

Corinne Moss-Racusin
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- SPN Mentor
I am an Associate Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. Before that, I was a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University, working with Dr. John Dovidio and Dr. Jo Handelsman. I completed my Ph.D. in March of 2011 at Rutgers University, working primarily with Dr. Laurie Rudman, and also with Dr. Diana Sanchez. I studied Psychology, Creative Writing and French at New York University, and completed my senior honors thesis with Dr. Madeline Heilman on the topic of negative reactions to women who fail to behave in a female sex-typed way. I then worked as research assistant at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity with Dr. Kelly Brownell, completing projects on bias and stereotyping directed towards overweight individuals.
My work focuses on understanding and ameliorating inequality within institutions. Generally, I am interested in stereotyping processes and diversity, gender roles, and implicit social cognition. More specifically, I have focused on the ways in which stereotypes shape behavior, social judgments, and self-regulation, and how these in turn impact intergroup relations and the equitable treatment of stigmatized group members. To this end, my research falls into three basic themes: (1) the professional consequences of perceived gender stereotype violations for both women and men; (2) the factors responsible for undermining women’s self-promotion success; and 3) how the goal to be egalitarian shapes people’s attitudes about prejudice in the face of difficult hiring decisions involving diverse applicants.
Additionally, newer projects investigate the causes and seek to ameliorate persistent discrimination against women and racial minorities in science (by providing the first evidence and revealing the underlying mechanism of science faculty gender bias against undergraduate students, and testing a nationwide intervention designed to reduce faculty racial and gender bias). In addition to experimental laboratory studies, my work utilizes computerized reaction time data collection and internet-based sampling methods. I also employ statistical techniques such as path analysis, multilevel modeling for dyadic and nested data analysis, and structural equation modeling.
Primary Interests:
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Gender Psychology
- Group Processes
- Intergroup Relations
- Organizational Behavior
- Person Perception
- Political Psychology
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Video Gallery
The Biases that Blind Us: How Gender Stereotypes Constrain Opportunities for Women in STEM
Journal Articles:
- Brescoll, V. L., Uhlmann, E. L., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Sarnell (2012). Masculinity, status and subordination: Why working for a stereotype violator causes men to lose status. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 354-357.
- Good, J. J., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Sanchez, D. T. (2012). Why confront? Motivation for confronting prejudice on behalf of the self and others. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36, 210-226.
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Good, J. J. (2010). “But, that doesn’t apply to me”: Teaching college students to think about gender. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 418-421. [shared first authorship]
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., Good, J. J., & Sanchez, D. T. (2010). Impact of collective gender identity on relationship quality: When men feel devalued. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 11, 65-75.
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Rudman, L. A. (2010). “I’m not prejudiced, but...”: Compensatory egalitarianism in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Political Psychology, 31, 543-561.
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Rudman, L. A. (2010). When men break the gender rules: Status incongruity and backlash against modest men. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 11, 140-151.
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Rudman, L. A. (2010). Disruptions in women’s self-promotion: The backlash avoidance model. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 186-202.
- Phelan, J. E., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Rudman, L. A. (2008). Competent yet out in the cold: Shifting criteria for hiring reflect backlash toward agentic women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 406-413.
- Puhl, R. M., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Schwartz, M. B. (2007). Internalization of weight bias: Implications for binge eating and emotional well-being. Obesity, 15, 19-23.
- Puhl, R. M., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Schwartz, M. B., & Brownell, K. D. (2008). Weight stigmatization and bias reduction: Perspectives of overweight and obese adults. Health Education Research, 23, 347-358.
- Rudman, L. A., Mescher, K., & Moss-Racusin, C. A. (in press). Reactions to gender egalitarian men: Perceived feminization due to stigma-by-association? Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.
- Rudman, L.A., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Nauts, S. (2012). Status incongruity and backlash effects: Defending the gender hierarchy motivates prejudice against female leaders. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 165-179.
- Sanchez, D. T., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Crocker, J. (2011). Relationship contingency and sexual motivation in women: Implications for sexual satisfaction. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 99-110.
- Sanchez, D. T., Phelan, J. E., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Good, J. J. (2012). The gender role motivation model of women’s sexually submissive behavior and satisfaction in heterosexual couples. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 528-539.
- West, T. V., Heilman, M. E., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Gullett, R., & Magee, J. C. (2012). Building blocks of bias: Gender composition predicts male and female group members’ evaluations of each other and the group. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1209-1212.
Other Publications:
- Moss, N. E., Racusin, G. R., & Moss-Racusin, C. A. (2007). Group therapy with children and adolescents. In A. Martin and F. Volkmar (Ed.), Child and adolescent psychiatry: A comprehensive textbook (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
- Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Heilman, M. E. (2005). Interpersonal penalties for failure behavior on sex-consistent domains. Inquiry: Journal of Undergraduate Research, 9, 36.
- Prime, J., & Moss-Racusin, C. A. (2009). Engaging men in gender initiatives: What change agents need to know. New York: Catalyst.
- Prime, J., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Foust-Cummings, H. (2010). Engaging men in gender initiatives: Stacking the deck for success. New York: Catalyst.
- Rudman, L. A., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Glick, P., & Phelan, J. E. (2012). Reactions to vanguards: Advances in backlash theory. In Devine, P. G., & Plant, E. A. (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 45, pp. 167-227.
Courses Taught:
- Introductory/General Psychology
- Psychology of Women and Gender
- Research Methods
- Social Psychology
Corinne Moss-Racusin
Department of Psychology
Skidmore College, Tisch Learning Center
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
United States of America
- Phone: (518) 580-8329
- Email: cmossrac@skidmore.edu