Deborah Prentice
Professor Deborah Prentice received her undergraduate degree in human biology and music at Stanford University in 1984. She then earned a Ph.D. in psychology at Yale University and joined the faculty of Princeton University, where she became the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, and held a variety of administrative responsibilities, chairing the Department of Psychology for 12 years, serving as Dean of Faculty for three years, and serving six years as Provost, with primary responsibility for all academic, budgetary, and long-term planning issues. In 2023, Professor Prentice became the University of Cambridge's 347th Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Prentice's area of research expertise is in the study of social norms that govern human behavior—particularly the impact and development of unwritten rules and conventions, and how people respond to breaches of those rules. She has edited three academic volumes and published more than 50 articles and chapters, and she has specialized in the study of domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and gender stereotypes.
Primary Interests:
- Gender Psychology
- Intergroup Relations
- Persuasion, Social Influence
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
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Books:
- Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Prentice, D. A. (Eds.). (2004). Perspectivism in social psychology: The yin and yang of scientific progress. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Prentice, D. A., & Miller D. T. (Eds.). (1999). Cultural divides: Understanding and overcoming group conflict. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Todorov, A., Fiske, S. T., & Prentice, D. A. (Eds.). (2011). Social neuroscience: Toward understanding the underpinnings of the social mind. New York: Oxford University Press.
Journal Articles:
- Cantor, N., Kemmelmeier, M., Basten, J., & Prentice, D. A. (2002). Life task pursuit in social groups: Balancing self exploration and social integration. Self and Identity, 1, 177-184.
- Miller, D. T., Downs, J. S., & Prentice, D. A. (1998). Minimal conditions for the creation of a unit relationship: The social bond between birthdaymates. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 475-481.
- Prentic, D. A., & Carranza, E. (2002). What women and men should be, shouldn't be, are allowed to be, and don't have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 269-281.
- Prentice, D. A., Gerrig, R. J., & Bailis, D. S. (1997). What readers bring to the processing of fictional texts. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 4, 416-420.
- Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (2002). The emergence of home-grown stereotypes. American Psychologist, 57, 352-359.
- Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (1992). When small effects are impressive. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 160-164.
- Rapp, D. N., Gerrig, R. J, & Prentice, D. A. (2001). Readers’ trait-based models of characters in narrative comprehension. Journal of Memory and Language, 45, 737-750.
- Schroeder, C. M., & Prentice, D. A. (1998). Exposing pluralistic ignorance to reduce alcohol use among college students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 2150-2180.
Other Publications:
- Miller, D. T., Monin, B., & Prentice, D. A. (1999). Pluralistic ignorance and social identity: When the group and the individual diverge. In D. J. Terry & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Attitudes, behavior, and social context: The role of norms and group membership (pp. 95-113). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Prentice, D. A. (2000). The individual self, relational self, and collective self: A commentary. In C. Sedikides & M. B. Brewer (Eds.), The individual self, relational self, and collective self: Partners, opponents, or strangers? (pp. 315-326). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
- Prentice, D. A., & Carlsmith, K. M. (1999). Opinions and personality: On the psychological functions of attitudes and other valued possessions. In G. R. Maio & J. Olson (Eds.), Why we evaluate: Functions of attitudes (pp. 223-248). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Prentice, D. A., & Carranza, E. (2003). Sustaining cultural beliefs in the face of their violation: The case of gender stereotypes. In M. Schaller & C. Crandall (Eds.), The Psychological foundations of culture (pp. 259-280). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Prentice, D. A., & Gerrig, R. J. (1999). Exploring the boundary between fiction and reality. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-process theories in social psychology (pp. 529-546). New York: Guilford.
Deborah Prentice
Vice-Chancellor's Office
University of Cambridge
The Old Schools, Trinity Lane
Cambridge CB2 1TN
United Kingdom
- Phone: +44 1223 332290
- Fax: +44 1223 339669