Social Judgment Lab
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Amanda K. Sesko, Ph.D.
University of Washington Tacoma
I am a social psychologist interested in stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. In my work I investigate how stereotypes guide judgments of, memory for, and behavior directed at individuals belonging to marginalized groups. For example, in my primary line of research, I examine intersectional invisibility, a unique form of discrimination characterized by not being attended to, remembered, differentiated from others, or given recognition for contributions that is experienced by individuals with multiple stigmatized identities (Sesko & Biernat, 2010, 2018, under review). Invisibility leads perceivers to commit memory errors for individual voices and faces that has compelling consequences (e.g., for workplace discrimination; Biernat & Sesko, 2013), and experiencing invisibility leads to lower well-being (Sesko & Biernat, under review). I have also conducted equity focused research in applied and community settings. For example, I am a Co-PI on a 1.5-million-dollar National Science Foundation grant that promotes access in STEM for low-income underrepresented students.
Bio
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
2018-present | Assistant Professor of Psychology
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Division of Social, Behavioral, and Human Sciences
University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
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2017-2018 | Associate Professor of Psychology
Department of Social Sciences University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK
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2011-2017 | Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Social Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK
EDUCATION
2007-2011 | University of Kansas, Ph.D. in Psychology (emphasis is Social Psychology)
2005-2007 | University of Kansas, M.A. in Psychology (emphasis is Social Psychology)
2000-2004 | University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.S
Major: Psychology
Minor: Women’s Studies
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TEACHING
Courses that I offer (*designates courses that I teach often):
Friends, enemies, and intimates*
Fundamentals of Psychological Research I*
Fundamentals of Psychological Research II*
Human Sexuality
Introduction to Psychology*
Psychology of Gender*
Social Psychology
Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Discrimination*
Contact Me
Division of Social, Behavioral, and Human Sciences
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
University of Washington Tacoma
1900 Commerce St.
Tacoma, WA 98402