Rate My Professor Fiona White

Professor Fiona White is a distinguished social psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of Sydney, where she obtained her PhD in 1997. Her early academic work includes a publication from the University of Newcastle in 1997, 'The Revised Moral Authority Scale (MAS-R)', indicating an early career association with that institution. White's research focuses on prejudice reduction, intergroup contact, and stigma mitigation through innovative interventions like electronic contact (E-contact), a computer-mediated synchronous text chat that promotes positive intergroup relations by reducing anxiety and bias. She directs the Sydney University Psychology of Intergroup Relations (SUPIR) Lab, coordinates the Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science degree, and has led Australian Research Council-funded projects, including a Discovery Grant (2009–2011).

White's contributions extend to practical applications, such as the Dual Identity Electronic Contact (DIEC) intervention for Muslim and Catholic students, studies on mental health stigma, transgender prejudice, and Northern Ireland's Protestant-Catholic divides. In 2021, she spearheaded 'The School That Tried to End Racism', a school program aired on ABC television and nominated for AACTA and Logie Awards. With over 5,500 citations on Google Scholar, her influential publications include 'Understanding the complexities of ethnic-racial socialization processes for both minority and majority groups: A 30-year systematic review' (2014, 536 citations), 'Linking values and organizational commitment: A correlational and experimental investigation in two organizations' (2005, 399 citations), 'Beyond direct contact: The theoretical and societal relevance of indirect contact for improving intergroup relations' (2021), 'Intergroup contact research in the 21st century: Lessons learned and forward progress if we remain open' (2021), 'Intergroup contact and mental health stigma: A comparative effectiveness meta-analysis' (2019), 'A dual identity-electronic contact (DIEC) experiment promoting short-and long-term intergroup harmony' (2012), 'Relationship of family socialization processes to adolescent moral thought' (2000), and 'Parental morality and family processes as predictors of adolescent morality' (2004). Her work underscores the importance of indirect contact and dual identities for lasting societal change.