Brenda Major

Major is the international expert in the psychology of stigma: how people perceive and cope with negative identity and discrimination. Her core theme is psychological resilience - people maintaining their self-esteem, psychological well-being, and physical health, despite discrimination, negative life events, and adversity. Her research examines how perceived ethnic, gender, and weight-based stigma and discrimination affect psychological stress, health behaviors, and interpersonal relationships, and how diversity policies and anti-bias norms impact intergroup relations. Major addresses how cultural ideologies, such as the American Dream, shape people's likelihood of perceiving discrimination and their responses to perceived discrimination against themselves or others.