W.E.B. Dubois used the term “double consciousness” to describe how societal structures shaped the ways in which African Americans viewed themselves, others, and their relations with American institutions. This talk will use the tools of psychology and neurobiology to show how “double consciousness” is experienced by many groups in American society, with implications for health and cognitive performance. This talk will cover recent findings in brain science that can be used by individuals to reduce stress and improve performance, and that could help bridge racial and gender disparities in the population.

Please join the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute for its Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture. Dr. Purdie-Vaughns is an associate professor in the Psychology Department at Columbia and Faculty Fellow for the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars-Columbia site.