Andrew L. Stewart, Ph.D. is a social psychologist at Clark University whose research examines the ideological beliefs and norms that legitimize and undermine intergroup violence, discrimination, and inequality — why it persists, who resists it, and how.

Much of his work focuses on collective action: what motivates people to organize against discrimination, violence, and inequality. His research has shown that the answer depends on where people stand in social hierarchies. For disadvantaged groups, social identity processes drive protest; for dominant groups — men, White Americans — social dominance dynamics are more explanatory. This argument for theoretical complementarity runs through studies of gender-based activism, White Americans’ motivations to protest racial inequality, and international solidarity with the Arab Spring uprisings, the last of which drew on data from over 1,400 participants across multiple countries.

A second line of research examines how ideological norms — the degree to which beliefs like sexism or social dominance orientation are widely shared in a society — shape discrimination and violence. This work has appeared in outlets including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, and Social Psychological and Personality Science, and regularly uses multilevel modeling across large cross-national datasets.

On the applied side, he developed and evaluated The Men’s Project, a primary prevention program targeting college men, which has demonstrated reductions in sexism and rape myth acceptance alongside increases in bystander efficacy and collective action willingness.

Students in his lab engage questions at the intersection of social psychology, inequality, and political behavior — using experimental, survey, and archival methods. If you’re drawn to understanding how social hierarchies are maintained and challenged, reach out.

Google Scholar | Social Psychology Network | Faculty Profile @ Clark University