Our Team

Associate Professor
calvin.lai@rutgers.edu | CV | Google Scholar
[Pronunciation: “KAL-vin LYE“]

Benny is a postdoc in the Diversity Science Lab. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University and a PhD in psychology from Princeton University. He's interested in how people think about social identity and how this does or doesn't change over time, especially in children, teenagers, and young adults. In his free time, he's an avid consumer of film, live theater, and novels. 

Selin is a fifth year graduate student in Psychology at Rutgers University. She graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Statistics and International Relations. Before starting her PhD, she conducted research on achievement motivation, emotion regulation, and social stress. She completed her honors thesis on COVID-19 and intergroup relations between international and domestic college students. She completed the first three years of her PhD at WashU, where she received a Master’s degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences and taught statistical coding in R. She recently transferred to Rutgers University, where she looks forward to continuing her research on stereotypes and prejudice, particularly when it comes to race/ethnicity, nationality, and immigration.

Brianna is a second-year Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at Rutgers University. She earned a B.S. in Psychological Science from Ball State University, where her honors thesis explored how narrative and statistical appeals shape understanding of and collective actions towards the Black-White wealth gap. Prior to starting her PhD, she supported English language instruction for students in grades 8–12 as an ETA for Fulbright Bulgaria. At Rutgers, she is interested in exploring identity development and identity-related experiences in individuals whose identities do not fit neatly within one identity domain. As part of this, she has explored racial self-identification of multiracial individuals and identity denial experiences of Bisexual+ individuals. She is also interested in the effectiveness of prejudice reduction interventions. 

Shannon is a second-year Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at Rutgers University. Shannon brings experience from previous roles at the University of Arkansas, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and an M.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences. A lifelong "doodler" in the margins of paper, Shannon's undergraduate honors thesis compared the cognitive psychological processes involved in notetaking strategies. Her master’s thesis examined Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) education as an intervention to reduce prejudice against the LGBTQIA+ community. She's interested in how religious and moral values shape perceptions and drive decision-making. Outside of the lab, Shannon is passionate about teaching and mentorship, making puns, and hiking.