Social Psychology

Saul Kassin is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Brooklyn College. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, he spent time at the University of Kansas, Purdue University, the Federal Judicial Center, Stanford University and Williams College. He is an author or editor of several books, including PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, THE AMERICAN JURY ON TRIAL and THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVIDENCE AND TRIAL PROCEDURE. Interested in social-psychological causes of wrongful convictions, Dr. Kassin pioneered the scientific study of false confessions. He has received numerous awards for his work, which is cited all over the world, including by the U.S. Supreme Court. He also has served as a consultant in a number of high-profile cases. Recently featured in SCIENCE, Dr. Kassin has appeared as a media consultant for all major news networks and in a number of documentaries, including Ken Burns' film "The Central Park Five".
Steven Fein is Professor of Psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he has been teaching since 1991, with time spent teaching at Stanford University in 1999. Born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey, he received his A.B. from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. His research interests concern stereotyping and prejudice, suspicion, and sociocultural and motivational influences on person perception. Dr. Fein's edited books include EMOTION: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES, READINGS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE ART OF SCIENCE AND RESEARCH, MOTIVATED SOCIAL PERCEPTION: THE ONTARIO SYMPOSIUM and GENDER AND AGGRESSION: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES. In addition, he recently completed a term on the executive committee of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology.
Hazel Rose Markus is the Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and she co-directs the Stanford Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Before moving to Stanford in 1994, she was a professor at the University of Michigan, where she received her Ph.D. The focus of Dr. Markus' work is the sociological shaping of mind and self. Born in England of English parents and raised in San Diego, California, she has been persistently fascinated by how nation of origin, region of the country, gender, ethnicity, race, religion and social class shape self and identity. With her colleague Shinobu Kitayama at the University of Michigan, Dr. Markus has pioneered the experimental study of how culture and self influence one another. Some of her recent co-edited books include CULTURE AND EMOTION: EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF MUTUAL INFLUENCE, ENGAGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: THE MULTICULTURAL CHALLENGE IN LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES and JUST SCHOOLS: PURSUING EQUAL EDUCATION IN SOCIETIES OF DIFFERENCE. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and is a Fellow of APS, APA and Division 8.