Jason Nier
Jason Nier, Associate Professor of Psychology
Associate Professor of Psychology
Joined Connecticut College: 1999
Education
The Pennsylvania State University, B.S.; University of Delaware, M.A., Ph.D.
Specializations
Intergroup relations
Contemporary forms of discrimination and the enforcement of civil rights laws
Reducing intergroup bias
Social psychology of collective action
Jason Nier is a social psychologist whose research focuses primarily on intergroup relations. As a result, he is concerned with the psychological processes that are responsible for prejudice and discrimination, and the processes through which biases may be reduced. Within this broad area he has several specific interests:
1. The assessment of intergroup attitudes - What different techniques can be used to measure individuals' attitudes toward different groups?
2. Reducing intergroup bias - Through what psychological processes can prejudice and discrimination towards those who belong to different groups be reduced?
3. The social psychology of collective action - How are collective acts perceived? Under what circumstances does collective behavior improve (or worsen) intergroup attitudes? How do collective acts influence an individual's identity as a group member?
Nier has authored or co-authored several articles and book chapters, which have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Nier also co-authored a book chapter which won the 1998 Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, awarded annually to the best paper in the field of intergroup relations.
He teaches social psychology, research methods, advanced psychological statistics and experimental social psychology.
Visit the psychology department website.
