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    • Dr. Jason A. Okonofua

      Social Psychologist

      Assistant Professor

      University of California, Berkeley

      Thank you for visiting!

       

      Dr. Jason Okonofua is a social psychologist in the Psychology Department at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Okonofua is interested in science-based and scalable strategies to combat inequity in society. This work spans contexts such as education, criminal justice, and business. It investigates how negative stereotypes can contribute to disparities in life outcomes and how that process can be dismantled. For example, some of his research in education investigates how the effects of one person’s stereotyping and another person’s threat reverberate and escalate over time. He asks how stereotypes about stigmatized children can shape how they interact with teachers, administrators, and police officers. He also develops theory-based psychological interventions that protect teacher-student relationships from the deleterious effects of stigma and bias. Dr. Okonofua's work is situated to inform psychological theory, field experimentation, and public policy.

       

      Research interests: stereotyping, threat, scalable psychological intervention, bias, behavioral science, education, criminal justice.

    • Social Psychology Research

      "...to affect motivation on a large scale."

      Curriculum Vitae

      CONTACT INFORMATION

      Department of Psychology

      University of California

      2121 Berkeley Way West

      Berkeley, California 94704

       

      Primary e-mail: okonofua@berkeley.edu

       

      ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

      Assistant Professor, Psychology Department

      University of California, Berkeley, CA 2016-present

       

      Post Doctoral Researcher, Psychology Department

      Stanford University, Stanford, CA 2015-2016

       

      EDUCATION

      Ph.D. in psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

      Advisers: Dr. Gregory Walton & Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt

       

      B.A. in psychology and African American studies, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

      Advisers: Dr. Jennifer Richeson & Dr. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale June 2008

       

      AWARDS

      Cialdini Award,

      Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2018

       

      People's Choice Award,

      TheRoot 100

       

      Distinguished Scholar Award,

      Stanford University, Vice Provost of Graduate Education, 2015

       

      Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence,

      Stanford University, Black Community Services Center, 2015

       

      Graduate Research Opportunity Award,

      Stanford University, School of Humanities and Science, 2013

       

      Diversity Travel Award,

      Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), 2013

       

      Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award,

      Stanford University, Psychology One Program, 2011

       

      First Runner-up Graduate Research Poster Award,

      Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), 2010

       

      William H. Exum Award for scientific paper,

      Northwestern University, Sociology Department, 2008

       

      Undergraduate Fellowship,

      Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research, 2007

       

      GRANT AND FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT

      New Teacher Center

      Research Grant, 2019-present

       

      Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

      Research Grant, 2019-present

       

      Google/Tides Foundation

      Research Grant, 2017-present

       

      Character Lab
      Research Grant, 2015-present

      Social Psychological Answers to Real-World Questions, SPARQ

      Fellow, 2014 - Present

       

      Bureau of Justice Statistics, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research

      Research Grant, 2013

       

      Diversity Dissertation Research Opportunity, Stanford Vice Provost for Graduate Education,

      Research Grant, 2013-2015

       

      Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence

      Fellowship, 2013-2015

       

      Ford Foundation

      Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2011

       

      National Science Foundation

      Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2010

       

      Ford Foundation

      Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2010

       

      Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education

      Graduate Fellowship, Stanford University, 2009-2015

       

      MANUSCRIPTS AND PUBLICATIONS

      Perez, A. D., & Okonofua, J. A. (2022). The good and bad of a reputation: Race and punishment in K-12 schools. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 100, 104287.
       
      Walton, G. M., Okonofua, J. A., Remington Cunningham, K., Hurst, D., Pinedo, A., Weitz, E., ... & Eberhardt, J. L. (2021). Lifting the bar: A relationship-orienting intervention reduces recidivism among children reentering school from juvenile detention. Psychological Science, 32(11), 1747-1767.

       

      Bookser, B. A.*, Ruiz, M.*, Olu-Odumosu, A.*, Kim, M., Jarvis, S. N.*, & Okonofua, J. A. (2021). Context matters for preschool discipline: Effects of distance learning and pandemic fears. School Psychology.

       

      Okonofua, J. A., Saadatian, K.*, Ocampo, J.*, Ruiz, M.*, & Oxholm, P. D.* (2021). A scalable empathic supervision intervention to mitigate recidivism from probation and parole. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(14).

       

      Okonofua, J. A., Perez, A. D.*, & Darling-Hammond, S.* (2020). When policy and psychology meet: Mitigating the consequences of bias in schools. Science advances, 6(42).

       

      Okonofua, J. A., & Ruiz, M.* (2020). The Empathic-discipline intervention. G. M. Walton & A. J. Crum (Eds.). Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social Psychology Can Help People Change, Guilford Press: New York.

       

      Jarvis, S. N.*, & Okonofua, J. A. (2020). School deferred: When bias affects school leaders. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(4), 492-498.

       

      Goyer, J. P., Cohen, G. L., Cook, J. E., Master, A., Apfel, N., Lee, W., ... Okonofua, J. A. & Walton, G. M. (2019). Targeted identity-safety interventions cause lasting reductions in discipline citations among negatively stereotyped boys. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(2), 229.

       

      Okonofua, J. A. & Eberhardt, J. A. (2015). Two-strikes: Race and disciplinary action in K-12 schooling. Psychological Science.

       

      Okonofua, J. A., Walton, G. M., & Eberhardt, J. A. (2016). A vicious cycle: Racial bias and perceptions of bias interactively perpetuating disproportionate discipline. Perspectives on Psychological Science.

       

      Okonofua, J. A., Paunesku, D., & Walton, G. M. (2016). A brief intervention to encourage empathic discipline halves suspension rates among adolescents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

       

    • News Coverage

      MSNBC

      Segment on Melissa Harris Perry’s Show

      Watch interview about my research that shows how large race disparities in school discipline in the United States are, in part, driven by racial stereotypes that can lead teachers to escalate their negative responses to Black students over the course of multiple interpersonal (e.g., teacher-to-student) encounters.

      Posted: 4/26/15

      The New York Times

      Article by David L. Kirp

      "Don't Suspend Students. Empathize."

      Posted: 9/2/17

      The Wall Street Journal

      Article by Alison Gopnik

      "A Small Fix in Mind-set Can Keep Students in School"

      Posted: 6/16/16

      Public Broadcasting Station

      Article by Sarah D. Sparks

      "How Feeling Respected Transforms a Student's Relationship to School"

      Posted: 8/4/16

      Huffington Post

      Article by Rebecca Klein

      "The Key to Reducing School Suspensions? Treat Kids With Empathy, Says Study"

      Posted: 5/12/16

      Reuters

      Article by Alex Dobuzinskis

      "U.S. study finds teacher bias in discipline toward black students"

      Posted: 4/20/15

      Daily Mail

      Article by Richard Gray

      "Are schools still struggling with racism? Teachers more likely to label black students as troublemakers, study finds"

      Posted: 4/16/15

      Pacific Standard

      Article by Nathan Collins

      "Going to the Principal's Office, in Black or White"

      Posted: 4/20/2015

      Science Update by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

      Podcast by Bob Hirshon

      "Race & School Discipline"

      Posted: 4/22/15

      Huffington Post

      Article by Wray Herbert

      "Two Strikes and You're Out (But Only If You're Black)"

      Posted: 1/14/15

    • Ongoing Research

      Mindsets Intervention

      Suspension Rates

      I am currently collaborating with school districts throughout the country to continue to test the efficacy of my "Empathic Discipline" intervention which has been found to cut suspension rates in half and can potentially combat the effects of implicit bias.

      Transition Intervention

      Juvenile Detention

      I am currently developing a theory-based psychological intervention around reintegration for juvenile offenders.

    Copyright 2015

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