Crystal Shackleford

Crystal Shackleford is a researcher in the Department of Psychology at Yale University whose work examines intergroup relations, religious cognition, and collective resistance to social division. Shackleford's research explores how religious beliefs and meta-perceptions influence prosocial behavior across religious and ethnic divides, with particular attention to cooperation, dehumanization, and solidarity in contexts ranging from Israeli-Palestinian relations to attitudes toward diversity in the United States. Recent work by Shackleford addresses stigma-based solidarity, political alliances, and the psychological mechanisms underlying both intergroup conflict and resistance to ethno-nationalism. Shackleford's broader research interests include the role of ideas and beliefs in motivating human conflict, folk theories of gender identity, and the conditions under which individuals maintain or betray solidarity across social boundaries.