Current Projects
We are launching, completing, and abandoning a large number of projects on a regular basis. Current projects are driven by research group members’ interests, and draw heavily from the volumes of existing day collected by the group and available elsewhere.
Our substantive research focuses on identity and personality development among adolescents, emerging adults, and adults from diverse racial, ethnic, and immigration backgrounds.
Promoting Open Science Practices
It is well known that psychology is ensconced in an ongoing replication crisis and open science movement. Accordingly, I have devoted considerable time to engaging in methodological work aimed at increasing the rigor of how we conduct our science. Much of this work takes an educational/outreach approach, targeted to early career researchers or those seeking to become familiar with open science practices and how they can be implemented. This includes a focus on open science broadly (Kathawalla et al., 2021), the relevance of open science for specific subject areas (Syed, 2020), and efforts to correct misinformation and mistaken impressions about open science (Syed, 2024). Much of my work in this area has focused on promoting Registered Reports, a new publishing model that seeks to reduce publication bias and increase the confidence in published results (Syed et al., 2023).
Kathawalla, U. K., Silverstein, P., & Syed, M. (2021). Easing into open science: A guide for graduate students and their advisors. Collabra: Psychology, 7(1), 1-14. 10.1525/collabra.18684
Syed, M. (2020). The promise of the Open Science Movement for research on identity. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 20(3), 143-156. 10.1080/15283488.2020.1781635
Syed, M. (2024). Three persistent myths about open science. Journal of Trial & Error. 10.36850/mr11
Syed, M., Frank, M. C., & Roisman, G. I. (2023). Registered Reports in Child Development: Introduction to the Special Section. Child Development, 94(5), 1093-1101. 10.1111/cdev.14003
Best Practices for Diverse Methodologies
My interest in promoting methodological rigor has also been applied to specific methodologies. Although these efforts are not rooted in open science, per se, the work is inspired by the fundamental motivation of the open science movement to improve our science. Much of this work takes the form of tutorials and primers to help researchers in psychology better understand diverse methodologies, particularly those that involve working with qualitative data (i.e., open-ended, text data). These methodologies includes those that seek to bring greater connection between individual psychological experiences and broader societal power structures (Syed & McLean, 2023), digital storytelling methods that reflect deep community engagement (Fish & Syed, 2021), and narratives methods broadly (Adler et al., 2017) as well as the specific issue of establishing interrater reliability (Syed & Nelson, 2015).
Adler J. M., Dunlop, W. L., Fivush, R., Lilgendahl, J. P., Lodi-Smith, J. McAdams, D. P., McLean, K. C., Pasupathi, M., & Syed, M. (2017). Research methods for studying narrative identity: A primer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(5), 519-527. 10.1177/1948550617698202
Fish, J., & Syed, M. (2021). Digital storytelling methodologies: Recommendations for a participatory approach to engaging underrepresented communities in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(3), 271–285. 10.1037/cou0000532
Syed, M., & McLean, K. C. (2023). Master narrative methodology: A primer for conducting structural-psychological research. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 29(1), 53-63. 10.1037/cdp0000470
Syed, M., & Nelson, S. C. (2015). Guidelines for establishing reliability when coding narrative data. Emerging Adulthood, 3(6), 375-387. 10.1177/2167696815587648
Reform in Research Assessment
My involvement with the open science movement, along with my extensive experience as a journal editor and as a departmental administrator, have led to specific interest in reforming how we conduct research assessment. My work in this area includes questions about what counts in research assessment—that is, the specific products that are considered in evaluation—with a particular focus on preprints (Moshontz et al., 2021; Syed, 2024), as well as the subjective value we place on different forms of scholarship (McLean & Syed, 2022). Working in the area also requires engagement with journal editors and publishers, and I am the senior author on a major collaborative paper on how journal editors can implement open science practices at their journals (Silverstein et al., 2024).
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (2022). A different road towards a better personality science. Personality Science, 3, 39-41. 10.5964/ps.9227
Moshontz, H., Binion, G. E., Walton, H., Brown, B. T., & Syed, M. (2021). A guide to posting and managing preprints. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 4(2), 1-11. 10.1177/25152459211019948
Silverstein, P., Elman, C., Montoya, A. K., McGillivray, B., Pennington, C. R., Harrison, C. H., … Syed, M. (2024). A guide for social science journal editors on easing into open science. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 9. 10.1186/s41073-023-00141-5
Syed, M. (2024). Valuing preprints must be part of responsible research assessment. Meta-Psychology, 8, 1-4. 10.15626/MP.2023.3758
Educational Equity among Under-represented Racial/Ethnic Minority Students
A long-standing area of my research focus has been on the educational experiences of ethnic minority high school and college students, particularly in the context of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Much of our work in this area has focused on the role of science identity and self-efficacy (Syed et al., 2021), as well as mentoring (Syed et al., 2012), for understanding persistence in STEM. My students and I have also developed models that center the social context at multiple levels of analysis, for ethnic minority students in general (Ajayi et al., 2021) and for Native Americans specifically (Fish & Syed, 2018).
Ajayi, A. A., Mitchell, L. L., Nelson, S. C., Fish, J., Peissig, L. H. M., Causadias, J. M., & Syed, M. (2021). Person–environment fit and retention of racially minoritized college students: Recommendations for faculty, support staff, and administrators. Education Sciences, 11(6), 271. 10.3390/educsci11060271
Fish, J., & Syed, M. (2018). Native Americans in higher education: An ecological systems perspective. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 387-403. 10.1353/csd.2018.0038
Syed, M., Goza, B. K., Chemers, M. M., & Zurbriggen, E. (2012). Individual differences in preferences for matched-ethnic mentors among high-achieving ethnically-diverse adolescents in STEM. Child Development, 83(3), 896-910. 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01744.x
Syed, M., Zurbriggen, E., Chemers, M. M., Goza, B. K., Bearman, S., Crosby, F., Shaw, J. M., Hunter, L., & Morgan, E. M. (2019). The role of self-efficacy and identity in mediating the effects of STEM support experiences. Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy, 19(1), 7-49. 10.1111/asap.12170
Master Narratives, Identity, and Psychological Adjustment
Master narratives are culturally shared stories that serve as templates, or scripts, that guide individuals’ thought, feelings, and actions. Psychologists have traditionally focused on individuals’ personal narratives, the stories they tell about their lives, but have largely done so without attention to broader social structures. My colleague Kate McLean and I developed an initial theoretical model (McLean & Syed, 2015) to guide research on this topic, which was then broadened to engage with concepts in cognitive psychology (McLean et al., 2023) and positive psychology (Syed & McLean, 2022). Much of our empirical work has focused on the context of gender (McLean et al., 2020), although we have also conducted several studies focused on immigration and race/ethnicity, with our more recent projects examining links to psychological adjustment.
McLean, K. C., Boggs, S., Haraldsson, K., Lowe, A., Fordham, C., Byers, S., & Syed, M. (2020). Personal identity development in cultural context: The socialization of master narratives about the gendered life course. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 44(2), 116-126. 10.1177/0165025419854150
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (2015). Personal, master, and alternative narratives: An integrative framework for understanding identity development in context. Human Development, 58, 318-349. 10.1159/000445817
McLean, K. C., Pasupathi, M., & Syed., M. (2023). Cognitive scripts and narrative identity are shaped by structures of power. Trends in Cognitive Science, 27(9), 805-813. 10.1016/j.tics.2023.03.006
Syed, M., & McLean, K. C. (2022). Who gets to live the good life? Master narratives, identity, and well-being within a marginalizing society. Journal of Research in Personality, 100, 1-7. 10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104285
Development of Racial/Ethnic Identity
Ethnic/racial identity refers to the degree to which individuals identify as a member of their ethnic/racial groups. Whereas historically ethnicity/race was viewed as a static category through which to understand diverse youth, over the last two decades there has been an increased understanding of ethnic/racial identity as an individual differences factor that has important implications for youth development, especially those from ethnic/racial minority backgrounds. My work in this area has focused on documenting that ethnic/racial identity continuous to develop into adulthood (Zhou et al., 2019), summarizing the links to positive psychological functioning using meta-analysis (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014), and demonstrating how the role of parents, peers, and social context modulate levels and correlates of ethnic/racial identity (Mitchell et al., 2018l Nelson et al., 2018).
Mitchell, L. L., Kathawalla, U. K., Ajayi, A. A., Fish, J., Nelson, S. C., Peissig, L. H. M., & Syed, M. (2018). Racial/ethnic typicality and its relation to ethnic identity and psychological functioning. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(3), 400-413. doi/10.1037/cdp0000193
Nelson, S. C., Syed, M., Tran, A. G. T., Hu, A., & Lee, R. M. (2018). Pathways to ethnic-racial identity development and psychological adjustment: The differential associations of cultural socialization by parents and peers. Developmental Psychology, 54(11), 2166-2180. doi/10.1037/dev0000597
Rivas-Drake, D., Syed, M., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Markstrom, C., French, S., Schwartz, S. J., Lee, R. M., & Ethnic/Racial Identity Study Group. (2014). Feeling good, happy, and proud: A meta-analysis of positive ethnic-racial affect and adjustment. Child Development, 85(1), 77-102. 10.1111/cdev.12175
Zhou, X., Lee, R. M., & Syed, M. (2019). Ethnic identity developmental trajectories during the transition to college. Developmental Psychology, 55(1), 157-169. doi/10.1037/dev0000634
Discrimination and Psychological Adjustment
Experiences of discrimination and their links to well-being and psychological distress have long been studied. My work in this area has sought to expand the focus on this research in several ways, including a stronger consideration of social context (Syed & Juan, 2012), expanding focus to under-studied regions such as Sweden (Gyberg et al., 2021), and comparing discrimination to other life stressors (Kathawalla & Syed, 2021). I have also been heavily invested in understanding the nature and consequences of microaggressions, seeking to resolved ongoing debates on the topic (Syed, 2021).
Gyberg, F., Svensson, Y., Wängqvist, M., & Syed, M. (2021). Discrimination and its relation to psychosocial well-being among diverse youth in Sweden. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 176, 163-181. 10.1002/cad.20399
Kathawalla, U. K., & Syed, M. (2021). Discrimination, life stress, and mental health among Muslims: A preregistered meta-analysis and systematic review. Collabra: Psychology, 7(1), 1-62. (Registered Report). 10.1525/collabra.28248
Syed, M. (2021). The logic of microaggressions assumes a racist society. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(5) 926–931. 10.1177/1745691621994263
Syed, M., & Juan, M. J. D. (2012). Discrimination and psychological distress: Examining the moderating role of social context in a nationally representative sample of Asian American adults. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 3(2), 104-120. 10.1037/a0025275