I research how culture influences intergroup conflict in organizations and society.

My research investigates a typically overlooked tension in intergroup relations: cultural defaults. I study how seemingly objective, neutral, and even positive default features of our cultural contexts contribute to real-world social conflict, such as racial differences in mortgage approval rates and gender segregation in the workplace. My work sheds light on how cultural defaults contribute to long standing tensions between groups and tests novel strategies to improve group relations.

I earned my B.F.A., cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2010, completed Columbia University’s post-baccalaureate certificate program in Psychology in 2013, and earned my Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Washington in 2021. Prior to joining Yale, I was a post-doctoral research scholar at Columbia Business School.

Learn more about my research here or by emailing me, adriana.germano@yale.edu.