Short description
Ph.D., social and diversity psychologist, University of Wisconsin, United States.
Places of work
- Institutional Policy Analyst at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (Madison, WI, U.S.)
- Research consultant at the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) https://wipps.org/research-partners/about-us/
- Former Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (Eau Claire, WI, U.S.)
- Former Head of the Diversity, Prejudice, and Intergroup Relations (DPIR) Lab
- Member of the Society for Social and Personality Psychologists (SPSP) and the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP)
- Received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Arkansas (2018)
Summary of research
Prejudice and intergroup relations; social identity; diversity ideologies; multicultural experiences; intergroup contact; intergroup perspective taking; political ideology
Research interests
The core of my research expertise is in the area of diversity, prejudice, and intergroup relations. I’m particularly interested in ways to mitigate intergroup bias and capitalize on the benefits of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. In my research, I have examined how intergroup contact and experiences with other cultures, intergroup perspective taking/empathy, inclusive social identification (e.g., seeing oneself as part of the "human family"), and multicultural vs. colorblind approaches to diversity impact various affective, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral outcomes. I also have secondary research interests that examine how various personality factors (e.g., Openness to Experience, need for cognitive closure, miserly thinking) and political ideology (liberalism vs. conservatism) relate to diversity, prejudice, and intergroup relations.
Publications
Selected publications:
Blanchar, J. C., & Sparkman, D. J. (2020). Individual differences in miserly thinking predict endorsement of racial/ethnic stereotypes. Social Cognition, 38, 405–421. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2020.38.5.405
Sparkman, D. J. (2020). Multicultural experiences and the secondary transfer effect of intercultural attitudes. Social Psychology, 51, 267–283. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000414
Sparkman, D., & Hamer, K. (2020). Seeing the Human in Everyone: Multicultural Experiences Predict More Positive Intergroup Attitudes and Humanitarian Helping through Identification with All Humanity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 79, 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.08.007
Sparkman, D. J., Eidelman, S, & Till, D. F. (2019). Ingroup and outgroup interconnectedness predict and promote political ideology through empathy. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22(8), 1161-1180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430218819794
Sparkman, D. J., Eidelman, S., Dueweke, A. R., Marin, M. S., & Dominguez, B. (2019). Open to diversity: Openness to Experience predicts multiculturalism and colorblindness through perspective taking. Journal of Individual Differences, 40, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000270
Sparkman, D. J., & Eidelman, S. (2018). We are the “human family:” Multicultural experiences predict less prejudice and greater concern for human rights through identification with humanity. Social Psychology, 49, 135-153. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000337
Sparkman, D. J., & Blanchar, J. C. (2017). Examining relationships among epistemic motivation, perspective taking, and prejudice: A test of two explanatory models. Personality and Individual Differences, 114, 48-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.03.049
Sparkman, D. J., Eidelman, S., & Blanchar, J. C. (2017). Multicultural experiences reduce prejudice through personality shifts in Openness to Experience. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 840-853. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2189
Sparkman, D. J., & Eidelman, S. (2016). “Putting myself in their shoes”: Ethnic perspective taking explains liberal-conservative differences in prejudice and stereotyping. Personality and Individual Differences, 98, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.095
Conference & presentations
Sparkman, D., & Hamer, K. (2020). Multicultural Experiences Hinder Negative Attitudes and Enhance Helping through Identification with All Humanity. 42. Annual Scientific Meeting (virtual) of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), Berlin, Germany.
Sparkman, D. J., & Eidelman, S. (2019). We are the “human family:” Multicultural experiences, identification with humanity, and prejudice. Symposium presentation on Global human identification and citizenship: What we now know, and what we don’t. Annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology. Lisbon, Portugal.