Having grown up in a multicultural/multiracial family, I have long been interested in issues relating to the experiences of underrepresented minority groups. These interests range from poor academic performance to leadership development to the adverse effects of potentially discriminatory public policies. I examine these issues largely from the target, rather than the perpetrator’s perspective. Although I take a social-cognitive approach to understanding the processes underlying the impact of stereotypes and group-based differences, my research also has an applied quality to it because I focus on interventions against the negative effects of these biased perceptions. In my research on understanding the processes underlying stereotype-based performance effects I examine the role of emotions, cognitions, identity salience, and the concerns associated with experiencing stereotype threat. In my intervention-based work I investigate how counter-stereotypic ingroup members (role models) buffer fellow ingroup members from the threat of negative ability-based stereotypes.

Primary Interests:

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Gender Psychology
Intergroup Relations
Person Perception
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Gender Psychology
Intergroup Relations
Person Perception

Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Threat, Emotions, and Stereotyping Laboratory (TEST Lab)
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Marx, D. M. (2009). On the role of group membership in stereotype-based performance effects. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 77-93.
Marx, D. M., Brown, J. L., & Steele, C. M. (1999). Allport's legacy and the situational press of stereotypes. Journal of Social Issues (Prejudice and Intergroup Relations: Papers in Honor of Gordon W. Allport's Centennial), 55(3), 491-502.
Marx, D. M., & Goff, P. A. (2005). Clearing the air: The effect of experimenter race on targets’ test performance and subjective experience. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 645-657.
Marx, D. M., & Ko, S. J. (2011). Refocusing or recycling?: The stereotype inoculation model and its relationship with research on ingroup role models. Psychological Inquiry, 22, 280-284.
Marx, D. M., Ko, S. J., & Friedman, R. A. (2009). The “Obama Effect”: How a salient role model reduces race-based performance differences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 953-956.
Marx, D. M., & Roman, J. S. (2002). Female role models: Protecting women's math test performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1183-1193.
Marx, D. M., & Stapel, D. A. (2006). Distinguishing stereotype threat from priming effects: On the role of the social self and threat-based concerns. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 243-254.
Marx, D. M., & Stapel, D. A. (2006). It's all in the timing: Emotional reactions to stereotype threat before and after taking a test. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 687-698.
Marx, D. M. & Stapel, D. A. (2006). It depends on your perspective: The role of self-relevance in stereotype-based underperformance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 768-775.
Marx, D. M., & Stapel, D. A. (2006). Understanding stereotype lift: On the role of the social self. Social Cognition, 24, 777-792.
Marx, D. M., Stapel, D. A., & Muller, D. (2005). We can do it: The interplay of construal orientation and social comparisons under threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 432-446.
Stapel, D. A., & Marx, D. M. (2007). Distinctiveness is key: How different types of self-other similarity moderate social comparison effects. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 439-448.
Stapel, D. A., & Marx, D. M. (2007). Making sense of war: Using the interpretation comparison model to understand the Iraq conflict. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 401-420.
Stapel, D. A., & Marx, D. M. (2006). Hardly thinking about others: On cognitive busyness and target similarity in social comparison effects. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 397-405.

Other Publications:

Marx, D. M. (2011). Differentiating theories: A comparison of stereotype threat and stereotype priming effects. In M. Inzlicht & T. Schmader (Eds.), Stereotype threat: Theory, process, and application. Oxford University Press.

Courses Taught:

Graduate Seminar in Social Psychology
Graduate Seminar on Stereotyping and Prejudice
Introduction to Social Psychology
Research Practicum
Social Cognition

Graduate Seminar in Social Psychology
Graduate Seminar on Stereotyping and Prejudice
Introduction to Social Psychology

Research Practicum
Social Cognition

David M. Marx
Department of Psychology
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4611
United States

Phone: (619) 594-8708
Fax: (619) 594-1332