newsletter: august 2024
happy august!! meet this month's guest editor Pauline Ho!
hi, it’s jordan! 🌙🪐💫
🌞☀️🌺🍄 we hope everyone has managed to stay cool this summer 🌞☀️🌺🍄
we have a few announcements & reminders:
we will be hosting a job market materials workshop on AUGUST 20th from 1PM EST - 3PM EST over zoom. we will have people who have been on the other side of the market provide some general pointers and answer any burning questions you have for, then we will read/swap materials in small groups. if you would like to attend, please fill out this form.
as a reminder, we are hosting another marginalia science x boston college symposium this fall! early career researchers from our community will be invited to share their research with a wide audience, and awarded an honorarium. stay tuned for more information!
want to be a guest editor? shoot us an email or sign up via this google form!
🌞☀️🌺🍄
i’m excited to introduce this month’s guest editor, Pauline Ho, PhD!
Pauline Ho
about me
I recently earned my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a milestone that still feels surreal to me. During my studies, I received two honors: being recognized as one of the notable graduates this year and becoming the first Ph.D. student in the School of Education to receive the Award for Mentoring Undergraduates in Research. I also have a first-author paper accepted for publication in Developmental Psychology.
My academic journey has been driven by a fascination with identity development, particularly in response to my own existential questions: 'Who am I?' and 'Who do I want to be?' Growing up with Vietnamese roots in a predominantly Chinese environment, and now as a naturalized U.S. citizen, I often find myself navigating between cultures without fully belonging to any one. Existing theories have not fully explained my experiences, motivating my research into how individuals understand their ethnic-racial identity amidst diverse backgrounds. I emphasize that individuals actively shape their own development, advocating for recognition of the diversity and uniqueness in everyone's journey.
Outside of academia, I enjoy various forms of exercise. When I'm not researching or writing, you can find me exploring dance, boxing, hiking, and various aerial exercises like silks, hammock, yoga, pole, and hoop. These activities not only keep me physically engaged but also provide a creative outlet that complements my academic pursuits.
📺 consuming 📚
Crime drama is my favorite genre ever… Criminal minds, CSI, Law and order - SVU, and even crime drama in other countries (China, Korea, Thailand, etc.)
🌈 experiencing ✨
I have been exploring a variety of indoor fitness activities this summer due to the hot weather in California. These activities include aerial hoop, silk, and hammock, pole dance, Pilates, and various dance styles such as hip hop, jazz, heels, classical, and Broadway.
🧠 thinking 🤯
I will be back on the job market again in 2025. I have been thinking about how to best spend my time next year to boost up my profile/CV, prepping for Fall classes, and planning for my research lab. It is both exciting and stressful….hhhh
💻 some papers i’m (trying!) to read this month👇
Dynamics of identity development in adolescence: A decade in review.
Branje, De Moor, Spitzer, & Becht | Journal of Research on Adolescence | 2021
Persistent concerns: Questions for research on ethnic-racial identity development.
Rogers, Kiang, White, Calzada, Umaña-Taylor, Byrd, ... & Whitesell | Research in Human Development | 2020
THIS MONTH’S ROUND-UP 🤩
💎 awesome work by marginalia and affiliated scientists 💎
The genetic essentialism of the alt-right
Katherine Sawyer & H. Hannah Nam | Research & Politics (2024)
The belief among white nationalist, alt-right supporters that white people are being systematically replaced by non-white groups in society (i.e., the conspiracy theory of “great replacement”) is grounded in their broader beliefs in “race realism”—that is, the idea that racial categories are biologically determined. Here, we probe the common psychological biases that may contribute to the alt-right’s racist ideology. Surveying a national sample of Americans (N = 1500), we find that alt-right supporters are significantly more likely to support essentialist beliefs—the notion that biology forms the core of who people are—than other Americans. Moreover, results from a two-wave experiment suggest that the alt-right interprets media narratives around behavioral science research in a way that reinforces belief in fundamental genetic differences between social groups. Consistent with expectations, narratives that emphasize deterministic genetic explanations for behavior lead all participants (regardless of alt-right support) to express increased essentialist beliefs. However, for alt-right supporters, socioenvironmental explanations for human behavior also lead to an increase in essentialist beliefs. Moreover, alt-right supporters are more likely to mistakenly interpret socioenvironmental narratives as direct evidence for the genetic basis of behavior. We suggest that essentialist thinking may provide a cognitive gateway to alt-right ideology.
Cooperation, domination: Twin functions of third-party punishment
Jordan Wylie & Ana Gantman | Social & Personality Psychology Compass (2024)
Rules serve many important functions in society. One such function is to codify, and make public and enforceable, a society's desired prescriptions and proscriptions. This codification means that rules come with predefined punishments administered by third parties. We argue that when we look at how third parties punish rule violations, we see that rules and their punishments often serve dual functions. They support and help to maintain cooperation as it is usually theorized, but they also facilitate the domination of marginalized others. We begin by reviewing literature on rules and third-party punishment, arguing that a great deal of punishment research has neglected to consider the unique power of codified rules. We also argue that by focusing on codified rules, it becomes clear that the enforcement of such rules via third-party punishment is often used to exert control, punish retributively, and oppress outgroup members. By challenging idealized theory of rules as facilitators of social harmony, we highlight their role in satisfying personal punishment motives, and facilitating discrimination in a way that is uniquely justifiable to those who enforce them.
👓 OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOU 🚀
Minds Matter podcast (which features marginalia community members from time to time!)
Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics: presentation and publication opportunities
🌱 JOB-MARKET RESOURCES 🌱
don’t forget that we are hosting a academic job market workshop this month! sign up here
and no matter where you’re at right now -- offer in hand, fingers-still-crossed, looking at post-docs, tenure track jobs, or exploring options outside academia -- we support you!
Oberlin College: Tenure track assistant professor position in cognitive development due October 2024
University of Wisconsin: seeking to hire two social psychologists, one tenure track (deadline September 15, 2024) and one tenured (deadline October 8, 2024)
UCSD: Assistant Professor of Marketing (Consumer Behavior / Consumer Research)
University of Oregon: The Department of Marketing at the Lundquist School of Business of the University of Oregon is seeking to hire an Assistant Professor (all levels) with research and teaching interests aligned with the theme of “Marketing for a Better World.”
Carnegie Mellon: Tenure Track Position in Complex Social Dynamics, Department of Social and Decision Sciences
Michigan State University: The Department of Psychology at Michigan State University is seeking to hire a tenure track assistant professor with expertise in intergroup relations, broadly defined. Specific topics could include, but are not limited to, conflict and reconciliation, prejudice, stereotyping, stigma, social identities, collective action, and social inequalities.
Stony Brook University College of Business: Assistant Professor of Marketing
Carnegie Mellon University: Tenure Track Position in Complex Social Dynamics, Department of Social and Decision Sciences
Boston College School of Social Work: part-time faculty positions in Clinical and/or Macro social work practice
Washington University in St. Louis: Post-Doctoral Researcher in Marketing
UCLA Anderson School of Management: Research Assistant for Drs. Heather Maiirhe Caruso, Eugene Caruso, and Hanne Collins
and, of course, feel free to email us with questions, ideas, etc to add to this list!
in support & science,
📚 MARGINALIA SCIENCE 📚
eliana hadjiandreou
ivy gilbert
jordan wylie
minjae kim