Elizabeth Pascoe, Ph.D.

Dr. Elizabeth Pascoe is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Dr. Pascoe received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Duke University, and also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of Notre Dame. Her dissertation focused on the effect of discrimination on eating behaviors, as studied through a self-regulation framework (published in Self & Identity, 2010).  She is most well-known in the academic community for her 2009 publication “Perceived Discrimination and Health: A Meta-Analytic Review,” which has been cited by others over 4500 times. She has published two additional reviews expanding on this seminal work: “Interpersonal Discrimination and Physical Health” (published in The Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health, 2018) and “Meta-Analysis of Interpersonal Discrimination and Health-Related Behaviors” (published in Health Psychology, 2022). She has been interviewed by the Atlantic, cited in numerous textbooks on the Psychology of Prejudice, and participated locally in the Stand-Up Science comedy/science lecture series.

Her research focuses on stress as related to the possession of a devalued attribute or identity, such as discrimination stress, stereotype threat, and role-related stress.  Through her work, Dr. Pascoe attempts to understand how identity-related stress can impact an individual’s feelings, health, and achievement, as well as to uncover pathways by which the negative effects of possessing a devalued identity occur. She is also interested in learning what factors determine how and when we use or apply stereotypes. She is currently working on research investigating how using pejorative labels may impact an individual’s impression of the label’s target.

In the classroom, Dr. Pascoe enjoys showing students how Social Psychology can be connected to their own life experiences, showing them how to find it operating in the “wild,” such as in music lyrics, in media, in other people, and within themselves. She also teaches courses on the Psychology of Prejudice, Ambivalent Sexism/Prejudice, and the Psychology of Close Relationships. She is currently developing a course on the Psychology of Humor. In addition to learning about the science behind these fields, students practice engaging in relatable, yet accurate, scientific communication. Students can use these skills beyond the classroom, teaching them to be responsible consumers and accurate disseminators of scientific information in their future lives and workplace, regardless of academic discipline. Dr. Pascoe has been nominated for teaching awards multiple times and received an Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019.

Education

• B.A. University of Notre Dame (Psychology, Sociology)
• M.A. Duke University (Social Psychology)
• Ph.D. Duke University (Social Psychology)