Council Member 2016-2019

Tiffany N. Brannon is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Social Psychology from Stanford University and her B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dispute Resolution Research Center/ Visiting Assistant Professor in Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Her research examines socio-cultural identities in negatively stereotyped groups such as African Americans and Latino/a/x Americans; and she investigates the potential for these identities to serve as a psychological resource— one that can facilitate a variety of individual and intergroup benefits. Her research integrates basic psychological theories related to the self, multicultural experiences, and consistency theories to understand the conditions that allow culturally shaped identities in negatively stereotyped groups to function as powerful agents of social change. This research has demonstrated that culturally shaped identities when affirmed within mainstream educational settings can increase academic motivation, performance and sense of inclusion among members of negatively stereotyped groups. Her research also highlights the power of theory-driven diversity practices to improve intergroup attitudes (e.g., reduced implicit bias, backlash effects) among majority group members. Her research has been published in top academic journals including Psychological Science, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Social Issues and Policy Review, and the Journal of Social Issues. She is currently a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and an elected council member for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI).