Dr. Cara MacInnis
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Acadia University. I am also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Calgary.
From a social psychological perspective, I study the way humans interact with one another in our diverse world, focusing on barriers to positive intergroup relations such as prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. I consider my research as applying social psychology to understanding and overcoming critical challenges of diversity. Much of this work falls into one of 2 overlapping lines of research:
1) Reducing prejudice and improving relations through intergroup contact (i.e., contact between people belonging to different groups); and
2) Examining prejudice toward less recognized target group.
More recently, I have also expanded my scholarly activity to include applying social psychology to optimizing health and healthcare. I have newly renamed my lab the Closer lab (Cultivating Love, Openness, Solidarity, Empathy, and Respect) to capture my most recent research, which includes intergroup relations, but also research on forming close bonds, compassionate care, and collective action. My work is regularly funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.