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IMPORTANT UPDATE:
In Fall 2018, I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at California State University, San Marcos. You can find my new website here: www.kimellab.com
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Biography & CV
I completed my PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan with additional training in both Cultural Psychology and Public Policy. Since then, I have been a Harvard College Fellow as well as postdoctororal fellow and lecturer at Harvard.
To understand the factors that drive racial/ethnic conflict across cultures, my research use multiple levels of analysis. For instance, at the cultural level, I examine how conflict intervention strategies vary cross-culturally; at the societal level, how social inequality impacts conflict; and at the individual level, how conflict is impacted by such factors as differing views about social hierarchy and innate essence. Trained as a Cultural Psychologist, I draw heavily on cross-cultural methodology. I also utilize an interdisciplinary approach, field experiments, and groups that are currently engaged in conflict (e.g., Palestinians, Israeli-Jews, foreigners volunteering for the Kurdish militia in Syria). Moreover, I test meaningful outcomes (e.g. war policy, support for humanitarian aid, willingness for intergroup contact). My research has been published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, PLOS One, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, and NeuroImage and has also been featured in popular press outlets, including The Washington Post and Scientific American.
At Harvard, I teach a number of courses, including Cultural Psychology: Diverse Social Identities in the US and Beyond; Psychology of the Political Left & Right; Psychology of Being Rich or Poor; and Experimental Research Methods. I have has also taught Social Psychological Experimental Methods UMass Boston and both Psychology of Careers andTeaching Techniques in Psychology at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.