Deborah Wu

Assistant Professor,

Psychology

[email protected]

Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio

Deborah Wu is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, in the Social Psychology program. She directs the Identity Development, Emotions, and Attitudes (IDEA) Lab, which examines how social identities and emotions shape our experiences, attitudes and behaviors. More specifically, she investigates the antecedents and consequences of stereotyping and prejudice, with the ultimate goal of creating interventions to improve intergroup attitudes. Her work utilizes multiple methods, including longitudinal, experimental and psychophysiological approaches.

Wu received her BA from Northwestern University, her MS and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University. She joined ASU in January 2025, after being an assistant professor at Stonehill College.

Education

PhD. Social Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst 2022
MS. Social Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst 2019
BA. Psychology and Music, Northwestern University 2016

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar URL

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RiuVwUUAAAAJ&hl=en

ORCID Profile ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0598-7003

Research Interests

Stereotyping and prejudice; Intergroup relations; Self and identity; Intervention science; Emotion

Research Group

https://psychology.asu.edu/research/labs/idea-lab

Publications

Wu, D. J., Syropoulos, S., Mah, A., Law, K. F., Dixon-Gordon, K., Markowitz, E., Nteta, T., Reid, A., Ginn, J. C., Suh, S., Young, L., & Lickel, B. (2026). Shifting demographics, shifting perceptions: How race and politics shape reactions to the majority-minority future. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302261454594
Wu, D. J., Syropoulos, S., Burrows, B. E., Mercado, E., Haase, C. M., & Perry, S. P. (2026). Academia is not for everyone: An examination of psychology doctoral students’ experiences in graduate school. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.70061
Wu, D. J., Law, K. F., Syropoulos, S., & Perry, S. P. (2026). The politics of well-being during democratic backsliding: How partisan affiliation and policy support relate to happiness and life satisfaction. advances.in/psychology, 1, e569295. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00051
Buchanan, E. M., Cavagnaro, D. R., Premachandra, B., Wu, D. J., Lewis, N. A., Jr., Taylor, V. J., Urry, H. L., Forscher, P. S. (2026). The challenges and payoffs of in-person big-team science. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 20(1), e70121. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.70121
Perry, S. P., Abaied, J., & Wu, D. J., Doriscar, J. E. (2025). Racial socialization in the United States. Annual Review of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-050724-034006
Wu, D. J., Gibson, T. M., Ziegenbein, L. M., Phillis, R. W., Zehnder, C., Connor, E. A., & Dasgupta, N. (2024). A communal social vaccine: An identity-based learning community intervention enhances the lived experience and success of first-generation college students in the biological sciences. Scientific Reports, 14, 10163. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60650-1
Perry, S. P., Wu, D. J., Sánchez, S., Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. L., Abaied, J., Waters, S. F., & Osnaya, A. (2024). White parents’ racial socialization messages during a discussion task predict reductions in their White children’s pro-White biases. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001703. Media coverage: WBEZ Chicago
Wu, D. J., Syropoulos, S., Rivera-Rodriguez, A., Dasgupta, N. (2023). From Model Minority to Yellow Peril: How threat perceptions and disgust predict anti-Asian prejudice during COVID-19. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, e12833. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12833. Media coverage: SPSSI Forward
Wu, D. J., Thiem, K. C., & Dasgupta, N. (2022). Female peer mentors early in college have lasting positive impacts on female engineering students that persist beyond graduation. Nature Communications, 13, 6837. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34508-x. Media coverage: SPSSI Forward | UMass News
Wu, D. J., Sánchez, S., & Perry, S. P. (2022). “Will talking about race make my child racist?” Dispelling myths to encourage honest white U.S. parent-child conversations about race and racism. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101420
Syropoulos, S.,* Wu, D. J.,* Burrows, B. E., & Mercado, E. (2021). Psychology doctoral program experiences and student well-being, mental health, and optimism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 629205. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.629205
Wu, D. J., Svoboda, R. C., Bae, K. K., & Haase, C. M. (2021). Individual differences in sadness coherence: Associations with dispositional affect and age. Emotion, 21(3), 465-477. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000731
Wu, D. J., Park, J., & Dasgupta, N. (2020). The influence of masculine faces on stereotype activation among women in STEM: An ERP investigation. Biological Psychology, 156, 107948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107948

Courses

2027 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
PSY 599	Thesis
PSY 592	Research
PSY 591	Seminar
PSY 498	Pro-Seminar

2026 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
PSY 350	Social Psychology
PSY 592	Research
PSY 599	Thesis
PSY 451	Stereotyping/Prejudice/Discrim

2026 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
PSY 592	Research
PSY 451	Stereotyping/Prejudice/Discrim
PSY 451	Stereotyping/Prejudice/Discrim

2025 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
PSY 592	Research
PSY 591	Seminar
PSY 498	Pro-Seminar

Expertise Areas