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Biography
Professor Cohen's research examines processes that shape people's sense of belonging and self and implications for social problems. He studies the big and small threats to belonging and self-integrity that people encounter in school, work, and health care settings, and strategies to create more inclusive spaces for people from all walks of life. He believes that the development of psychological theory is facilitated not only by descriptive and observational research but by theory-driven intervention. He has long been inspired by Kurt Lewin's quip, "The best way to try to understand something is to try to change it."
He is the author of a forthcoming book about the causes and consequences of a sense of belonging in school, work, our politics, health care, and other arenas of social life, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides (Norton, September 2022). Learn more about Geoff and his new book at www.geoffreylcohen.com.
He is the author of a forthcoming book about the causes and consequences of a sense of belonging in school, work, our politics, health care, and other arenas of social life, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides (Norton, September 2022). Learn more about Geoff and his new book at www.geoffreylcohen.com.
Other titles
Professor, Graduate School of Education
Professor, Psychology
Professor (By courtesy), Organizational Behavior
Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)
Program affiliations
DAPS
Stanford Accelerator for Learning
Research interests
Diversity and Identity | Motivation | Poverty and Inequality | Psychology | Social and Emotional Learning
Recent publications
Brady, S. T., Cohen, G. L., Jarvis, S. N., & Walton, G. M. (2020). A brief social-belonging intervention in college improves adult outcomes for black Americans. Science Advances, 6(18), eaay3689.
Milam, L. A., Cohen, G. L., Mueller, C., & Salles, A. (2019). Stereotype threat and working memory among surgical residents (vol 216, pg 824, 2018). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 218(3), 668.
Goyer, J. P., Cohen, G. L., Cook, J. E., Master, A., Apfel, N., Lee, W., … 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), 229–59.
