My name is Laura Hildebrand, and I'm a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at The Ohio State University (OSU), working with Dr. Kentaro Fujita. I completed my PhD at Purdue University in 2022 under the advisement of Dr. Margo Monteith, and I received my BA at Hendrix College in 2016.

Across two complementary lines, my research asks: How can people and organizations foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) environments to reduce identity-related concerns and improve the experiences of marginalized-group members?  In answering this question, I consider both the problem of and solutions to prejudice and discrimination.

The first research line examines bias confrontations, broadly defined as any situation where an external source brings attention to bias. The prototypical confrontation occurs when one person calls out another person for making a prejudiced comment. Yet, confrontations also occur when one attends anti-bias training, reads a news article on how to be anti-racist, or “downvotes” a sexist social media post. Even larger social movements, such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, represent bias confrontations. 

Most of my research in this line examines interpersonal and organizational confrontations. Among other findings, this research shows that bias confrontations reduce future expressions of bias (e.g., Monteith, Mallett, & Hildebrand, 2022) and, when affirmed by bystanders, promote feelings of inclusion and identity-safety among marginalized group members (e.g., Hildebrand et al., 2020). Yet, confrontations also come with social costs (e.g., dislike, defensiveness) that make people hesitant to confront (e.g., Monteith, Burns, & Hildebrand, 2019). Though these social costs are surprisingly persistent (Monteith, Hildebrand, Mallett, in prep), one way to mitigate them is through pre-existing or experimentally-manipulated trust (Hildebrand et al., 20203). 

In the second research line, I examine subtle, often ironic factors that detract from DEI efforts and contribute to prejudice, discrimination, and feelings of exclusion. For example, my research shows that seeming positive language (i.e., terms of endearment; Hildebrand et al., 2022), organizational diversity statements (e.g., Kirby, Russell Pascual, & Hildebrand, 2023), and cultural mindsets (Kroeper, Hildebrand, et al., invited revision) can augment feelings of threat and exclusion among marginalized-group members. Understanding such factors is a vital step towards bolstering the efficacy of confrontation and other DEI strategies.

I use an interdisciplinary (i.e., prejudice reduction, identity management, organizational behavior, close relationships, motivation), multimethod (i.e., field studies, archival data, experiments, interventions, statistical modeling), and multilevel (i.e., interpersonal, organizational) approach. By using this approach, my research offers theoretically- and practically-important insights on how to promote equity, inclusion, and diversity in society.

In my spare time, I enjoy cycling, reading, trying new restaurants/bars, volleyball, and trivia. My volleyball team could give a masterclass in losing gracefully - sometimes we suspect our secret goal is to boost everyone else's self-esteem. But when it comes to trivia, my crew transforms into Olympic gold medalists. We may not spike balls, but we sure spike answers, and recently, we snagged first place in Ted Lasso-themed trivia. Obviously I am still riding this high.