Joseph D. Wellman, PhD

Dr. Wellman is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology and the Director of Experimental Training in the psychology department at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maine and completed a  postdoctoral fellowship in Culture, Emotion, and Race at Wesleyan University. Prior to joining the faculty at UM, he was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University, San Bernardino where he received an NSF ADVANCE grant to address issues of diversity in promotion, tenure, and hiring. He recently received another NSF ADVANCE grant to address similar issues here at the University of Mississippi.

His work focuses on how being the target of stigma affects behaviors, well-being, and performance among both low status and high status groups. Much of this work explores factors that may influence an individual’s response to discrimination, bias, and intergroup interactions (e.g., system-legitimizing beliefs, group identification, zero-sum beliefs, perceived sigma, etc.). His research has been published in social psychology journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, the Psychology of Men and Masculinities, and the Journal of Social Issues as well as interdisciplinary health journals such as Appetite and Stigma & Health.

 

Graduate Students

Brianna S. Richmond, M.S.

Brianna is a fourth year Social Psychology graduate student in the Experimental Psychology program. She received her BA from Austin College in Psychology and History and a MS from Western Illinois University in General Experimental Psychology. Broadly, Brianna research interest includes how one’s identity influences intergroup interactions. Her current research focuses on how stereotype threat affects high status groups in emotions, behaviors, cognition, and perceptions of low status group members. Outside the lab Brianna enjoys a nice book, spending time with friends, and pampering her puppy, Rhys.

 

 

Ana Clara Vieira Zaidan, M.A.

Ana is a third year Social Psychology graduate student in the Experimental Psychology Program. She received her B.S. in Psychology with a Minor in Health Studies from The University of Texas at Tyler. Ana is from Brazil and due to her cultural background, she is interested in the impact of culture and social norms on eating behavior. Her interests also extend to the experience and perceptions of International Students, and mental health in LGBTQ+ individuals. In her free time, Ana enjoys playing sports, reading, dancing, and spending time with her friends.