Steve Wright

Professor
Psychology

Areas of interest

Social

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Generally my research investigates the social psychology of intergroup relations: The scientific study of how our membership in groups influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions and, more specifically, how our interactions with others are affected by our (and their) group memberships. Within this domain, my own research has focused on 3 broad topics: 1) the responses of members of societally disadvantaged groups to the inequalities they face (the impact of prejudice and discrimination on the targets; collective action and social protest), 2) prejudice and its reduction (contact across groups and the role of crossgroup friendships, intergroup anxiety), and 3) minority language & culture maintenance and the role of minority language education (heritage language education, bilingual education). 

Selected Publications

Wright, S.C., Aron, A., Brody, S. M. (2008). Extended contact and including others in the self: Building on the Allport/Pettigrew legacy. In U. Wagner, L.R. Tropp, G. Fensheilescu, & C. Tredoux (Eds.), Improving intergroup relations: Building on the legacy of Thomas F. Pettigrew (pp. 143-159). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Wright, S. C. (2010). Collective action and social change. In J.F. Dovidio, M. Hewstone, P. Glick, & V. M. Esses, (Eds.) Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination (pp.577-596). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Becker, J & Wright, S. C. (2011). Yet another dark side of chivalry: Benevolent sexism undermines and hostile sexism motivates collective action for social change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 62-77.

Wright, S. C. & Baray, G. (2012). Models of social change in social psychology: Collective action or prejudice reduction, conflict or harmony. In John Dixon & Mark Levine (Eds.) Beyond Prejudice: Extending the social psychology of intergroup conflict, inequality and social change (pp. 225-247). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. 

Courses

Future courses may be subject to change.