Social psychologist Dr. Nilanjana Dasgupta, PhD, spent the day at St. Clement’s School on Tuesday, May 7.
Dr. Dasgupta, Professor of Psychology and Director of Faculty Equity and Inclusion in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is recognized as one of the leading authorities on implicit bias and stereotypes.
The visit began with Dr. Dasgupta addressing students in a packed Powell Hall and using a Stroop test to visualize the relationship between incongruent stimuli and implicit bias.
“Sometimes we know what the right answer is, but our mind plays tricks on us,” she explained, referring to these mind bugs. “The way we experience and evaluate things in our social world is often full of errors.”
As always, the Clementines in attendance engaged in a spirited and probing question and answer session before returning to their classes to consider the realities and ramifications of implicit bias.
Later in the day, Dr. Dasgupta joined St. Clement’s School staff for an intimate discussion while that evening, parents and members of the SCS community were able to hear her speak in Powell Hall in the final event of this school year’s LINCWell Speaker Series.
