Heather Perkins, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor
Hello
I am an experienced researcher, teacher and consultant on the topics of identity, belonging, and social psychology. I’m passionate about studying and helping people understand how identity shapes our lives and society. Please reach out to me if you have questions about my research or are trying to find one of my articles!
About Me.
Hello! I am thrilled to introduce myself as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University. As a research psychologist, I have a wealth of experience studying science and engineering identity, as well as related stereotypes in STEM fields. My ultimate goal is to help cultivate a sense of belonging and well-being among undergraduate and graduate students in engineering.
In addition to my ongoing research, I am currently leading a study on the use of self-affirmation to decrease negative meta-stereotypes and resistance to anti-racism among White STEM students. This is a crucial and timely study, and I am excited to see where it leads.
Lastly, I am passionate about teaching psychology, with a particular focus on social psychology and research methods. I use a variety of methods in my research, including latent profile analysis, and I incorporate R into all of my classes. It's a fantastic tool that allows my students to gain valuable skills while having fun in the process.
I hope this introduction has given you a glimpse of who I am and what I'm all about. I'm excited to be a part of the Indiana University community and to continue pursuing my passion for research and teaching.
Education
2014-2021
Ph.D.
Applied Social & Community Psychology
North Carolina State University
I earned my PhD in Applied Social and Community Psychology at NC State University with Dr. Mary Wyer. For my dissertation, I focused on the fascinating topic of science and engineering identity, exploring how individuals develop their sense of self in these fields and the use of an intervention to reduce stereotypes and increase identification.
2010-2013
B.S.
Psychology, Minor in Sociology
University of Cincinnati
I studied psychology and sociology at UC, and worked in several different labs as an undergraduate researcher (The Brain Lab with Dr. Chiu and the Social Identity and Diversity Lab with Dr. Kallen).
2006-2009
A.A.
Communication Design
Blue Ash College
Before I studied psychology, I studied communication design at UC's Blue Ash College. Although I only pursued a brief career as a freelace web designer, I still love graphic design and art and use what I learned all the time!
Experience
2022-
Visiting Assistant Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Indiana University
As a Visiting Assistant Professor at Indiana University, I am responsible for teaching a variety of courses, including introductory psychology and social psychology. In the future, I am excited to teach a social psychology capstone course, which will allow me to combine my dual interests of social psychology and research methods. Additionally, I will be leading a class that focuses on stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, which is an important and timely topic that I am looking forward to exploring with my students.
2020-2022
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Engineering Education
Purdue University
As a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University, I had the opportunity to work with Allison Godwin in the Department of Engineering Education. Our research focused on understanding latent diversity and non-cognitive and affective traits that predict success in engineering. I found this research to be both fascinating and incredibly important, as it allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to success, belonging, and identity in/with engineering.