Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology
Sexual Orientation, Psychological Science, and Social Policy
Saturday, March 21st, 2015
8:45 AM to 5:45 PM; Reception to Follow
The 29th Annual Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology features a set of distinguished scholars who will present cutting-edge research on sexual orientation and its implications for current public policy debates. Information will be presented on the evolving understanding of sexual identity in psychological science, public attitudes and discourse about LGBT issues, and structural and institutional stigma that impact LGBT people. The implications of research findings for policies related to marriage, families and children, immigration, work place practices, and health and well-being will be highlighted. The speakers will address connections between science and practice, and the symposium will conclude with broad discussion of directions for future research and policy.
Official Schedule:
Continental breakfast/registration: 8:00 to 8:45 AM
Opening remarks: Allen Omoto. 8:45 – 9:00 AM
Morning presentations: 9:00 AM – 12:25 PM
- 9:00 – 9:45. Gregory M. Herek
- 9:50 – 10:35. Charlotte J. Patterson
- Morning Break. 10:35 – 10:50
- 10:50 – 11:35. Lisa M. Diamond
- 11:40 – 12:25. Nadine Nakamura
Lunch 12:25 – 1:45 PM (on site with pre-registration)
Afternoon presentations: 1:45 – 5:10
- 1:45 – 2:30. Ilan H. Meyer
- 2:35 – 3:20. Adam W. Fingerhut
- Afternoon Break. 3:20 – 3:35
- 3:35 – 4:20. Mark L. Hatzenbuehler
- 4:25 – 5:10. Eden B. King
Discussion/Concluding Remarks: 5:15 – 5:45 PM
Wine and cheese reception: 5:45 – 6:30 PM
Gregory M. Herek, University of California – Davis
From Hardwick to Windsor: What Social Science Can Tell the Courts about Sexual Orientation
Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Davis. An internationally recognized authority on sexual minority issues – including stigma, prejudice, and violence based on sexual orientation – and AIDS-related stigma, he has published more than 100 scholarly papers and has edited seven volumes on these and related topics. In addition to his teaching and scholarship, Professor Herek has worked extensively to communicate the findings of scientific research to legislators, the courts, and policy makers. He has served as an expert witness and consultant for numerous legal cases involving the civil rights of lesbians and gay men. These include Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the California case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Dr. Herek’s testimony was cited extensively by Judge Vaughn Walker in his written opinion striking down Proposition 8. He has also assisted the American Psychological Association (APA) in preparing amicus briefs for federal and state court cases challenging the constitutionality of state marriage laws, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, state sodomy laws, and other laws discriminating against sexual minorities. Professor Herek is a Fellow of the APA, the Association for Psychological Science, and several other professional societies. He has received numerous professional awards, including the 1996 APA Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest and the 2006 Kurt Lewin Memorial Award for “outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action,” presented by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9). He was the 2014 recipient of the American Orthopsychiatric Association’s Marion Langer Award “for distinction in social advocacy and the pursuit of human rights.”
Charlotte J. Patterson, University of Virginia
Lesbian and Gay Parenting Today: Psychological Research and Social Policy
Charlotte J. Patterson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the interdisciplinary program in Women, Gender & Sexuality at the University of Virginia. Best known for her work on child development in lesbian- and gay-parented families, Patterson’s research has been published in the field’s top journals, and she has co-edited four books. She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) as well as of the American Psychological Association (APA), and a past-President of the Society for Psychological Research on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues (APA, Division 44). Patterson has won numerous awards, including the Outstanding Achievement Award from the APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns, the Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award from APA Division 44, and the Carolyn Attneave Diversity Award, for contributions that advance understanding and integration of diversity into Family Psychology, from APA Division 43. Patterson was also the recipient of APA’s Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy Award. She was a member of the United States Institute of Medicine Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities, and is currently serving on the Health Disparities and Equity Promotion study section at NIH.
Lisa M. Diamond, University of Utah
The Use of Research on Sexual Orientation in Legal Debates over Same-sex Marriage: A Critique and Reappraisal
Lisa M. Diamond, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at the University of Utah. She studies the longitudinal course of sexual identity development and the psychobiological mechanisms through which intimate relationships influence physical and mental health over the life course. Her 2008 book, Sexual Fluidity, published by Harvard University Press, describes the changes and transformations that she has observed in the sexual attractions, behaviors, and identities of a sample of lesbian, bisexual, and “unlabeled” women that she has been following since 1995. Sexual Fluidity has been awarded the Distinguished Book award from the American Psychological Association’s Society for the Study of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered Issues. Dr. Diamond has been awarded grants in support of her research from the National Institute of Mental Health, The W.T. Grant Foundation, the American Psychological Foundation, the American Institute for Bisexuality, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
Nadine Nakamura, University of LaVerne
“United by Love, Divided by Law”: Same-sex Binational Couples and the Impact of DOMA
Nadine Nakamura, Ph.D., graduated from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1998 with a BA in Psychology. She attended the George Washington University where she earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2007. After graduation, Nakamura received a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research for her postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychiatry at University of California, San Diego. She completed another postdoc at the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. During that time she received a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research for her project “HIV prevention needs of Asian Canadian men who have sex with men” and was co-investigator on several other grant funded projects.
Nakamura is currently an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of La Verne. Her research interests relate to multiculturalism and intersectionality and include immigration, HIV and ethnic and sexual minority health and mental health. Most recently, she was awarded grant funding from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for her project “Love exiles: Same-sex binational couples living outside of the United States.” Nakamura was a member of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration and was a guest editor of a special issue on “Immigration for Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology,” as well as a guest editor of a special issue on “LGBT Immigration” for the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling.
Ilan H. Meyer, University of California – Los Angeles
Shifting Social Climates and the Health of Sexual Minorities in the United States
Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., is Senior Scholar for Public Policy at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at UCLA’s School of Law. Prior to coming to UCLA in 2011, Dr. Meyer was Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences and Deputy Chair for MPH Programs at the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Meyer studies public health issues related to minority health. His areas of research include stress and illness in minority populations, in particular, the relationship of minority status, minority identity, prejudice and discrimination and mental health outcomes in sexual minorities and the intersection of minority stressors related to sexual orientation, race/ethnicity and gender. In several highly cited papers, Dr. Meyer has developed a model of minority stress that describes the relationship of social stressors and mental disorders and helps to explain LGBT health disparities. The model has guided his and other investigators’ population research on LGBT health disparities by identifying the mechanisms by which social stressors impact health and describing the harm to LGBT people from prejudice and stigma. The model was cited by the Institute of Medicine as one of four cross-cutting perspectives (the only one stemming from LGBT scholarship) recommended for the study of LGBT health. For this work, Dr. Meyer received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Distinguished Scientific Contribution award from the APA’s Division 44.
Adam W. Fingerhut, Loyola Marymount University
Caught in the Eye of the Storm: Psychological and Relational Well-Being Outcomes in the Face of Marriage Equality Campaigns
Adam W. Fingerhut, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles CA. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1996, and his Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA in 2007. His research focuses on prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping, examining these phenomena from the perspectives of targets and perpetrators, individuals and couples. Examples of Dr. Fingerhut’s research include: survey studies of heterosexuals’ stereotypes of gay and lesbian individuals; daily experience (or daily diary) studies of stress and discrimination among LGB individuals and same-sex couples during election campaigns focused on equality; and experimental studies investigating the role of stereotype threat in healthcare decision making among African American women. Dr. Fingerhut has received funding for his research from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the Williams Institute, and the Center for Integrative Approaches to Health Disparities. For his contributions to scholarship and service, Dr. Fingerhut received the Michele Alexander Early Career Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9). Dr. Fingerhut lives in Los Angeles with his husband (Stewart), daughter (Luci), and dog (Izzi).
Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Columbia University
Structural Stigma and the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Implications for Public Policy
Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Social Inequalities and Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. He completed his doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Yale University and his post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University, where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar. Dr. Hatzenbuehler’s research examines how structural forms of stigma, including social policies, increase risk for adverse health outcomes among members of socially disadvantaged populations, with a particular focus on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Dr. Hatzenbuehler has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and his research has been published in several leading journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, Social Science & Medicine, Psychological Bulletin, and Pediatrics. Dr. Hatzenbuehler’s research has received multiple awards from the American Psychological Association and the American Public Health Association. His work has been widely covered in the media, including interviews on NPR, BBC News, and MSNBC, and it has been cited in several court cases on status-based discrimination. Dr. Hatzenbuehler has been an invited member of two expert panels on bullying at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Hatzenbuehler is currently being funded on a K01 award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study social determinants of substance use and other health outcomes among sexual minority youth.
Eden B. King, George Mason Unversity
Individual, Situational and Organizational Factors that Influence Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Workers’ Experiences
Eden King, Ph.D., joined the faculty of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program at George Mason University after earning her Ph.D. from Rice University in 2006. Dr. King is pursuing a program of research that seeks to guide the equitable and effective management of diverse organizations. Her research, which has appeared in outlets such as the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Academy of Management Journal, integrates organizational and social psychological theories in conceptualizing social stigma and the work-life interface. This research addresses three primary themes: 1) current manifestations of discrimination and barriers to work-life balance in organizations, 2) consequences of such challenges for its targets and their workplaces, and 3) individual and organizational strategies for reducing discrimination and increasing support for families. In addition to her academic positions, Dr. King has consulted on applied projects related to climate initiatives, selection systems, and diversity training programs, and she has worked as a trial consultant. She is currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Management and at the Journal of Business and Psychology.
Symposium Organizer
Allen M. Omoto, Claremont Graduate University
Allen M. Omoto, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Institute for Research on Social Issues (www.socialissuesresearch.com); he has been a faculty member at CGU since fall 2000. He earned his B.A. (with Honors) from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Among other honors, Dr. Omoto has received a Distinguished Contribution to Education and Training Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues, a Distinguished Service Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, and the Western Psychological Association’s Social Responsibility Award.
Location and Registration
Open to the Public (Registration Required)
We are proud to offer attendance for the Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology at the following rates:
- Students: $25
- Professionals and Academics: $50
- Free to Claremont Colleges faculty, students, and staff (must register in advance by emailing richard.dowlat2@cgu.edu)
The symposium will take place in:
Albrecht Auditorium in the Stauffer Hall of Learning
Claremont Graduate University
925 N. Dartmouth Ave
Claremont CA 91711
Claremont Graduate University is located off of the I-10 Freeway, around 30 miles east of Los Angeles, CA.
For more information, e-mail Richard Dowlat, External Affairs Coordinator for the Division of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences in the School of Social Science, Policy & Evaluation, at richard.dowlat2@cgu.edu or call (909) 607-9013.