Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton is an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-director of Berkeley’s Relationships and Social Cognition Laboratory. He studies prejudice, stigma, intergroup relations, cross-race-friendships and cultural psychology. He received his PhD from Columbia University, and his BA from Yale University. He is a co-editor of the recent anthology Are We Born Racistfrom Beacon Press and writes a blog for Psychology Today.
Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, while his father worked for UNICEF, he lived in Mexico, Ivory Coast, Thailand, and the United States. These travels cemented an early interest in culture and intergroup relations. After receiving his B.A. at Yale University, he pursued a Ph.D. in social psychology at Columbia University under the mentorship of Walter Mischel and Geraldine Downey. He remained at Columbia for postdoctoral training, and became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002. He collaborates with the American Cultures Engaged Scholarship Program, American Cultures and Staff Diversity Initiatives by teaching Psychology ACES 167 Stigma & Prejudice for both undergraduates and staff. His professional interests include stereotyping and prejudice from the perspective of both target and perceiver, intergroup relations, and cultural psychology.