Valerie Jones Taylor

Valerie Jones Taylor serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences, maintaining her office in Tillett Hall 417 on the Livingston campus.

Her research program integrates stereotype/social identity threat theory with intergroup contact frameworks to examine interracial interactions, race/gender experiences in academic contexts, and perceptions of racialized physical spaces. Focusing on how social identity threat impedes cross-race understanding within America's legacy of racism, her work develops interventions to improve racial attitudes and enhance identity-safety for marginalized groups through traditional behavioral change methodologies and virtual reality applications.

Dr. Taylor directs the SSIVR Lab (Social Identity and Virtual Reality Lab), which investigates systemic solutions to reduce social inequities by addressing the psychological barriers that undermine sustained interracial contact and commitment to equity initiatives.