Nader Hakim

Nader Hakim

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Curriculum Vitae
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Professor Hakim has developed an in diversity and social justice during his time as an undergraduate. Much of his growth came through impactful experiences outside the classroom as a resident advisor and co-facilitator of an Arab-Jewish dialogue among fellow students. During his last year, he took a stereotyping & prejudice course with Professor Denise Sekaquaptewa, after which he excitedly took a gap year to get involved in research in that area and apply to graduate programs. His training is in the social psychology of intergroup relations, with specific interests in peace and conflict, collective memory, and race/racism.

Professor Hakim joined the Psychology Department at Furman in 2019, where he leads the Social Issues and Inequality Research Group. He thoroughly enjoys collaborating with students to develop research projects that apply the ideas and tools of social psychology to understand social justice questions.

Honors

  • Howard J. Baumgartel Peace & Justice Award, University of Kansas, 2018
  • Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, University of Kansas, 2018
  • Applied Social Issues Award, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 2016

Education

  • Ph.D. in Social Psychology, University of Kansas, Expected 2019, Certificate in Peace & Conflict Studies, Minor in Quantitative Methods
  • M.A. in Social Psychology, University of Kansas, 2015
  • B.S. in Psychology & Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan, 2012

Research

Professor Hakim's research applies sociocultural approaches to questions of intergroup relations. One project examines the experience of Arab Americans, a vastly understudied population in North American social psychology. We apply qualitative and quantitative methods to explore a) how Arab Americans’ social identities shift in response to discrimination and b) the dissonant experiences of an ethnic group which is de juro considered White (i.e. Arabs are classified as White and not as an ethnic minority according to the U.S. census) yet de facto experience American life as ethnic minorities. The initial results of this work show that American identification is one of the most powerful social identities in predicting well-being and perceptions of subgroup respect, and that stronger American identification is related to stronger preference for a separate “Middle Eastern” category on the census.

Another program of research probes how mainstream historical representations of intergroup relations affect perceptions towards the groups involved. For example, one series of studies showed that the attitudes of participants who were reminded of mainstream 9/11 commemoration practices (vs. those who were not) led to preferring more hawkish responses to present-day political tensions.

A related project reviews past literature on the relationship between different group-based emotions and support for reparations. When do we feel guilt, shame, and anger due to our group's history of victimizing another group? And is experiencing these group-based emotions conducive to restoring the harm?

Keywords: Intergroup relations; racism and racial/ethnic identity; collective memory; peace and conflict studies and reconciliation.

Publications

  • Group-based emotions and support for reparations: A meta-analysis. Hakim, N., Branscombe, N., & Schoemann, A. (2021). Affective Science, 2(4), 363-378.
  • The Paradox of the Moderate Muslim Discourse: Subtyping Promotes Support for Anti-muslim Policies. Hakim, N. H., Zhao, X., & Bharj, N. (2020). Frontiers in Psychology, 3476.
  • How Discrimination Shapes Social Identification Processes and Well-Being Among Arab Americans. Hakim, N.H., Molina, L.E., & Branscombe, N.R. (2017). Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(3), 328-337.
  • Collective Memory as Tool for Intergroup Conflict: The Case of 9/11
    Commemoration. Hakim, N.H. & Adams, G. (2018). Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(2), 630-650.

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