There's a psychology 'Rising Star' in ASU's New College

New College Assistant Professor of Psychology Jessica Salerno has been tabbed as a "Rising Star" by the Association for Psychological Science.

The designation recognizes outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their post-PhD research career whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions.

Salerno is a founding member of the ASU Program on Law and Behavioral Science and a Fellow of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics. Salerno’s research interests include several lines of inquiry that apply social psychological theory and experimentation to legal contexts.

She investigates:

• The effect of emotion and intergroup dynamics in legal decision making

• How moral outrage drives biases against stigmatized groups in ambiguous legal contexts

• How jurors evaluate the quality of scientific evidence presented by expert witnesses in court

She also explores how these decision-making processes might differ for individuals versus groups, investigating how extra-legal factors influence both individual juror's and juries’ decisions, with a strong emphasis on the group deliberation process.