Welcome to the Racism, Identity, Coping, and Health Lab (RICH LAB) in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
In the RICH Lab, we employ experimental, survey, daily diary, and psychophysiological approaches, examining questions that center around racism and discrimination as psychosocial stressors that erode African Americans’ physical and mental health. Our lab has also begun exploring interventions that target not only individuals but also systems of oppression that contribute to racial and health inequities.
We are committed to: (1) Elucidating whether racism is a unique or distinct stressor for African Americans with consequences that exceed those of non-race-related stressors, (2) Explicating the psychological processes that underlie the association between racism and deleterious outcomes, and (3) Identifying person-related characteristics that serve as potential protective or vulnerability factors (e.g., racial identity, cultural identity) in the context of racism.
In the RICH Lab, we employ experimental, survey, daily diary, and psychophysiological approaches, examining questions that center around racism and discrimination as psychosocial stressors that erode African Americans’ physical and mental health. Our lab has also begun exploring interventions that target not only individuals but also systems of oppression that contribute to racial and health inequities.
We are committed to: (1) Elucidating whether racism is a unique or distinct stressor for African Americans with consequences that exceed those of non-race-related stressors, (2) Explicating the psychological processes that underlie the association between racism and deleterious outcomes, and (3) Identifying person-related characteristics that serve as potential protective or vulnerability factors (e.g., racial identity, cultural identity) in the context of racism.