Email: a.iyer@sheffield.ac.uk
Bio
Aarti Iyer is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology. During the 2021-22 academic year, she is on leave from the university to take up the James Marshall Public Policy Fellowship awarded by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). She is based in Washington DC as a scholar-in-residence, using social science theory and research to inform the development and implementation of federal policy.
Research interests
Aarti’s research investigates responses to social inequality on the part of individuals and organizations, with studies conducted in various countries (e.g., USA, China, Australia, UK) using a range of methodologies (e.g., surveys, experiments, focus groups, interviews). She is currently involved in three lines of work:
- Identifying the perceptions and emotions that predict individuals’ efforts to challenge inequality and injustice, for instance through political activism and support for government policy.
- Documenting the factors that improve the design and implementation of institutional Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) policies such as affirmative action.
- Understanding how social networks can improve immigrants’ transitions to new countries, with implications for social integration, academic performance, and economic mobility.
Aarti’s recent publications include:
- Iyer, A & Achia, T (2021). Mobilized or marginalized? Understanding low-status groups’ responses to social justice efforts led by high-status groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. View this article in WRRO
- Orellana L, Totterdell P & Iyer A (2020) The association between transgender-related fiction and transnegativity: Transportation and intergroup anxiety as mediators. Psychology & Sexuality. View this article in WRRO
- James P, Iyer A & Webb TL (2019) The impact of post-migration stressors on refugees’ emotional distress and health: A longitudinal analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology. View this article in WRRO
- Badea C, Iyer A & Aebischer V (2018) National identification, endorsement of acculturation ideologies and prejudice: The impact of perceived threat of immigration. International Review of Social Psychology, 31(1). View this article in WRRO
