Faculty Profile

Ph.D., M.S., Colorado State University
B.A., Spelman College

Danielle Dickens, Ph.D., joined the department of psychology as an assistant professor in 2015. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Spelman College, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in applied social and health psychology from Colorado State University. Dr. Dickens uses an interdisciplinary approach and pulls together her knowledge and experience as an instructor and mentor around issues of race/ethnicity, gender, age, and class in higher education and the workplace.

As a Black feminist social psychologist, her research focuses on the identity development and identity formation of Black women and how they navigate the world. She utilizes qualitative and quantitative methodologies to examine the intersection of multiple identities, specifically race, gender, age, and class identities, with an emphasis on Black women, work, higher education and STEM.

Dr. Dickens is most interested in examining how members of underrepresented groups (e.g., Black women) experience discrimination, the utilization of identity shifting as a coping strategy, and the benefits and costs of identity shifting on Black women’s physical and mental health. In her second line of research, she examines the social-psychological determinants of academic and career development of Black women.

Awards & Grants
Recipient of APA Division 35 Psychology of Women: Mary Roth Walsh Teaching the Psychology of Women Award (2019)

National Science Foundation EiR Grant- Navigating the Double Bind: Assessing the Development and Contribution of Identity Shifting to the Recruitment & Retention of Black Women in STEM Education (2018-2021)

Featured on the Society for Teaching of Psychology (STP)’s “This is How I Teach” Blog (2018)

American Psychological Foundation & Funding Individual Spiritual Health Visionary Grant to Decrease Ethnic and Racial Discrimination in Education (2016-2017)

RISEing Star Alumnae Award, Spelman College RISE (Research Initiative Scientific Enhancement) Program (2014-2015)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Graduate Fellowship, Colorado State University (2013-2014)

PSY 206: Psychology of Women
PSY 347: Psychology of Racism
PSY 409: Competing Selves: Behavioral and Psychological Consequences of Negotiating Identities (Research Seminar)
PSY 305: Research Methods
PSY 222: Pathways in Psychology
PSY 409: Myths, Stereotypes, and Realities of Career Oriented Black Women (Research Seminar)
PSY 480: Senior Portfolio & Critical Review

Intersectionality of social identities
Underrepresentation in STEM
Benefits and costs of identity shifting among Black women
Psychology of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup processes
Academic and career development of Black women
Psychosociocultural influences on health behaviors

Dickens, D., Ellis, V., Hall, N. (2021). Changing the face of STEM: Review of literature on the role of mentors in the success of undergraduate Black women in STEM education. Journal of Research Initiatives, 5(3), 1-13.

Younge, S., Dickens, D., Winfield, L., & Sanders Johnson, S. (2021). Moving beyond the experiment to see chemists like me: Cultural relevance in the organic chemistry laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education, 99(1), 383–392.

Jones, M., Womack, V., Jérémie-Brink,G., & Dickens, D. (2021). Gendered racism and mental health among young adult U.S. Black Women: The moderating roles of gendered racial identity centrality and identity shifting. Sex Roles, 1-11.

Dickens, D. & Womack, V. (2020). Unapologetic Millennial Black Women: Authenticity at work as a form of resistance. In K. Thomas (Eds.), Diversity and Resistance.

Dickens, D., Womack, V. Y., & Dimes, T. (2019). Managing hypervisibility: An exploration of theory and research on identity shifting strategies in the workplace among Black women. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 113, 153-163.

Dickens, D. & Chavez, E. (2018). Navigating the workplace: Compromising the costs and benefits of shifting identities among early career Black women at work. Sex Roles,78(11-12), 760-774.

Dr. Danielle Dickens Recognized for Her Innovative Teaching Practice

Psychology Professor Receives Grant to Study Code Switching Among Black Women in STEM

Dickens Joins Psychology Association's Tour "I am Psyched"