Sarah E. Gaither, Nicholas J. and Theresa M. Leonardy Associate Professor

Humans are fundamentally social beings, and their interactions represent a core aspect of human nature. My research focuses on how individuals’ social identities and experiences across the lifespan motivate their social perceptions and behaviors particularly in diverse settings.

More specifically I am interested in three main questions:
1) how intergroup contact shapes interracial interaction outcomes for both racial majority and racial minority individuals
2) how having multiple racial or social identities more broadly affects various types of behavior including complex thinking, social behavior, and identity malleability
3) what contexts in particular may influence how people perceive or socially categorize each other across group boundaries

Therefore, the overall goal of my research program is to investigate the attitudinal and behavioral effects stemming from exposure to racial and gender diversity as a means to pinpoint pathways that one can utilize to foster more positive group relations for both adult and child populations. By exploring the developmental origins of social identity and intergroup perceptions we can pinpoint some of the antecedents that predict adult behavior in diverse settings.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	2200 West Main Street (Suite 800), Durham, NC 27705
Email Address:

Teaching (Spring 2026):

• PSY 104.01, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis

  East Duke 209, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM

• PSY 764S.01, P&N FIRST YEAR SEMINAR II Synopsis

  Erwin 837, Tu 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	Tufts University	2014
M.S.	Tufts University	2009
B.A.	University of California, Berkeley	2007

Keywords:

Developmental psychology • Social psychology

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Muñoz, MA; Jenkins, SH; Carbajal, I; Gaither, SE, Intersecting Identities and Ideologies: Sociodemographic Predictors of 2024 Voting Among Mexican and Cuban Americans, Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, vol. 26 no. 1 (April, 2026) [doi]  [abs]
2. Chen, EE; Ma, S; Groves, JM; Gaither, SE, Whom do I like more? Examining ethnic majority and minority children's socializing preferences in Hong Kong., Journal of experimental child psychology, vol. 260 (December, 2025), pp. 106330, Elsevier BV [doi]  [abs]
3. Straka, BC; Martinez, M; Gaither, SE, Enumeration or Exclusion? Demographic Forms and Latine Identity Threat., Personality & social psychology bulletin (November, 2025), pp. 1461672251387589 [doi]  [abs]
4. Erwin, S; Ahmed, T; Cloughesy, J; Citron, K; Joo, F; Monahan, E; Kim, YK; Straka, B; Bennett, G; Strauman, T; Gaither, S; Sapiro, G; Zucker, N, Peer support: Current status and future opportunities for college mental health promotion., J Am Coll Health (July, 2025), pp. 1-11 [doi]  [abs]
5. Wiswall, MS; Tan, X; Chen, JM; Gaither, SE, Cross-cultural perceptions of racial ambiguity: Testing the universality of the ingroup overexclusion effect, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 119 (July, 2025) [doi]  [abs]