Academic Research

Research Interests

I study the psychological processes that underlie social attitudes, person-perception, and intergroup relations. I examine these psychological processes in the context of relevant, real-world environments. For example, I have ongoing work related to perceptual biases on social media, how the attributes of individuals depicted alongside requests for donations influence perceiver responses, and attitudes toward algorithms and conclusions made by algorithms in everyday contexts.

I apply innovative methodological and statistical techniques and have creatively integrated a range of procedural tasks into my research. This includes the Implicit Association Test, the Affect Misattribution Procedure, and Reverse Correlation. I also place great value on the theoretical implications of the questions I ask in my research.

Publications & Ongoing Work

• Academic Publications:
  • Landy, J.P., Daley, J. S., & Balcetis, E. (2025). Making Meaning Through Motivated Perception: The Role of Construal. In Fujita, K, Fishbach, A., & Liberman, N. (Eds.), The Psychological Quest for Meaning. Guilford Press. 
  • Maddox, K. B., Daley, J. S., & Bart-Plange, D. J. (2025). Prejudice & stereotyping: Revisiting Katz & Braly (1933). In Selvanathan, H. & Jetten, J. (Eds.), Political Psychology: Revisiting the classic studies (Chapter 15). Sage. 
  • Daley, J.S., Ortiz, N., & Eagly, A.H. (2024). Impoverished ascriptions: Investigating stereotypes of single parents from a social role perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241288895
  • Gallagher, N.M.*, Daley, J. S.*,   & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2023). Linking Threats to an Outgroup: How COVID-19 Threat Appraisals Predict Differential Outgroup Attitudes. Social and Personality Compass, 17(12), e12882. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12882 *Shared first-authorship
  • Daley, J. S.*, Gallagher, N.M.*, & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2022). The pandemic and the “perpetual foreigner”: How threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic relate to stereotyping of Asian Americans. Frontiers in Psychology, 13: 821891. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.821891 *Shared first-authorship
  • Balcetis, E., Daley, J. S, Guenther, C.L., Riccio, M., Kemp, J., Lapitan, E., Pesantes, J.A., Voigt, A., Gu, Y., & Cole, S. (in press). Self-Regulation Via Visual Fixation: Effects of Strategic Shifting of Attentional Scope on Running Intensity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
  • Daley, J. S. & Bodenhausen, G. V. (in press). Beyond black and white: The differential impact of skin tone and racial category membership on social evaluation. Social Cognition.
• Ongoing Work:
• Tao, B., Daley, J. S, Lexow, B., & Balcetis, E. (invited revision). Keeping the goal in sight and in mind: the association between visual attention and motivational mindsets among runners. Motivation Science.
• De La Rosa, N., Daley, J.S., & Balcetis, E. (invited revision). Challenging Fixed Mindsets Fosters Belonging in Leadership among Ethnic and Racial Minority Adolescents
• Balcetis, E., Daley, J.S., Hall, Z., Dupuis, R., Tsai, K.A., & Bragg, M. A. (under review). Does Racial Congruency Promote Engagement with Social Media Ads? A Randomized Clinical Trial.
  • Ray, N., Daley, J.S., & Balcetis, E. (in prep). How Socio-Cultural Orientations Relate to Perceived Vulnerability to Cybersecurity Threats.
  • Daley, J. S., Atalay, S., Ray, N., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (in prep). A Persuasive Complexion? On the dominance of racial category compared to relative skin tone among persuasive appeals.   
  • Daley, J.S., Klein, S.A.W., Sherman, J.W., Lei, R.F., & Bodenhausen, G.V. (in progress). Augmented associations: How skin tone influences racial associations and the underlying process.
  • Daley, J. S., March, D.S., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (in progress). Skin-deep associations: Exploring the impact of skin tone on interpersonal beliefs across racial groups.
  • Daley, J. S., Cox, B., Biedron, H., & Balcetis, E. (in progress). Group enhancement motives reverse an anti-dark skin bias among Black and Hispanic adolescents’ beliefs about leadership.
  • Daley, J. S. & Balcetis, E. (in progress). Diversity of influence and appetite: How adolescents respond to perceived race-based targeted marketing of food products.

Selected Conference Presentations

• Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2024, September). Skin-deep associations: How race and skin tone drive social attitudes and associations. Talk to be presented at New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists symposium on “Skin Care Inclusivity: Caring for Melanated Skin. Madison, NJ.
• Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2024, February). Skin-deep associations: Investigating how skin tone drives social associations. Talk presented in a symposium at Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference. San Diego, CA.
• Daley, J.S., Klein, S.A.W., Sherman, J.W., Lei, R.F., & Bodenhausen, G.V. (2024, February). Augmented associations: How skin tone influences racial associations and the underlying process. Data Blitz presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference. San Diego, CA.
• Daley, J.S., Klein, S.A.W., Sherman, J.W., Lei, R.F., & Bodenhausen, G.V. (2023, February). Augmented associations: How skin tone influences racial associations and the underlying process. Poster presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference. Atlanta, GA.
• Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2022, February). Beyond black and white: investigating skin-tone and race. Poster presented at Group Processes and Intergroup Relations preconference as part of Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference. San Francisco, CA.
• Daley, J.S., Gallagher, N., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2022, February). Intergroup attitudes in the time of COVID-19. Data Blitz presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference. San Francisco, CA.
• Daley, J.S., Eagly, A.H. (2021, February). Mental images of parents: How agentic and communal are they? Poster presented virtually at Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference.

Selected Research Awards

• Balcetis, E. & Daley, J.S. (Spring, 2024). Institute of Human Development and Social Change Community Partnership Seed Fund with BioBus. Direct Costs = $10,000.
• Daley, J.S. (Winter, 2023). Skin-Deep Associations: Investigating how skin tone drives social associations. FAS Postdoctoral Travel Grant Award. Direct Costs = $700.
• Daley, J.S. (2022, Fall). A Threatening Hue: The Relationship Between Threat and Skin Tone. Graduate Research Grant Northwestern University – The Graduate School. Direct Costs = $2,000.
• Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2021, Summer). Shades of Persuasion: Investigating the Link Between Target Skin Tone and Persuasiveness. Social Justice Mini-Grant Award Competition Northwestern University – Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Amount of $2,500.
• Gallagher, N., Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2020, Spring). Putting an Outgroup Face on a Viral Threat: Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prejudice and Stereotyping in the U.S. Weinberg College COVID-19 Research Seed Fund Program. Northwestern University – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Amount of $12,000.
• Daley, J.S., Bodenhausen, G.V. (2019, Fall). Beyond Race: The Behavioral Implications of Skin Color. Dispute Resolution Research Center Research Grant, Fall 2019. Kellogg School of management (at Northwestern University) Dispute Resolution Research Center. Amount of $2,500.