People

Dr. Calvin Lai, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Psychology and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Project Implicit, a non-profit for research and education on hidden biases. He studies implicit biases: spontaneous or unconscious mental processes that create a gap between what people value (e.g., racial equality) and what people do (e.g., racial discrimination). This research has focused on developing interventions to mitigate the effects of hidden biases and has included studies on reducing implicit bias, preventing hiring discrimination, mitigating racial inequities in policing, and increasing women’s interest in pursuing careers in science. For his work, he has received a SAGE Early Career Trajectory Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology and Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science. Dr. Lai completed his PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Virginia and his post-doctoral training at Harvard University.