Ariel Mosley

Ariel Mosley serves as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of California Davis, where she leads the Mosley Lab focused on intergroup perceptions of cultural appropriation, stigma, and intersectionality. Her research examines how social categorization and identity structure judgments of intergroup inequalities through experimental design, mediation analyses, and meta-analyses.

Her educational background includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (2020) and Masters of Arts in Psychology (2016) from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Philosophy minor (2014) from California State University Sacramento. As an undergraduate, she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Sally Casanova Scholar, and Leadership Alliance Scholar.

Professor Mosley's research investigates three core questions: how group-based biases influence responses to cultural appropriation; how intersectional stereotypes affect diverse individuals' experiences; and how marginalized groups adapt to discrimination. She combines social cognition, intergroup relations, and racial inequality frameworks to evaluate inequality from both target and perceiver perspectives. Her work spans social identity, objectification, dehumanization, structural racism in healthcare/law, and intersectional stigma.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent focus on cultural appropriation mechanisms, moral evaluations of intergroup interactions, and intersectional approaches to understanding bias. Her work increasingly integrates legal and policy implications while maintaining strong methodological rigor through experimental and meta-analytic approaches.

• University of California Davis Center for Multicultural Perspectives Faculty Scholar (2022-present)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2016)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Opportunities Worldwide Fellowship (2018)
• International Society of Political Psychology Award (2022)
• Multiple awards from SPSSI, SSPC, and SSPSP (2017-2022)

Professor Mosley actively mentors undergraduate research assistants through her Mosley Lab, where students participate in all research phases from conception to dissemination. Her lab has produced multiple conference presentations and co-authored publications. She has secured significant grant funding including NSF fellowships and institutional support through UC Davis's multicultural research center. Her teaching portfolio includes Social Psychology, Psychology of Law, and specialized courses on cultural appropriation and racism.

The Mosley Lab maintains an active research program with undergraduate scholars and graduate affiliates investigating intergroup relations, social cognition, and diversity issues. The lab emphasizes community-based research and recently presented at the Society for Personality & Social Psychology Annual Convention, with plans to attend the 2026 Chicago conference. Professor Mosley's work bridges academic research and community engagement through public science communication initiatives.