Faculty Profiles

BIO

Catherine Thomas, a faculty associate of the Research Center for Group Dynamics, examines the psychology of poverty and inequality, as well as their remedies. Her research seeks to uncover social psychological processes that undermine the economic mobility of people in poverty and simultaneously depress public will to address inequality, perpetuating systems of poverty and inequality. Yet, she shows how brief social psychological interventions can interrupt these systems. Specifically, her research reveals how attending to culturally specific forms of agency and motivation can promote both social inclusion (e.g., status, dignity, social support) and economic inclusion (e.g., economic mobility, support for redistributive policies). In other words, her research aims to identify drivers of social and cultural inclusion, economic equity, and their interactions. In this work, Dr. Thomas conducts lab and field experiments in the US and low- and middle-income countries, including in partnership with nonprofits and governments and with interdisciplinary teams.