John Dovidio named the inaugural Carl Iver Hovland Professor of Psychology

John Dovidio, newly appointed as the inaugural Carl Iver Hovland Professor of Psychology, focuses his research on issues of social power and social relations, both between groups and between individuals.

In his work, Dovidio explores both conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) influences on how people think about, feel about, and behave toward others based on group membership. He also conducts research on aversive racism, a contemporary subtle form of prejudice, and on techniques for reducing conscious and unconscious biases.

Dovidio is lead investigator at the Yale Intergroup Relations Lab. The facility is dedicated to the study of intergroup relations and diversity. Its goal is to understand the processes leading to prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination of racial and ethnic groups, sexual minorities, immigrants, and people with disabilities; the experiences, adaptations, and resilience of members of stigmatized groups; and how cultural bias and social power influence the nature of intergroup interactions in ways that create intergroup miscommunication and reinforce social prejudices, contribute to social inequality, and hinder helpful interpersonal and intergroup behavior.



After receiving his A.B. in psychology from Dartmouth College, Dovidio attended the University of Delaware, where he was awarded his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology. He has held faculty appointments at Colgate University, where he also served as provost and dean of faculty, and at the University of Connecticut. He came to Yale in 2007 as professor of psychology and currently also has an appointment in the School of Public Health.

Dovidio is the author or co-author of several books, including “The Psychology of Diversity,” “The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behavior,” “Reducing Intergroup Bias: The Common Ingroup Identity Model,” and he has edited several volumes, including “Intergroup Misunderstandings” and the “Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination.” He has contributed scores of articles and chapters to edited volumes and journals. The Yale professor has also served as editor of Social Issues and Policy Review, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Dovidio is a fellow of the American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, among others. His awards include the American Psychological Association Presidential Citation, the Kurt Lewin Award, the Raymond A. Fowler Mentor Award, and the Donald Campbell Award for career achievements in social psychology.