New Postdoc - Wilson Merrell

Hi everyone!

My name is Wilson and I am a new postdoc in CEPDISC.

I primarily study the psychological processes underlying stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Over the next few years I’m especially interested in how ecological dimensions (e.g., resource scarcity) and sociopolitical motivations (e.g., egalitarianism) can influence (and hopefully attenuate) negative intergroup attitudes, social hierarchies, and economic inequality. In a complementary line of research, I am interested in the discriminatory experiences that multiracial and multiethnic individuals face, especially as they relate to identity and social dominance. I’m hoping to use a mix of behavioral experiments, surveys, and administrative data to explore these two lines of research!

Before joining CEPDISC I completed my PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Michigan (for any American football fans, Go Blue!) in 2023 and received my BA in Psychology and Economics from Macalester College in 2016. Outside of work I like to play and watch a lot of (European) football and tennis and am looking for teams/clubs to join in the area. Excited to be a part of this group and looking forward to getting to know all of you, please feel free to drop by my office (1340-244) to chat or grab coffee any time!