People

Professor
	John Jost Most of John’s work focuses on the theoretical and empirical implications of system justification theory. He is also interested in the underlying cognitive and motivational differences between liberal-leftists and conservative-rightists. A Theory of System Justification Left and Right: The Psychological Significance of a Political Distinction NYU Faculty Bio Professor Jost does not anticipate welcoming any new doctoral students into his lab until the academic year of 2026-2027 at the soonest.

Current Doctoral Students
	Jeannine Alana Bertin Alana is interested in the social and political psychological mechanisms that maintain and perpetuate oppressive and hierarchical social systems, including system justification motives, social dominance orientation, and stereotypes. She is also interested in understanding the psychological mechanisms that either obstruct or promote attitudinal and behavioral opposition to oppressive social systems.
	Danielle Goldwert Danielle’s research lies at the intersection of social psychology and global climate change, with interests including social norms, communication, and social change. She is passionate about conducting impact-focused research with real-world applications to mitigate the climate crisis. Through her work, she plans to use behavioral science to craft interventions promoting pro-environmental behaviors and policy support. Visit Web Page
	Ali Javeed Description coming soon. Visit Web Page
	Katherine Mason Katie is broadly interested in examining the parallel and distinctive psychological processes through which high- and low-status group members come to accept unfair arrangements and resist social change, even at a detriment to their own wellbeing. She also has interests in examining the unintended consequences of various social change initiatives, particularly those that emphasize the importance of incremental progress.
Visiting Scholars
	Mariana Biermann Mariana’s current research focuses on understanding gender inequality legitimation mechanisms using Social and Political Psychology. She is passionate about social innovation and impact-focused research, including application to social change, policy support and strategic decision making on business. She’s also interested in understanding sexism, stereotypes, system justification motives, motivated social cognition and political ideology. Her approach and experience are grounded on mixed-method research and creating connections between different disciplines.
	Débora De Oliveira Santos Débora’s research is focused on understanding and explaining psychosociological bases and dynamics related to support for contemporary right-wing extremism, including structural, societal, and individual levels of analysis. She is broadly interested in the interdisciplinary possibilities between Political Science, Sociology, and Psychology to explain social and political phenomena, especially those related to political behavior, political culture, and ideology. In addition, Débora is also interested in public policy and research methodologies, with an emphasis on mixed methods and comparative methods.
	Matilde Tumino Matilde is broadly interested in examining the role of social norms in group perception and automatic categorization processes. Specifically, her research looks at how social norms sometimes serve to justify the status quo and the stereotypical expectations towards specific social groups in terms of morality and political attitudes.
Lab Alumni
	Flávio Azevedo Faculty Member University of Utrecht, the Netherlands Flavio is interested in politico-psychological approaches investigating dispositional and situational processes underlying ideological subscription. He has a penchant for psychometrics and random-effects models, which he is using to evaluate current practices in the measurement of ideology. Currently, John Jost and Flavio are working on the political psychology of the 2016 Election.
	Vivienne Badaan Faculty Member, Department of Psychology American University of Beirut, Lebanon Vivienne is interested in the cross-cultural implications and applications of system justification theory, specifically in the Middle East and the Arab region, and the pathways and factors in play between motivation for system justification and collective action. She is also interested in addressing the nuances of religious and political ideology in culture-specific contexts. Visit Web Page
	Henry Biedron Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara Henry is interested in the areas of motivated cognition and system justification motives. Specifically, he studies the influence of system justification beliefs on adolescents’ representations of leadership. Broadly, he hopes to understand how inequality in the field of leadership influences adolescents, and explore how research efforts can address these underlying inequalities. He also performs more general research in the area of self-regulation.
	Ian Cropley Ian is broadly interested in the underpinnings and implications of political ideology and prejudice. His current research examines the roles of system justification, disgust, political ideology, and beliefs about immigrants in anti-immigrant attitudes.
	Sarah DiMuccio Senior Research Analyst Catalyst Inc. Sarah’s research interests include precarious manhood beliefs and behaviors and the relationship between precarious manhood and political ideology. Visit Web Page
	Irina Feygina Director of Behavioral Science and Assessment Climate Central Irina works at the intersection of science and policy on issues of environmental and social sustainability. Visit Web Page
	Erin Godfrey Faculty Member, Applied Psychology Steinhardt School of Culture, Development, & Education, New York University Erin looks at how individuals interact with, understand, and are influenced by the social, economic and political systems in which they are embedded, both in the United States and internationally. Visit Web Page
	Shahrzad Goudarzi Postdoctoral Researcher, NYU-Abu Dhabi Shahrzad is broadly interested in how we feel, think, and act in the context of vast socioeconomic disparities. Her overarching goal is to understand the interrelation between structural and individual factors that promote (or hinder) greater equality. Visit Web Page
	Jasna Catherine Hardin Ph.D. Student, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Jasna is broadly interested in the psychological processes which inform healthcare attitudes, policy, and resistance to change. In addition, she is also interested in technology and its ability to leverage social psychology to improve health outcomes.
	Erin Hennes Faculty Member, University of Missouri Erin’s research investigates the influence of cognitive and motivated biases on processing of sociopolitical information.
	Mark Hoffarth Data Analyst and Consultant YSC Consulting Mark is interested in political psychology, intergroup relations, and sexuality. He is currently completing an NSF-funded postdoc examining when and why sexual minorities either challenge or justify heterosexist social systems, including factors such as political ideology, religiosity, system-justifying stereotypes, sexual identity, and well-being. Visit Web Page
	Aaron Kay Faculty Member: Management, Psychology & Neuroscience Duke University Aaron’s research centers on the application of social cognitive and social psychological theories, principles and processes to the understanding of individual and societal motivations, beliefs and behaviors. Visit Web Page
	Margarita Krochik 1983-2013 Margarita’s research explored how belief systems structure our mental representations of the world, infuse our lives with meaning, and help guide our behavior. Visit Web Page
	Melanie Langer Senior Research Associate Lancaster University, UK Melanie is interested in how underlying needs give rise to ideological differences and motivate positions on particular issues and behavior. Visit Web Page
	Alison Ledgerwood Faculty Member Department of Psychology University of California, Davis Alison is interested in attitudes, social influence, and identity symbols. Visit Web Page
	Usman Liaquat Usman is broadly interested in identifying the psychological processes that underpin liberal-conservative differences on a number of social issues, such as immigration. His approach is informed by empirical work on political ideology as motivated social cognition, and relatedly, system justification motives. He is also generally interested in research on intergroup relations and stereotyping.
	Ido Liviatan Faculty Member Department of Education & Psychology Open University Ido is interested in the motivational and cognitive underpinnings of system justification tendencies. Visit Web Page
	Nicole McGovern Nicole is interested in psychological research concerning gender and gender perceptions. She is particularly interested in ambivalent sexism, feminism, and masculinity, and their role in the maintenance (or dismantling) of the status quo.
	Avital Mentovich Faculty Member, Quantitative Criminology University of Essex, United Kingdom Tali’s research looks at how people’s perceptions of what is fair affect their perceptions of and reactions to social, legal, political, and public policy issues. Visit Web Page
	Hannah Nam Faculty Member CUNY Graduate Center & Brooklyn College Hannah is interested in the psychological mechanisms and motivations that underlie both resistance to and support for change. Visit Web Page
	Jaime Napier Faculty Member Department of Psychology NYU Abu Dhabi Jaime’s research focuses on the motivational underpinnings and the social and psychological consequences of belief systems, with a focus on political and religious ideologies. Visit Web Page
	Sharareh Noorbaloochi Director, Data Science at C3 Artificial Intelligence Sharareh is interested in the behavioral and neural bases of moral-political attitudes and in interventions targeted at promoting global justice. Visit Web Page
	Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo is Ph.D. candidate in the social psychology program at New York University. His research explores the social-psychological effects of colonialism/coloniality, including its impact on intergroup relations, acculturation, and ideological expressions that endorse neo-colonial practices, legitimizing current social, economic, and political disparities. Although primarily focused on the Puerto Rico-U.S. colonial relationship, he also investigates the role of present-day colonial ideologies on individual values and beliefs amid global inequalities. Publications
	Ruthie Pliskin Faculty Member, Institute of Psychology Leiden University, Netherlands Ruthie’s research interests lie in the intersection of ideology and emotional processes, with a focus on emotion regulation, in intergroup relations and otherwise. She is also interested in psychological barriers to intergroup conflict resolution and the psychology of collective action. Visit Web Page Visit Faculty Bio
	Lindsay Rankin Research and Data Remotely, Internet Publishing Lindsay is interested in how the motivation to justify the extant social system influences how we perceive and respond to information. Visit Web Page
	Andreas Soerensen Andreas is interested in the organizational and social psychological mechanisms that contributes to the sustainable knowledge-action gap. His current research examines the use of Future Design and Utopian thinking in driving individual and organizational action. Through the system-justification perspective and his research, he plans to create feasible frameworks for social and sustainable interventions for organizations.
	Joanna Sterling Postdoctoral Researcher Princeton University Joanna’s research focuses on conceptions of ideology, ideological identification, and inter-party communication. Visit Web Page
	Chadly Stern Faculty Member, Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign Chadly is interested in how a perceiver’s political ideology influences social perception processes. Visit Web Page
	Hulda Thorisdottir Faculty Member Department of Political Science University of Iceland Hulda’s research focuses on religion, morality, authority, and group dynamics. Visit Web Page
	Jojanneke van der Toorn Associate Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences Utrecht University, the Netherlands The research of Jojanneke van der Toorn mainly focuses on the social psychological mechanisms involved in how, why, and when people resist, provide support for, or directly engage in social change. She studies individuals’ desires to change (vs. maintain) the status quo from a variety of angles, such as (1) the influence of structural factors, (2) the underlying motivational forces, and (3) the consequences for the self and society. In this, she is particularly interested in the active contributions of the disadvantaged to the maintenance of societal disparity. She demonstrated, for example, that a sense of dependence leads people to legitimize rather than challenge the structures of inequality that affect them, making them accomplices in their own subjugation. Visit Web Page
	Jussi Valtonen Novelist and Neuropsychologist Helsinki, Finland Jussi is interested in mental illness stigma, perceptions of individuals with mental illness, and social cognition in the context of medicine. He is also interested in intuitions about brains and minds and the social implications of these intuitions. Visit Website
	Cheryl Wakslak Faculty Member, Management and Organization Marshall School of Business University of Southern California Cheryl’s research looks at organizational decision-making, focusing on how proximity changes the way individuals represent information, thereby influencing judgment and behavior. Visit Web Page

Professor

John Jost

Current Doctoral Students

Jeannine Alana Bertin

Danielle Goldwert

Ali Javeed

Katherine Mason

Visiting Scholars

Mariana Biermann

Débora De Oliveira Santos

Matilde Tumino

Lab Alumni

Flávio Azevedo

Vivienne Badaan

Henry Biedron

Ian Cropley

Sarah DiMuccio

Irina Feygina

Erin Godfrey

Shahrzad Goudarzi

Jasna Catherine Hardin

Erin Hennes

Mark Hoffarth

Aaron Kay

Margarita Krochik

Melanie Langer

Alison Ledgerwood

Usman Liaquat

Ido Liviatan

Nicole McGovern

Avital Mentovich

Hannah Nam

Jaime Napier

Sharareh Noorbaloochi

Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo

Ruthie Pliskin

Lindsay Rankin

Andreas Soerensen

Joanna Sterling

Chadly Stern

Hulda Thorisdottir

Jojanneke van der Toorn

Jussi Valtonen

Cheryl Wakslak