates, Surprise Friendships
Published October 17, 2023
Helping Social Scientists Grow an Idea into a Research Project

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Recent Publications


Testing the generalizability of minimal group attitudes in minority and majority race children.

Journal Article Journal of experimental child psychology · April 2025 The minimal group effect, in which people prefer ingroup members to outgroup members even when group membership is trivially constructed, has been studied extensively in psychological science. Despite a large body of literature on this phenomenon, concerns ... Full text Cite

It's not what you say it's what you do: School diversity ideologies and adolescent mental health and academic engagement.

Journal Article Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · March 2025 This study examined the relation between schools' color-evasive versus multicultural diversity ideologies, school characteristics, and adolescent development. Across two datasets linking individual-level survey data (N = 1692) and administrative records (N ... Full text Cite

Intentionality and Congruence Cues Shape Young Children's Perceptions of Identity-Based Group Membership.

Journal Article Developmental science · March 2025 As young as 3 years old, children rely on a mutual intentionality framework to confer group membership-that is, agreement between a joiner ("I want to be in your group") and group ("We want you to be in our group"). Here, we tested whether children apply t ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Multiple Identity Mindsets and Intergroup Interactions: A Dual Pathway Model

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2022 - 2027

REU Site: Lifespan Approaches to Diverse Psychological Science

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2020 - 2023

Collaborative Research: Replicating Prejudice and Stereotyping Findings in Developmental Psychology

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2017 - 2021

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Education, Training & Certifications


Tufts University · 2014 Ph.D.
Tufts University · 2009 M.S.
University of California, Berkeley · 2007 B.A.