Our projects explore the link between macro-level structural phenomena (networks, organizations, and media environments) and micro-level cognitive mechanisms ("representations," cultural meanings, and status beliefs).

Three key questions guide the work that we do:

1. How do macro-level social environments, and changes to these environments, influence meanings people have about groups, objects, or behaviors they encounter in the world around them?
2. When and how do social environments cause durable changes to mental representations about social identities, exchanges, and interactions (as opposed to merely constraining or enabling the actions / meanings a person can use)?
3. Can systematic changes in person-level cultural meanings enable macro-level social change?

By exploring these topics, we build knowledge about the relationship between social structures and the beliefs of individuals within them. Our approach involves the use of rigorous scientific methods to study basic social processes that are often relevant to organizational and social policy.