Advancing Research Impacts Field and Society
AUGUST 18, 2022 BY STAFF REPORT
Joseph D. Wellman, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi
Joseph D. Wellman, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi, was recently named a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), a leading international professional organization dedicated to the advancement of experimental social psychological research.
“I congratulate Dr. Wellman on this recognition of the impact of his work on the field and society,” said Rebekah Smith, chair and professor of the Department of Psychology. “Only a select few researchers are so honored and this brings important recognition to his research program, the department and the university.”
SESP Fellows are nominated by current members and their contribution to experimental psychology is evaluated by the membership committee to have shown evidence of substantial contribution to social psychology as an empirical science.
“It’s very much an honor to be appointed a fellow of SESP,” Wellman said. “This is a group of researchers who I admire, respect and to be counted among them is truly validating. Being a part of this society also offers me the opportunity to bring attention to the work of my PhD students and the work being conducted in the social psychology area here at the University of Mississippi.”
His research examines stigma, prejudice and perceptions of bias from the perspectives of both dominant (e.g. White individuals and men) and stigmatized groups (e.g. higher weight individuals, ethnic minorities). His experimental work was some of the first to examine reactions to high-status claimants of discrimination and to experimentally examine endorsement of zero-sum beliefs about discrimination (e.g. the perception that less discrimination for one group results in a corresponding increase in discrimination for another). His recent work focuses on the implications of zero-sum beliefs for bias among Christians and LGBT individuals and between Asian Americans and African Americans for intergroup bias, cooperation and solidarity.
Wellman, who joined the faculty in 2019, is a 2021–2023 University of Mississippi Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies Fellow selected for his research and academic efforts in the areas of gender and sexuality. A $9,000 grant contributes to his two-year research project studying how individuals respond to claims of sexism, particularly how intersecting identities and in-group-out-group dynamics affect those responses.
“These intersectional differences in how we perceive and respond to sexism claims based on race may lead to less-than-ideal outcomes for minority women,” Wellman said. “And there is a gap in the literature because often in experimentation, we try to isolate race from gender and thus we do not always examine the intersection.”
