The Social Perception Experimentation (SPEx) Lab is a research lab focused on
trying to understand the ways in which stereotypes impact the way we see others, ourselves, and the world.
You can learn about our past, current, and future projects here.
Though the lab was originally founded at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine,
it now has a significantly more mountainous home at Fort Lewis College
in Durango, Colorado.
Fort Lewis College in Winter. Pretty nice campus, right?
In the years since the SPEx Lab began, our research has been published in several peer-reviewed academic journals,
presented at dozens of regional and international academic conferences,
and discussed in some notable media outlets
(e.g., Psychology Today,
VICE,
Gizmodo,
and others).
Andy, Audrey, and Clay coding a UFC fight in the lab.
By the way, we recognize the lab's acronym is a little bit of a reach,
but we really do hope our research helps people see these topics more clearly...
not unlike a nice pair of spectacles.
Dr. Alex Borgella is an assistant professor of psychology at Fort Lewis College. He received his B.A. from the University of West Florida,
his M.A. from James Madison University, and his Ph.D. at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, all concentrating in social cognition and intergroup processes.
When not in the lab, he's usually either outside with his dog (a border collie named Maeby), mountain biking, writing music, weightlifting, or playing his Nintendo Switch.
Lab Manager:
Alexa Antonsen-Newman
Alexa is a senior double-majoring in Criminology and Psychology and minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
She's mostly interested in research in both social psychology and clinical psychology, and
hopes to enter a Ph.D. program in one of these fields after she graduates.
Outside the lab, you can find Alexa skiing, reading, hanging out with friends, or snuggling up with her two cats.
M.A. Student in Prevention Science, Kansas State University
Research
The SPEx Lab conducts psychological research on how stereotypes affect social perception and decision-making among
both (1) people using stereotypes and (2) people being stereotyped in many different contexts.
Though many of our projects concentrate on stereotypes about those with specific racial or ethnic group membership (e.g., Black or Indigenous people),
we also investigate how stereotypes affect those from other stigmatized social groups (e.g., people with obesity),
those with concealable stigmatized identities (e.g., atheists)
and those with multiple stigmatized identities (e.g., Latino women).
Most projects in the lab can be placed under one of the following umbrellas (click below for more information, lists of presentations, and links to publications):
INTERGROUP INTERACTIONS
Conversations about social biases (e.g., racism, sexism) can be difficult and anxiety-inducing,
especially when between members of social minority groups (e.g., racial minority groups, sexual/gender minority groups, people with obesity)
and majority groups. With this in mind, we research how members of these groups communicate with each other, exploring strategies that might help to reduce anxiety and facilitate these conversations.
One of these potential strategies that we have examined extensively in the SPEx Lab is how the use of identity-related humor (e.g., race-related jokes) may "buffer" anxiety during these interactions when used strategically,
leading to improved interpersonal perceptions as well as a reduction in prejudice toward members of the group targeted by the humor.
Relevant Publications and Presentations
Kadirvel, S., & Borgella, A.M., Fenton, J.L., & Maddox, K.B. (2022). Benign violations and perceptions of disparaging humor. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Francisco, CA.
Borgella, A.M. (2021) Allies on the edge: Humor, irony, and appropriation in fraught intergroup relations. Symposium discussant at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (digital).
Borgella, A. M. & Murphy, R. L. (2020). The role of women's weight, self-esteem, and body-esteem on their use of weight-related disparagement humor. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans, LA.
Borgella, A. M., Carvalho, K., Hammer, C. K., & Bedard, T. (2019). "I'm going to say it before you can": Humorist weight and perceivers' reactions to weight-disparaging jokes. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Portland, OR.
Borgella, A.M. (2018) Investigating ideas: Humor in hard places. Symposium discussant at the Bates College "Investigating Ideas" symposium series, Lewiston, ME.
Borgella, A.M., & Maddox, K.B. (2018). The role of identity and humor in intergroup judgments. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
Borgella, A.M., & Maddox, K.B. (2017). Do social identity and moral credentialing moderate the negative effects of disparagement humor? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Southeastern Social Psychologists, Atlantic Beach, FL.
Borgella, A.M., & Maddox, K.B. (2017). The effects of deprecating humor on intergroup interactions: A review. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Antonio, TX.
Much of the SPEx Lab's recent work has examined implicit biases (biases that exist without conscious awareness) and their effects on decision-making,
in both situations where decisions are measured and deliberate (e.g., in hiring, promotion, and retention decisions) and in
those that involve relatively dynamic, split-second reactions (e.g., in police-suspect interactions, among combat sports referees).
Relevant Publications and Presentations
Borgella, A.M., Siekman, C.D., Howard, S., & Maddox, K.B., (2024). Beaten to the punch: Implicit racial bias and disparities in UFC referees' decisions to end fights. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.
Shorty, A.S., & Borgella, A.M. (2024). Perceived "Karenhood": Ageism is curvilinear for White women in ambiguous social contexts. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.
Sprung, A.P., & Borgella, A.M. (2024).The weight of scrolling: How anti-fat bias in social media affects health-related behaviors. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.
Pflug, C.A., & Borgella, A.M. (2024). Good girl complex: The effects of benevolent sexism on women's physiological stress and likelihood of confrontation. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.
Borgella, A.M., Howard, S., Sanders, B.T., & Maddox, K.B. (2023). Race in the clinch: Exploring implicit racial bias in combat sports officiating. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
Skees, K. N., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). The effects of political affiliation on perceptions of Native American sports mascots. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Thompson, L. J., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). Does concealment moderate prejudice toward those with invisible disabilities? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Wright, M.M., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). Does bias exist toward men in humanities disciplines? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Semivan, A.E., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). When Attitudes Tank Interviews: The Influence of Self-esteem Threats on Bias in Hiring Decisions. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
Borgella, A.M. & Koontz, S. (2022). Exploring Crime-related Prejudice toward Alaskan Natives in an Alaskan Sample. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Francisco, CA.
WITHIN-GROUP BIAS
Prejudice and discrimination certainly exists between racial groups (e.g., between White and Black Americans),
and over 100 years of psychological inquiry has been dedicated to understanding the cognitive, motivational, and social causes and consequences of these forms of bias.
However, significantly less work has been conducted on
(1) biases that exist within racial groups,
(2) how bias between racial groups is affected by whether or not someone is a "stereotypical" member of a stigmatized group,
and, correspondingly,
(3) differences in how members of the same racial group experience prejudice and discrimination depending on the salience of their racial identities
(e.g., how variations in skin tone impact prejudice toward Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans).
The SPEx Lab investigates these and other factors that might influence disparities
in the experience of prejudice within racial groups (e.g., how someone's name can affect perceptions of their racial affiliation).
Relevant Publications and Presentations
Stancampiano, V.K., Mitchell, A.R., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). Blood, not skin: Exploring intragroup phenotypicality bias related to skin tone in an Indigenous sample. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Johnson, V. M., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). Exploring the role of intersectional stigma on LGBTQ+ members from racial minority groups' decisions to seek therapy. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Stancampiano, V.K., Mitchell, A.R., & Borgella, A.M. (2023). Blood, not skin: Exploring intragroup phenotypicality bias related to skin tone in an Indigenous sample. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
Borgella, A.M. & Maddox, K.B. (2017) Is scrutiny a moderator of racial phenotypicality bias in guilt judgments? Symposium discussant at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Borgella, A.M., Maddox, K.B., Sargent, M.J., Murray, M.P (2015). Full court pressure: Racial phenotypicality under scrutiny. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Long Beach, CA.
Aronson, R.K., Howard, S., Borgella, A.M. (2015). What's in a (Black) name: evaluations of African vs. African American Names. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Borgella, A.M., Fenton, J.L., & Maddox, K.B. (2014) Exploring aversive racism as a moderator of racial phenotypicality bias in guilt judgments. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Austin, TX.
STEREOTYPES AND PERFORMANCE
There have been many investigations into how awareness of stereotypes about one's own social group can impact subsequent performance in educational, athletic, and other domains,
regardless of whether those stereotypes are believed to be valid about one's self. The SPEx Lab has conducted several studies on this topic,
mostly related to how stereotype threat operates in understudied minority social groups (e.g., Native Americans, people with overweight or obesity) and those with intersectional minority social identities.
Relevant Publications and Presentations
Williamson, A.S. & Borgella, A.M. (2024). Existence is Resistance: Land acknowledgments and stereotype threat in Indigenous students. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Alex Borgella along with coauthors Alexa Antonsen-Newman (SPEx Lab Manager, FLC '25) and Dr. Simon Howard (University of Miami) for being awarded
the 2024 Mamie Phipps Clark Faculty Research Award from The American Psychological Association and Psi Chi: International Honor Society for Psychology!
This award will fully fund new research on how
text-to-image (t2i) generative AI representations of people of color impact well-being, self-esteem, and other psychosocial outcomes.
The award announcement!
CONGRATULATIONS to Alexa Antonsen-Newman for being awarded a supply grant from FLC's Undergraduate Research Fund for her work on vicarious sexism!
Go Alexa!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to Audrey Shorty, Andy Sprung, Nick Heim, and Edelawit Hoag for earning their bachelors degrees in Psychology!
The graduates and their proud advisor!
CONGRATULATIONS to Audrey Shorty, Andy Sprung, Clarissa Pflug, Nick Heim, Edelawit Hoag, and SPEx Alum Emma Franklin (U. of Utah) for presenting their research at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association's 2024 annual meeting in Denver!
Audrey gives a talk on how ageism affects White women differently than other groups (and how that might help explain the "Karen" stereotype).
Andy beaming with accomplishment!
Riss after talking to a huge crowd about benevolent sexism and physiological stress.
Emma talks about sexism and stealing thunder.
CONGRATULATIONS to Clarissa Pflug for getting into the Counseling M.A. Program at the University of Arizona!
Clarissa at her new institution!
CONGRATULATIONS to Andy Sprung, Audrey Shorty, Kate Skees, and SPEx alum Abbey Semivan (U. of Arizona) for presenting their research at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's 2024 annual meeting in San Diego!
Andy talks about anti-fat bias in social media.
Audrey right after putting up her poster on the intersection between sexism and ageism.
Kate standing proudly in front of her project on Native mascots and social conservatism.
Abbey explains her project to an interested fellow graduate student.
CONGRATULATIONS to SPEx Alum Tory Stancampiano (FLC c/o '22) for making it through the police academy and becoming a Durango LEO!
Officer Tory in the news hunting counterfeit money!
Archive
Archive: 2023
CONGRATULATIONS to Clarissa Pflug and Clay Siekman for earning their bachelors degrees in Psychology!
Clarissa and the FLC Clocktower.
CONGRATULATIONS to Clarissa Pflug, Audrey Shorty, and Andy Sprung for presenting their research at the 2023 FLC Undergraduate Research Symposium!
Clarissa explains benevolent sexism to a large group.
Audrey fields questions about the intersection of sexism and ageism.
Andy impresses FLC President Tom Stritikus with his research on anti-fat bias in social media.
The Fall '23 SPEx Lab is in full swing, multitasking on a few different projects!
Alex leading one of our lab meetings!
Implicit Racial Bias in Combat Sports: The lab has now coded EVERY SINGLE bout in the UFC between a White and Black athlete or White and Latine athlete ending in a "stoppage" (KO or TKO)!
Tattoo Prejudice: Our very own Danika has spent countless hours meticulously coding the tattoos of every White, Black, or Latine fighter involved in an interracial bout!
Senior Capstone Work: SPEx Lab senior capstone projects are currently underway! This semester, project topics include benevolent sexism, Native American sports mascots, anti-fat bias, and gendered ageism. More soon!
THE SPEx LAB HAS STARTED OUR SUMMER RESEARCH!
Our RAs are hard at work coding data for our newest project investigating implicit biases among combat sports referees.
So far, we've compiled and sorted a list of every fight in the UFC, and we've moved on to watching (and meticulously coding) every single UFC fight ending in a KO or TKO.
Andy, Nick, and Edel getting ready to code a fight between Ronda Rousey and Amanda Nunes.
Andy, Clay, Kate, and Liam expressing a range of emotions while coding a bout
between Glover Texiera and Anthony Smith.
CONGRATULATIONS to Kate Skees, Clay Siekman, Lexi Mitchell, and Abbey Semivan for presenting their projects at
The Rocky Mountain Psychological Association's 2023 Meeting in Albuquerque!
(In order) Kate, Clay, Lexi, and Abbey present their projects.
CONGRATULATIONS to Abbey Semivan, Tory Stancampiano, and Lexi Mitchell for their presentations at
the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's 2023 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia!
(In order) Abbey, Tory, and Lexi, present their projects.
Tory and Lexi in a giant chair we assume was purchased by Jimmy Buffet.
CONGRATULATIONS to the future Dr. Abbey Semivan for being accepted into the Social Psychology Ph.D. Program at the University of Arizona!!
Archive: 2022
CONGRATULATIONS to Kate Skees, Clay Siekman, Lexi Mitchell, and Tory Stancampiano for presenting their projects at
FLC's 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium!
Media
The SPEx Lab's research has been featured in many popular media outlets.
Please check out the links below if you'd like to read more!
"Can People be Too Woke to Joke?"
"Why is Something Funny, and Why should we Care?"
"Inappropriate Laughter and What it Says about Your Brain"
"Why Do We Use Dark Humor to Deal with Terrifying Situations?"
"What's at the Root of Racial Stereotyping?"
"When Warning the World of Humanity's Greatest Threats, it Helps to Have a Sense of Humor"
"TV Writers Love to Pick on Tampa. What's their Deal?"
"The Science of Inappropriate Laughter"
"How to write a joke: A full guide to the perfect set-up and punchline."
"This is your Brain on Humor"
"Humor and Our Health"
"Why All of Your Jokes Fall Flat"
"When does racial humor turn from funny to offensive?"
"They came for the Comedians in Nazi Germany..."
"The Psychology Behind the Dark Humor of Hugleikur Dagsson"
Join the Lab!
The SPEx Lab is currently recruiting undergraduate students at Fort Lewis College. We are
especially interested in students in their first or second years in the psychology major.
If you are interested in applying, please contact Dr. Alex Borgella (SPExLab P.I.) at amborgella@fortlewis.edu
with your name, year, and a short blurb about who you are. We're looking forward to meeting you!
