{"id":1313,"date":"2026-02-25T15:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/?page_id=1313"},"modified":"2026-04-19T14:28:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:28:58","slug":"social-complexity-lab","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/social-complexity-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Complexity Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cb-content container\">\n<div class=\"cb-row-custom\">\n<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg\">\n<div class=\"col-container transparent\">\n<p>The <em>Social Complexity Lab<\/em> primarily studies how cognitive complexity, social identity, and social power relate to social justice issues. \u00a0We are beginning to theorize about links between psychological needs and the self-concept, which will also involve cognitive complexity and social identity.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/cognitive-complexity\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Cognitive complexity<\/a><\/span><\/em> is the number of dimensions used to hold a mental image of a set of objects. \u00a0More dimensions = more complexity.<\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/social-identity\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Social identity<\/a><\/span> <\/em>is the importance of a group membership to the self.<\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #800000\"><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/social-power\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Social power<\/a><\/span> <\/em>is the ability to block other people from meeting their needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg\">\n<div class=\"col-container transparent\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1093 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/WoodenBlocks.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/WoodenBlocks.png 971w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/WoodenBlocks-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/WoodenBlocks-768x492.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<h5><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1135 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/SocID-Complexity-image5-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/SocID-Complexity-image5-1024x559.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/SocID-Complexity-image5-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/SocID-Complexity-image5-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/02\/SocID-Complexity-image5.png 1088w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1463\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"923\" height=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2.png 923w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2-300x1.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2-768x3.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Social Complexity Lab takes great pride in mentoring the next generation of researchers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Affiliated Graduate Student Researchers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 40px\">\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1443 size-thumbnail alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/ShannonHart2b-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Shannon Hart, M.S.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Department of Psychology<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Rutgers University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\" style=\"text-align: left\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 40px\">\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1438 size-thumbnail alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/NickBerkeley2-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #000080\"><a style=\"color: #000080\" href=\"https:\/\/nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndzambrotta.com%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Crf468%40psych.rutgers.edu%7Cb59b30d04f994ff51bc208de71c02748%7Cb92d2b234d35447093ff69aca6632ffe%7C1%7C0%7C639073267272178402%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ZfldeE8LgL5xbkihKp33tl%2FI%2FDDkfX40Geo8gNFkXWI%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nick Zambrotta, M.A.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Haas School of Business<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 University of California &#8211; Berkeley<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 40px\">\u00a0\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1696 size-thumbnail alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/04\/BrandonGeorges-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/04\/BrandonGeorges-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/04\/BrandonGeorges.png 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 <span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Brandon Georges, B.A.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Graduate School of Professional and Applied Psychology<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 Rutgers University<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Rutgers Undergraduate Research Assistants Spring 2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cb-content container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<ul>\n<li>Jeddidiah Worrel<\/li>\n<li>Mya Baitz<\/li>\n<li>Sanchita Dighe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1463\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"923\" height=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2.png 923w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2-300x1.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1471\/2026\/03\/RedLineHoriz2-768x3.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Several of our former undergraduate students have presented at conferences, co-authored publications, or pursued graduate studies in psychology and related disciplines. \u00a0 \u00a0 &#8211;&gt;<span style=\"color: #800000;font-size: 1rem\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><a style=\"color: #800000\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/get-involved\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Get Involved<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0&lt;&#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Conference Presentations With Undergraduate Co-authors in <strong>Bold<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Foels, R., <strong>Farabaugh, G.<\/strong>, &amp; Zambrotta, N. D. (2025). <em>Those high in attributional complexity have less negative views of poverty.. <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zambrotta, N.,<\/strong> &amp; Foels, R. (June, 2023). <em>Int<\/em><em>ergroup closeness strengthens LGBT support for conservatives and religious people.\u00a0 <\/em>Poster presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference: Denver, CO.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kumar, E.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (March, 2023). <em>Do abnormal psychology textbooks stigmatize transgender as a sexual dysfunction? <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wysocki, D.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (March, 2023). <em>Fuzzy cognitive representations make our groups seem less important. <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zambrotta, N.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (March, 2023). <em>Conservatism and religiosity predict low LGBT<\/em><em> favorability, but weakens with intergroup contact.\u00a0 <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Han, P.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2022, March). <em>Victim blame as a function of crime type and attributional complexity.<\/em> Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shobe, J.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2022, March).\u00a0 <em>Religion and disadvantage: Rejection of system justification in Black Church members.<\/em> Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zambrotta, N.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2022, March). <em>Morality and prejudice: Some moral foundations are more prejudiced than others.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Athar, M.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2019, March).<em> Gender differences in attitudes towards homosexuals: Social dominance orientation &amp; attributional complexity. <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cerutti, J.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2019, March). <em>Claiming reverse sexism: SDO and attributional complexity influence perceptions of sexist events.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Davis, L.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2019, March). <em>Attributional complexity reduces social dominance orientation and support for solitary confinement. <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vadell, M.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2019, March). <em>Reducing loneliness through a construal level manipulation of social distance.<\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marottoli, M.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2017, May). <em>Attributional complexity undermines rape myth acceptance. <\/em>Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rubinstein, S.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2017, May). <em>Psychological importance is only predicted by social distance.<\/em> Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Smith, J.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2017, May). <em>Cognitive representation predicts collective esteem which predicts depression.<\/em>Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Donato, M.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2015, May). <em>How cognitive complexity relates to the worst economic inequality in decades<\/em>. Poster presented at Association for Psychological Science convention: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simpson, A.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2015, May). <em>Rape myth acceptance and attributional complexity.<\/em> Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>O\u2019Hara, K. T.<\/strong>, Miranda, K. A., &amp; Foels, R. (2014, March). <em>Red state, blue state: Can we talk about gender? <\/em>Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jassin, K.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2013, May). <em>Gender biased language reflects more than prototypicality or status effects<\/em>. Poster presented at the American Psychological Society convention: Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p>Foels, R., &amp; <strong>Jassin, K.<\/strong> (2012, July). Attributional complexity and system condemnation by Occupy Wall Street Protestors. In F. Pratto &amp; F. Bou Zeineddine (Chairs), <em>Resistance to oppression. <\/em>Paper\u00a0 presented at the International Society for Political Psychology conference: Chicago, IL.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jassin, K.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2010, June). Reducing the tendency to dehumanize by increasing cognitive complexity. In R. Foels (Chair), <em>Gender, race, and cognitive complexity. <\/em>Paper presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference: New Orleans, LA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dalton, E.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2010, May). <em>Women and low status groups do not perceive outgroup homogeneity.<\/em> Poster presented at the American Psychological Society convention: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p>Foels, R., <strong>Romanowicz, J.<\/strong>, <strong>Crocker, T. J.<\/strong>, <strong>Kalafatis, I.<\/strong>, &amp; <strong>Jatrinsky, J.<\/strong> (2008, March).\u00a0 <em>Gender differences in the need to belong:\u00a0 Cognitive representation not group value.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jassin, K.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2008, March).\u00a0 <em>When norms collide: Implicit gender and valence biases in memory.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boston, MA.<\/p>\n<p>Miranda, K. A., Foels, R., &amp; <strong>Williams, P. R.<\/strong> (2006, May). <em>Heterosexual couples perpetuate stereotype roles.<\/em> Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention: New York, NY.<\/p>\n<p>Foels, R., &amp; <strong>Allison, C. <\/strong>(2006, March). <em>Rejecting sexism: Feminist identity and attributional complexity.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Baltimore, MD.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ceballos, G<\/strong>., <strong>Van Wyk, M.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2005, March). <em>Keeping them in their place: False consciousness, prejudice, and racial identity.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boson, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Van Wyk, M.<\/strong>, <strong>Ceballos, G.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2005, March). <em>Women against women: Feminist identity is inversely related to levels of SDO and Sexism.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Boson, MA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blabey, A.,<\/strong> Foels, R., <strong>Coffey, M.<\/strong>, <strong>Crusan, L.<\/strong>, <strong>King, H.<\/strong>, <strong>Agudelo, C.<\/strong>, &amp; <strong>Morgan, J.<\/strong> (2004, June). <em>Gender stereotypes and social psychology: Bias in the science?<\/em> Poster presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference: Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cummings, J. E<\/strong>., &amp; Foels, R. (2003, September). <em>Mate preferences a<\/em><em>nd gender socialization: Evidence against simple evolutionary explanations.<\/em> Poster presented at the Society of Southeastern Social Psychology conference: Greensboro, NC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grullon, W.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2001, April). <em>Prime targets for failure: Stereotype threat and implicit doubt.<\/em> Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pappas, C. J.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2001, April). <em>Revelations of self-worth: Finding self esteem through feminist identity<\/em>. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting: Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p>Foels, R., &amp; <strong>Pappas, C. J<\/strong>. (2000, June). Learning and unlearning legitimizing myths: Social dominance and gender. In F. Pratto &amp; R. Foels (Chairs), <em>Legitimizing and de-legitimizing prejudice and discrimination<\/em>. Symposium conducted at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference: Minneapolis, MN.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pappas, C. J.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2000, March). <em>Girls will be girls and boys will be prejudiced: Social dominance orientation and gender<\/em>. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Baltimore, MD.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Terry, R.<\/strong>, &amp; Foels, R. (2000, March). <em>Heroes versus average Joes: Evaluating multicultural education approaches<\/em>. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting: Baltimore, MD.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scarola, M.<\/strong>, Foels, R., &amp; Durant, L. (1999, April). <em>Gender differences in exercise maintenance: The stages of change exercise measure-2<\/em>. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting: Providence, RI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Social Complexity Lab primarily studies how cognitive complexity, social identity, and social power relate to social justice issues. \u00a0We are beginning to theorize about links between psychological needs and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/social-complexity-lab\/\" class=\"\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4233,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1313","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Social Complexity Lab - Rob Foels, Ph.D.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rob-foels\/social-complexity-lab\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social Complexity Lab - Rob Foels, Ph.D.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Social Complexity Lab primarily studies how cognitive complexity, social identity, and social power relate to social justice issues. \u00a0We are beginning to theorize about links between psychological needs and &hellip; 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