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Publications
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Under Review & In Preparation
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For a Popular Audience
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+ Indicates shared authorship.
* Indicates collaboration with current or former doctoral students or postdocs.
2025:
Stephens, N. M., Emery, L. F., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2025). Social class. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, E. J. Finkel, & W. B. Mendes (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (6th ed.). Situational Press. https://doi.org/10.70400/MNXM3372
Truong, M., Birnbaum, H. J., Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Emery, L. F., Carey, R. M. (In Press). Professors' "Feminine" Behavioral Cues in the Classroom Close Gender Gaps in Participation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
2024:
Stephens, N. M., Emery, L. F., Townsend, S. S. M., & Song, H. J. (2024). Taking a social-class-in-context perspective on the psychology of social class. Journal of Social Issues. http://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12652
Bauer, C. A., Walton, G. M., Job, V., & Stephens, N. M. (2024). The strengths of people in low-SES positions: An identity-reframing intervention improves low-SES students’ achievement over one semester. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241284806
*Goudeau, S., Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., Darnon, C., Croizet, J.-C., & Cimpian, A. (2024). What causes social class disparities in education? The role of the mismatches between academic contexts and working-class socialization contexts and how the effects of these mismatches are explained. Psychological Review. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000473
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2024). Interdependent behavior only benefits employees from working-class backgrounds when it is both enacted and valued. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(3), 720–741. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001516
2023:
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., *Carey, R. M., Hamedani, M. G., *Brannon, T. N., & Murphy, M. C. (2023). The benefits of difference-education interventions in lower-resourced institutions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
*Goudeau, S., Sanrey, C., Autin, F., Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., Croizet, J.-C., & Cimpian, A. (2023). Unequal opportunities from the start: Socioeconomic disparities in classroom participation in preschool. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001437
Müller, F., Goudeau, S., Stephens, N. M., Aelenei, C., & Sanitioso, R. B. (2023). Social-class inequalities in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Digital divide, cultural mismatch, and psychological barriers. International Review of Social Psychology, 36(1): 3, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.716
2022:
*Birnbaum, H. J., *Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Reinhart, E., *Carey, R. M., & Markus, H. R. (2022). Personal harm from the Covid-19 pandemic increases advocacy for equality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104(2023), 104400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104400
*Carey, R. M., Stephens N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2022). Is diversity enough? Cross-race and cross-class interactions in college occur less often than expected, but benefit members of lower-status groups when they occur. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(5), 889-908. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa000302
2021:
Stephens, N. M., Rivera, L. A., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2021). The cycle of workplace bias and how to interrupt it. Research in Organizational Behavior, 40, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.riob.2021.100137
Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2021). Difference-education improves first-generation students’ grades throughout college and increases comfort with social group difference. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(10), 1510-1519. doi: 10.1177/0146167220982909
2020:
*Birnbaum, H. J., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2020). A diversity ideology intervention: Multiculturalism reduces the racial achievement gap. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(5), 751-759. doi: 10.1177/1948550620938227
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2020). Achievement is not class-neutral: Working together benefits people from working-class contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119, 517-539. doi: 10.1037/pspa0000194
*Phillips, L. T., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & *Goudeau, S. (2020). Access is not enough: Cultural mismatch persists to limit first-generation students’ opportunities for achievement throughout college. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(5), 1112-1131. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000234
Stephens, N. M. Hamedani, M. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2020). Difference-education: Improving disadvantaged students’ academic outcomes by changing their theory of difference. In G. Walton & A. Crum (Eds.) Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social-Psychological Insights Can Help Solve Problems, New York, NY: Guilford Press.
2019:
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (2019). Understanding how people detect social class from speech requires taking a cultural psychological perspective. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 23871-23873 (commentary). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916908116
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & *Dittmann, A. G. (2019). Social class disparities in higher education and professional workplaces: The role of cultural mismatch. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28, 67-73. doi: 10.1177/0963721418806506
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2019). Difference matters: Teaching students a contextual theory of difference can help them succeed. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14, 156-174 doi: 10.1177/1745691618797957
Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., *Smallets, S., & Hamedani, M. G. (2019). Empowerment through difference: An online difference-education intervention closes the social class achievement gap. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 1068-1083. doi: 10.1177/0146167218804548
*Bencharit, L. Z., Ho, Y. W., Fung, H., Yeung, D., Stephens, N. M., Romero-Canyas, R., & Tsai, J. L. (2019). Should job applicants be excited or calm?: The role of culture and ideal affect in employment settings. Emotion, 19, 377-401. doi: 10.1037/emo0000444
2017:
Markus, H. R., & Stephens, N. M. (2017). Editorial overview: Inequality and social class: The psychological and behavioral consequences of inequality and social class: A theoretical integration. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, iv-xii. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.11.001
*Dittmann, A. G., & Stephens, N. M. (2017). Interventions aimed at closing the social class achievement gap in education: changing individuals, structures, and construals. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, 111-116. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.044
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (2017). Choice as an engine of analytic thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146, 1234-1246. doi: 10.1037/xge0000351
Stephens, N. M., *Dittmann, A. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2017). Social class and models of competence: How gateway institutions disadvantage working-class Americans and how to intervene. In C. Dweck, A. Elliot, & D. Yeager (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (2nd Edition): Theory and application. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
*Jury, M., Smeding, A. Stephens, N. M., *Nelson, J., Aelenei, C., & Darnon, C. (2017). The experience of low-SES students in higher education: Psychological barriers to success and interventions to reduce social-class inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 73, 16-34. doi: 10.1111/josi.12202
2016:
*Apfelbaum, E. P., Stephens, N. M., & Reagans, R. (2016). Beyond one-size-fits-all: Tailoring diversity approaches to the representation of social groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111, 547-566. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000071
2015:
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2015). The norms that drive behavior: Implications for Cultural Mismatch Theory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46, 1304-1306 (commentary). doi: 10.1177/0022022115600264
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Hamedani, M. G., Destin, M., & *Manzo, V. (2015). A difference-education intervention equips first-generation college students to thrive in the face of stressful college situations. Psychological Science, 26, 1556-1566. doi: 10.1177/0956797615593501
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2015). How can financial incentives improve the success of disadvantaged college students? Insights from the social sciences. In B. Castleman, S. Schwartz & S. Baum (Eds.), Decision making for student success: Behavioral insights to improve college access and persistence. New York, NY: Routledge.
Stephens, N. M., *Brannon, T. N., Markus, H. R., & *Nelson, J. E. (2015). Feeling at home in college: Fortifying school-relevant selves to reduce social class disparities in higher education. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9, 1-24. doi: 10.1111/sipr.12008
2014:
Stephens, N. M., Cameron, J. S., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2014). Lower social class does not (always) mean greater interdependence: Women in poverty have fewer social resources than working-class women. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 1060-1072. doi: 10.1177/0022022114534768
Stephens, N.M., Hamedani, M. H., & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students' academic performance and all students' college transition. Psychological Science, 25, 943-953. doi: 10.1177/0956797613518349
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & *Phillips, T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 611-634. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115143
2013:
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2013). How can incentives improve the success of disadvantaged college students? Insights from the Social Sciences. Policy brief for a project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the George Washington University.
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2013). Rank is not enough: Why we need a sociocultural perspective to understand social class. Psychological Inquiry, 24, 126-130 (commentary). doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2013.795099
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., & Hamedani, M. G. (2013). Who explains Hurricane Katrina and the Chilean earthquake as an act of God? The experience of extreme hardship predicts religious meaning-making. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 44, 607-619. doi: 10.1177/0022022112454330
2012:
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Fryberg, S. A. (2012). Social class disparities in health and education: Reducing inequality by applying a sociocultural self model of behavior. Psychological Review, 119(4), 723-744. doi: 10.1037/a0029028
+Kraus, M., & +Stephens, N. M. (2012). A road map for an emerging psychology of social class. Social Psychology and Personality Compass, 6, 642-656. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00453.x
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Markus, H. R., & *Phillips, L. T. (2012). A cultural mismatch: Independent cultural norms produce greater increases in cortisol and more negative emotions among first-generation college students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1389-1393. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.008
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C., & *Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178-1197. doi: 10.1037/a0027143
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., & Markus, H. R. (2012). It's your choice: How the middle-class model of independence disadvantages working-class Americans. In S. T. Fiske & H. R. Markus (Eds.), Facing social class: How societal rank influences interaction (pp. 87-106). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Fryberg, S. A., Stephens, N. M., *Covarrubias, R., Markus, H. R., Carter, E. D., Laiduc, G. A., and Salido, A. J. (2012). How the media frames the immigration debate: The critical role of location and politics. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 12, 96-112. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2011.01259.x
2007-2011:
+Stephens, N. M., & +Levine, C. S. (2011). Opting out or denying discrimination? How the framework of free choice in American society influences perceptions of gender inequality. Psychological Science, 22, 1231-1236. doi: 10.1177/0956797611417260
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (2011). The unanticipated interpersonal and societal consequences of choice: Victim-blaming and reduced support for the public good. Psychological Science, 22, 795-802. doi: 10.1177/0956797611407928
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., & Markus, H. R. (2011). When choice does not equal freedom: A sociocultural analysis of agency in working-class contexts. Social and Personality Psychology Science, 2, 33-41. doi: 10.1177/1948550610378757
Fryberg, S. A., & Stephens, N. M. (2010). When the world is colorblind, American Indians are invisible: A diversity science approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21, 115-119. doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2010.483847
+Sheperd, H., & +Stephens, N. M. (2010). Using culture to explain behavior: An integrative cultural approach. Social Psychology Quarterly, 73, 353-354. doi: 10.1177/0190272510389011
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., Markus, H. R., Bergsieker, H. B., & Eloul, L. (2009). Why did they "choose" to stay? Perspectives of the Hurricane Katrina observers and survivors. Psychological Science, 20, 878-886. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02386.x
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2007). Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 814-830. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.814
* Indicates collaboration with current or former doctoral students or postdocs.
2025:
Stephens, N. M., Emery, L. F., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2025). Social class. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, E. J. Finkel, & W. B. Mendes (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (6th ed.). Situational Press. https://doi.org/10.70400/MNXM3372
Truong, M., Birnbaum, H. J., Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Emery, L. F., Carey, R. M. (In Press). Professors' "Feminine" Behavioral Cues in the Classroom Close Gender Gaps in Participation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
2024:
Stephens, N. M., Emery, L. F., Townsend, S. S. M., & Song, H. J. (2024). Taking a social-class-in-context perspective on the psychology of social class. Journal of Social Issues. http://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12652
Bauer, C. A., Walton, G. M., Job, V., & Stephens, N. M. (2024). The strengths of people in low-SES positions: An identity-reframing intervention improves low-SES students’ achievement over one semester. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241284806
*Goudeau, S., Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., Darnon, C., Croizet, J.-C., & Cimpian, A. (2024). What causes social class disparities in education? The role of the mismatches between academic contexts and working-class socialization contexts and how the effects of these mismatches are explained. Psychological Review. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000473
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2024). Interdependent behavior only benefits employees from working-class backgrounds when it is both enacted and valued. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(3), 720–741. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001516
2023:
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., *Carey, R. M., Hamedani, M. G., *Brannon, T. N., & Murphy, M. C. (2023). The benefits of difference-education interventions in lower-resourced institutions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
*Goudeau, S., Sanrey, C., Autin, F., Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., Croizet, J.-C., & Cimpian, A. (2023). Unequal opportunities from the start: Socioeconomic disparities in classroom participation in preschool. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001437
Müller, F., Goudeau, S., Stephens, N. M., Aelenei, C., & Sanitioso, R. B. (2023). Social-class inequalities in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Digital divide, cultural mismatch, and psychological barriers. International Review of Social Psychology, 36(1): 3, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.716
2022:
*Birnbaum, H. J., *Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Reinhart, E., *Carey, R. M., & Markus, H. R. (2022). Personal harm from the Covid-19 pandemic increases advocacy for equality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104(2023), 104400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104400
*Carey, R. M., Stephens N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2022). Is diversity enough? Cross-race and cross-class interactions in college occur less often than expected, but benefit members of lower-status groups when they occur. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(5), 889-908. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa000302
2021:
Stephens, N. M., Rivera, L. A., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2021). The cycle of workplace bias and how to interrupt it. Research in Organizational Behavior, 40, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.riob.2021.100137
Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2021). Difference-education improves first-generation students’ grades throughout college and increases comfort with social group difference. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(10), 1510-1519. doi: 10.1177/0146167220982909
2020:
*Birnbaum, H. J., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Hamedani, M. G. (2020). A diversity ideology intervention: Multiculturalism reduces the racial achievement gap. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(5), 751-759. doi: 10.1177/1948550620938227
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2020). Achievement is not class-neutral: Working together benefits people from working-class contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119, 517-539. doi: 10.1037/pspa0000194
- Winner of the Wheeler Institute Award: judged to be research with greatest potential for contribution to the field of business for development at the 2019 Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference at London Business School
*Phillips, L. T., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & *Goudeau, S. (2020). Access is not enough: Cultural mismatch persists to limit first-generation students’ opportunities for achievement throughout college. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(5), 1112-1131. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000234
Stephens, N. M. Hamedani, M. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2020). Difference-education: Improving disadvantaged students’ academic outcomes by changing their theory of difference. In G. Walton & A. Crum (Eds.) Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social-Psychological Insights Can Help Solve Problems, New York, NY: Guilford Press.
2019:
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (2019). Understanding how people detect social class from speech requires taking a cultural psychological perspective. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 23871-23873 (commentary). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916908116
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & *Dittmann, A. G. (2019). Social class disparities in higher education and professional workplaces: The role of cultural mismatch. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28, 67-73. doi: 10.1177/0963721418806506
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2019). Difference matters: Teaching students a contextual theory of difference can help them succeed. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14, 156-174 doi: 10.1177/1745691618797957
- Winner of the Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award
Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., *Smallets, S., & Hamedani, M. G. (2019). Empowerment through difference: An online difference-education intervention closes the social class achievement gap. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 1068-1083. doi: 10.1177/0146167218804548
*Bencharit, L. Z., Ho, Y. W., Fung, H., Yeung, D., Stephens, N. M., Romero-Canyas, R., & Tsai, J. L. (2019). Should job applicants be excited or calm?: The role of culture and ideal affect in employment settings. Emotion, 19, 377-401. doi: 10.1037/emo0000444
2017:
Markus, H. R., & Stephens, N. M. (2017). Editorial overview: Inequality and social class: The psychological and behavioral consequences of inequality and social class: A theoretical integration. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, iv-xii. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.11.001
*Dittmann, A. G., & Stephens, N. M. (2017). Interventions aimed at closing the social class achievement gap in education: changing individuals, structures, and construals. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, 111-116. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.044
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (2017). Choice as an engine of analytic thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146, 1234-1246. doi: 10.1037/xge0000351
Stephens, N. M., *Dittmann, A. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2017). Social class and models of competence: How gateway institutions disadvantage working-class Americans and how to intervene. In C. Dweck, A. Elliot, & D. Yeager (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (2nd Edition): Theory and application. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
*Jury, M., Smeding, A. Stephens, N. M., *Nelson, J., Aelenei, C., & Darnon, C. (2017). The experience of low-SES students in higher education: Psychological barriers to success and interventions to reduce social-class inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 73, 16-34. doi: 10.1111/josi.12202
2016:
*Apfelbaum, E. P., Stephens, N. M., & Reagans, R. (2016). Beyond one-size-fits-all: Tailoring diversity approaches to the representation of social groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111, 547-566. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000071
- Winner of Israel Organizational Behavior Conference Best Paper Award
2015:
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2015). The norms that drive behavior: Implications for Cultural Mismatch Theory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46, 1304-1306 (commentary). doi: 10.1177/0022022115600264
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Hamedani, M. G., Destin, M., & *Manzo, V. (2015). A difference-education intervention equips first-generation college students to thrive in the face of stressful college situations. Psychological Science, 26, 1556-1566. doi: 10.1177/0956797615593501
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2015). How can financial incentives improve the success of disadvantaged college students? Insights from the social sciences. In B. Castleman, S. Schwartz & S. Baum (Eds.), Decision making for student success: Behavioral insights to improve college access and persistence. New York, NY: Routledge.
Stephens, N. M., *Brannon, T. N., Markus, H. R., & *Nelson, J. E. (2015). Feeling at home in college: Fortifying school-relevant selves to reduce social class disparities in higher education. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9, 1-24. doi: 10.1111/sipr.12008
2014:
Stephens, N. M., Cameron, J. S., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2014). Lower social class does not (always) mean greater interdependence: Women in poverty have fewer social resources than working-class women. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 1060-1072. doi: 10.1177/0022022114534768
Stephens, N.M., Hamedani, M. H., & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students' academic performance and all students' college transition. Psychological Science, 25, 943-953. doi: 10.1177/0956797613518349
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & *Phillips, T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 611-634. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115143
2013:
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2013). How can incentives improve the success of disadvantaged college students? Insights from the Social Sciences. Policy brief for a project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the George Washington University.
Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2013). Rank is not enough: Why we need a sociocultural perspective to understand social class. Psychological Inquiry, 24, 126-130 (commentary). doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2013.795099
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., & Hamedani, M. G. (2013). Who explains Hurricane Katrina and the Chilean earthquake as an act of God? The experience of extreme hardship predicts religious meaning-making. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 44, 607-619. doi: 10.1177/0022022112454330
2012:
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Fryberg, S. A. (2012). Social class disparities in health and education: Reducing inequality by applying a sociocultural self model of behavior. Psychological Review, 119(4), 723-744. doi: 10.1037/a0029028
- Winner of Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award
+Kraus, M., & +Stephens, N. M. (2012). A road map for an emerging psychology of social class. Social Psychology and Personality Compass, 6, 642-656. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00453.x
Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., Markus, H. R., & *Phillips, L. T. (2012). A cultural mismatch: Independent cultural norms produce greater increases in cortisol and more negative emotions among first-generation college students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1389-1393. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.008
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C., & *Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178-1197. doi: 10.1037/a0027143
- Winner of Stanley Reiter Best Paper Award: judged to be the best paper among those published by the Kellogg faculty in the preceding four years
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., & Markus, H. R. (2012). It's your choice: How the middle-class model of independence disadvantages working-class Americans. In S. T. Fiske & H. R. Markus (Eds.), Facing social class: How societal rank influences interaction (pp. 87-106). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Fryberg, S. A., Stephens, N. M., *Covarrubias, R., Markus, H. R., Carter, E. D., Laiduc, G. A., and Salido, A. J. (2012). How the media frames the immigration debate: The critical role of location and politics. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 12, 96-112. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2011.01259.x
2007-2011:
+Stephens, N. M., & +Levine, C. S. (2011). Opting out or denying discrimination? How the framework of free choice in American society influences perceptions of gender inequality. Psychological Science, 22, 1231-1236. doi: 10.1177/0956797611417260
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (2011). The unanticipated interpersonal and societal consequences of choice: Victim-blaming and reduced support for the public good. Psychological Science, 22, 795-802. doi: 10.1177/0956797611407928
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., & Markus, H. R. (2011). When choice does not equal freedom: A sociocultural analysis of agency in working-class contexts. Social and Personality Psychology Science, 2, 33-41. doi: 10.1177/1948550610378757
Fryberg, S. A., & Stephens, N. M. (2010). When the world is colorblind, American Indians are invisible: A diversity science approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21, 115-119. doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2010.483847
+Sheperd, H., & +Stephens, N. M. (2010). Using culture to explain behavior: An integrative cultural approach. Social Psychology Quarterly, 73, 353-354. doi: 10.1177/0190272510389011
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., Markus, H. R., Bergsieker, H. B., & Eloul, L. (2009). Why did they "choose" to stay? Perspectives of the Hurricane Katrina observers and survivors. Psychological Science, 20, 878-886. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02386.x
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2007). Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 814-830. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.814
Manuscripts in Revision:
*Johnson, E. R., Phillips, L. T., & Stephens, N. M. (Under Revision). Sticky Social Class: A Dynamic Perspective on Subjective Social Class in the Workplace.
*Truong, M., *Birnbaum, H., *Dittman, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., *Emery, L.F., & *Carey, R. M. (Under revision). Professors' "feminine" behavioral cues in the classroom reduce gender gaps in participation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
*Truong, M., Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., & Smallets, S. (Under revision). Crossing the class divide: Social class background moderates threat in cross-class versus same-class interactions.
Garr-Schultz, A., *Emery, L.F., Stephens, N., Townsend, S., & Gardner, W. (Under revision). Gender and relationship covering in professional contexts.
*Dittmann, A. G., *Birnbaum, H. J., Stephens, N. M., *Carey, R. M., Markus H. R., & Reinhart, E. C. (Under revision). Free to be isolated?: A longitudinal study of gig workers’ interdependent relational behaviors and well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manuscripts Under Review:
*Carey, R. M., *Emery, L.F., Stephens, N. M., Reinhart, E. C., *Birnbaum, H., *Dittman, A. G., Finkel E. J., & Markus, H. R. (Under Review). Close relationships are more strongly linked to health and well-being for people with lower social class standing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Manuscripts in Preparation:
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Rivera, L. A. The double-edge sword of elite preparation: Elite preparation sensitizes professionals from working-class backgrounds to interpersonal challenges and strengths.
*Johnson, E. R., Phillips, L. T., & Stephens, N. M. (Under Revision). Sticky Social Class: A Dynamic Perspective on Subjective Social Class in the Workplace.
*Truong, M., *Birnbaum, H., *Dittman, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., *Emery, L.F., & *Carey, R. M. (Under revision). Professors' "feminine" behavioral cues in the classroom reduce gender gaps in participation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
*Truong, M., Townsend, S. S. M., Stephens, N. M., & Smallets, S. (Under revision). Crossing the class divide: Social class background moderates threat in cross-class versus same-class interactions.
Garr-Schultz, A., *Emery, L.F., Stephens, N., Townsend, S., & Gardner, W. (Under revision). Gender and relationship covering in professional contexts.
*Dittmann, A. G., *Birnbaum, H. J., Stephens, N. M., *Carey, R. M., Markus H. R., & Reinhart, E. C. (Under revision). Free to be isolated?: A longitudinal study of gig workers’ interdependent relational behaviors and well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manuscripts Under Review:
*Carey, R. M., *Emery, L.F., Stephens, N. M., Reinhart, E. C., *Birnbaum, H., *Dittman, A. G., Finkel E. J., & Markus, H. R. (Under Review). Close relationships are more strongly linked to health and well-being for people with lower social class standing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Manuscripts in Preparation:
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Rivera, L. A. The double-edge sword of elite preparation: Elite preparation sensitizes professionals from working-class backgrounds to interpersonal challenges and strengths.
2021:
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (July 20, 2021). Research: How Our Class Background Affects the Way We Collaborate. Harvard Business Review.
2020:
Stephens, N. M. (February 6, 2020). Are you giving all of your employees an equal chance to succeed? Kellogg Insight.
2019:
Townsend, S. S. M. & Stephens, N. M. (September 17, 2019). A surprising path to improving working-class students’ academic achievement. SPSP News.
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (January 16, 2019). The unseen reason working-class students drop out. Politico.
2018:
Stephens, N. M. (September 14, 2018). Why do people stay when a hurricane comes? The New York Times.
2017:
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (May 22, 2017). Research: How you feel about individualism is influenced by your social class. Harvard Business Review.
2016:
Stephens, N. M. & Apfelbaum, E. (August 16, 2016). The real reasons diversity programs don’t work. Fortune.
2014:
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Destin, M. (March 18, 2014). Talk about class. Inside Higher Ed.
2011:
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (May 4, 2011). Stories of choice in India and the US. Live Mint.
*Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (July 20, 2021). Research: How Our Class Background Affects the Way We Collaborate. Harvard Business Review.
2020:
Stephens, N. M. (February 6, 2020). Are you giving all of your employees an equal chance to succeed? Kellogg Insight.
2019:
Townsend, S. S. M. & Stephens, N. M. (September 17, 2019). A surprising path to improving working-class students’ academic achievement. SPSP News.
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (January 16, 2019). The unseen reason working-class students drop out. Politico.
2018:
Stephens, N. M. (September 14, 2018). Why do people stay when a hurricane comes? The New York Times.
2017:
Stephens, N. M. & Townsend, S. S. M. (May 22, 2017). Research: How you feel about individualism is influenced by your social class. Harvard Business Review.
2016:
Stephens, N. M. & Apfelbaum, E. (August 16, 2016). The real reasons diversity programs don’t work. Fortune.
2014:
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Destin, M. (March 18, 2014). Talk about class. Inside Higher Ed.
2011:
Savani, K., Stephens, N. M., & Markus, H. R. (May 4, 2011). Stories of choice in India and the US. Live Mint.