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Sarah J. Gervais

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  • SPN Mentor

Professor Sarah Gervais' research examines power and subtle prejudice. Examining behaviors like the objectifying gaze, flattery, patronization, and interpersonal confrontation, she has found that the discriminatory acts of powerful people are often more subtle and nuanced than previously thought, but they still have negative consequences for recipients from negatively stereotyped groups (like women, racial minorities, and people from poor and working class backgrounds). Professor Gervais also examines the relationship between subtle prejudice and public policy and law.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Culture and Ethnicity
  • Gender Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Internet and Virtual Psychology
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Social Cognition
  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Culture and Ethnicity
  • Gender Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Internet and Virtual Psychology
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Journal Articles:

  • Allen, J., & Gervais, S. J. (in press). The drive to be sexy: Core motivations and consequences of women’s self-sexualization. Advances in Psychology. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
  • Bernard, P., Gervais, S. J., Allen, J., Campomizzi, S., & Klein, O. (in press). Integrating sexual objectification with object versus person recognition: The sexualized body-inversion hypothesis. Psychological Science.
  • Gervais, S. J., & Hillard, A. (2011). A role congruity perspective on voting preferences for Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Analysis of Public Policy and Social Issues.
  • Gervais, S. J., Hillard, A., & Vescio, T. K. (2010). Confronting sexism: The role of relationship orientation and gender. Sex Roles, 63, 463-474.
  • Gervais, S. J., & Vescio, T. K. (in press). Patronizing behavior and gender differences in personal control and performance. Sex Roles.
  • Gervais, S. J., Vescio, T. K., & Allen, J. (2011). A test of the fungibility hypothesis from sexual objectification theory. British Journal of Social Psychology.
  • Gervais, S. J., Vescio, T. K., & Allen, J. (2011). When what you see is what you get: The consequences of the objectifying gaze for men and women. Psychology of Women Quarterly. [Winner of the 2010-2011 Georgia Babladelis Best Paper Award, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association]
  • Vescio, T. K., Gervais, S. J., Snyder, M., & Hoover, A. (2005). Power and the creation of patronizing environments: The stereotype-based behaviors of the powerful and their effects on female performance in masculine domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [Winner of the 2005-2006 Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Division 9 of the American Psychological Association]

Other Publications:

  • Gervais, S. J. (2010). Disability, discrimination, and law. In R. Wiener (Ed.), Disability and Age Discrimination: Perspectives in Law and Psychology. New York: Springer.
  • Swim, J. K., Gervais, S. J., Pearson, N., & Stangor, S. J. (2009). Managing the message: Strategic self-presentation of confrontation to interpersonal discrimination. In F. Butera (Ed.), Coping with Minority Status: Responses to Exclusion and Inclusion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Vescio, T. K., Gervais, S. J., Heipheitz, L., & Bloodhart, B. (2009). Stereotyping and power. In Handbook of Prejudice. New York: Psychology Press.

Courses Taught:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Psychology of Gender
  • Social Cognition
  • Social Psychology
  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Psychology of Gender
  • Social Cognition
  • Social Psychology

Sarah J. Gervais
Department of Psychology
338 Burnett Hall
University of Nebraska--Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588
United States

Phone: (402) 472-3793

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