Most recently, my interests have turned to environmental activism. I'm especially interested in transportation--reducing use of cars and increasing bicycle commuting, communal living, the local food movement, and voluntary simplicity. FOR POTENTIAL GRAD STUDENTS, I'm primarily interested in working with students who have a deep passion for these issues and similar ones.

My theoretical background is based on psychological perspectives that focus on self-definition at the group level, particularly social identity theory and self-categorization theory. I have studied how people respond to discrimination and group-based inequality from the perspective of both privileged and disadvantaged social groups.

Primary Interests:

Gender Psychology
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Political Psychology
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity

Gender Psychology
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations

Political Psychology
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity

Research Group or Laboratory:

The Self in Social Context Laboratory [Map]

Journal Articles:

Schmitt, M. T., & Branscombe, N. R. (2003). Will the real social dominance theory please stand up? British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 215-219.
Schmitt, M. T., & Branscombe, N. R. (2002). The causal loci of attributions to prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 620-628.
Schmitt, M. T., Branscombe, N. R., & Kappen, D. (2003). Attitudes toward group-based inequality: Social dominance or social identity? British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 161-186.
Schmitt, M. T., Branscombe, N. R., & Postmes, T. (2003). Women’s emotional responses to the pervasiveness of gender discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 297-312.
Schmitt, M. T., Silvia, P. J., & Branscombe, N. R. (2000). The intersection of self-evaluation maintenance and social identity theories: Intragroup judgment in interpersonal and intergroup contexts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1598-1606.

Other Publications:

Schmitt, M. T., & Branscombe, N. R. (2002). The meaning and consequences of perceived discrimination in disadvantaged and privileged social groups. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European Review of Social Psychology (Vol. 12, pp. 167-199). Chichester, England: Wiley.
Schmitt, M. T., Ellemers, N., & Branscombe, N. R. (2003). Perceiving and responding to gender discrimination at work. In S. A. Haslam, D. Van Knippenberg, M. J. Platow, & N. Ellemers (Eds.), Social identity at work: Developing theory for organizational practice (pp. 277-292). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

Michael T. Schmitt
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Canada

Phone: (778) 782-4342