Samuel Sommers
Department of Psychology
Tufts University
490 Boston Avenue
Medford, Massachusetts 02155
U.S.A.
Home Page
Phone: (617) 627-5293
Email: sam.sommers@tufts.edu
Dr. Sommers is a social psychologist interested in issues related to stereotyping, prejudice, and group diversity. His research focuses on two broad, often overlapping topic areas: 1) the influence of race-related norms and motivations on social cognition, judgment and decision-making, group dynamics, and interpersonal interaction; 2) the intersection of psychology and law. He is currently funded by the Russell Sage Foundation for his research on the effects of diversity on group decision-making processes. He teaches courses in Social Psychology, Experimental Psychology, and Psychology & Law. He is the creator and organizer of Tufts' Diversity & Cognition Colloquium Series.
 Journal Articles:
- Apfelbaum, E. P., Pauker, K., Ambady, N., Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Learning (not) to talk about race: When older children underperform on social categorization. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1513-1518
- Apfelbaum, E. P., & Sommers, S. R. (2009). Liberating effects of losing control: When regulatory strategies turn maladaptive. Psychological Science, 20, 139-143.
 Apfelbaum, E. P., Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Seeing race and seeming racist? Evaluating strategic colorblindness in social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 918-932.
- Norton, M. I., Sommers, S. R., Apfelbaum, E. P., Pura, N. & Ariely, D. (2006). Colorblindness and interracial interaction: Playing the "political correctness game." Psychological Science, 17, 949-953.
- Norton, M. I., Sommers, S. R., & Brauner, S. (2007). Bias in jury selection: Justifying prohibited peremptory challenges. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20, 467-479.
- Sommers, S. R. (2008). Determinants and consequences of jury racial diversity: Empirical findings, implications, and directions for future research. Social Issues and Policy Review, 2, 65-102.
- Sommers, S. R. (2007). Race and the decision-making of juries. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 12, 171-187.
- Sommers, S. R. (2006). On racial diversity and group decision-making: Identifying multiple effects of racial composition on jury deliberations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 597-612.
- Sommers, S. R., & Douglass, A. B. (2007). Context matters: Alibi strength varies according evaluator perspective. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 12, 41-54.
- Sommers, S. R., & Ellsworth, P. C. (in press). “Race salience” in juror decision-making: Misconceptions, clarifications, and unanswered questions. Behavioral Sciences and the Law.
- Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Race and jury selection: Psychological perspectives on the peremptory challenge debate. American Psychologist, 63, 527-539.
- Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2007). Race-based judgments, race-neutral justifications: Experimental examination of peremptory use and the Batson challenge procedure. Law and Human Behavior, 31, 261-273.
- Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2006). Lay theories about White racists: What constitutes racism (and what doesn't). Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 117-138.
- Sommers, S. R., Warp, L. S., & Mahoney, C. C. (2008). Cognitive effects of racial diversity: White individuals' information processing in heterogeneous groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1129-1136.
Other Publications:
- Sommers. S. R. (2008). Beyond information exchange: New perspectives on the benefits of racial diversity for group performance. In E. A. Mannix, M. A. Neale, & K. W. Phillips (Eds.), Research on Managing Groups and Teams (Volume 11; pp. 195-220). Oxford: Elsevier Science Press.
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