Nicolas Lab

Gandalf Nicolas

Gandalf Nicolas

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Rutgers University

Welcome

At the Nicolas lab we study how people make sense of the social world. Our research is at the intersection of social cognition and interdisciplinary quantitative methods (e.g., machine learning and natural language processing). Specific topics include spontaneous stereotyping, perceptions of individuals who belong to multiple social groups (e.g., Multiracial and intersectional identities), first impressions based on facial appearance, and social biases in Artificial Intelligence.

Posts

The Nicolas Lab is looking for students to join!

Please contact the faculty director at gandalf.nicolas@rutgers.edu if you are interested! For more information on our department’s opportunities for undergraduate RAs, please visit https://sites.rutgers.edu/ursp/
Apr 10, 2023 1 min read
The Nicolas Lab is looking for students to join!

Access to the Nicolas, Bai, and Fiske (2021) stereotype content dictionaries and dictionary creation package (R)

https://github.com/gandalfnicolas/SADCAT/tree/master/vignettes
Sep 9, 2021 1 min read
Access to the Nicolas, Bai, and Fiske (2021) stereotype content dictionaries and dictionary creation package (R)

Meet the Fellowship

Faculty Director

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Gandalf Nicolas

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Social Cognition, Person Perception, Quantitative Methods, Bias in Machine Learning

Postdoctoral Researchers

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Andrew Cortopassi

Stigma, Self & Identity, Health & well-being

Graduate Students

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Azar Tuerxuntuoheti

Social cognition, Group membership, Bias and stereotyping, Face perception

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Erin Foy

Social Perception, Intersectional Identity, Structural & Systemic Bias, Social Equity

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Grace Grady

Social Perception, Stereotyping, Language

Undergraduate Research Assistants

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Megan Ruskey

Spatial agency bias, Stereotyping, Self-perception

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Meghana Chirra

Bias & machine learning, Psychiatric disorders, First impressions

Projects

Complex Social Categorization

How are categorically-ambiguous and multiply-categorizable targets perceived?

Social-Cognitive Bias & Machine Learning

Do machine learning models reflect human stereotypes and social categorization biases?

Spontaneous Social Cognition Content

How are social groups, faces, and other social stimuli spontaneously perceived?

Recent Publications

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.
Gandalf Nicolas, Susan T. Fiske (2023). Valence biases and emergence in the stereotype content of intersecting social categories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

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Maria-Therese Friehs, ..., Gandalf Nicolas, et al. (2022). Warmth and competence perceptions of key protagonists are associated with containment measures during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Evidence from 35 countries. Scientific Reports.

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Gandalf Nicolas, Xuechunzi Bai, Susan T. Fiske (2022). A spontaneous stereotype content model: Taxonomy, properties, and prediction. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology.

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Gandalf Nicolas, Susan T. Fiske, Alex Koch, Roland Imhoff, Christian Unkelbach, Julie Terache, Antonin Carrier, Vincent Yzerbyt (2022). Relational versus structural goals prioritize different social information. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology.

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Gandalf Nicolas, Xuechunzi Bai, Susan T. Fiske (2021). Comprehensive stereotype content dictionaries using a semi-automated method. European Journal of Social Psychology.

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