Catherine Thomas

I study poverty and inequality and their remedies using the insights of social psychology and lens of cultural psychology. My research seeks to uncover social psychological processes that undermine the economic mobility of people in poverty and simultaneously depress public will to address inequality, perpetuating systems of poverty and inequality. Yet, I show how brief social psychological interventions can interrupt these systems, particularly when those interventions are attuned to culturally specific forms of motivation (what I call “culturally wise” interventions). In this work, I conduct lab and field experiments in the US and low- and middle-income countries, including in partnership with nonprofits and governments and with interdisciplinary teams of economists and sociologists. 

For prospective Ph.D. students: I will be reviewing applications this cycle for grad students interested in joining my lab in Fall 2026. The UM application deadline is in November. My lab would be a good fit for people interested in: (1) topics like poverty, inequality, social class, and culture, (2) intervention science / behavioral science, (3) interdisciplinary research, and (4) field research. Additional information on admissions can be found here: https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/prospective-students/graduate.html.

Recent popular press:

Thomas, C. (2024, April 26). “Culturally attuned development: Why it matters & how to do it”. The Agency Fund Blog.

Thomas, C. & Kumar, S. (2024, April 10). “Beyond “The Poor”: Using Empowering Narratives to Advance the Impacts of Aid”. FinDev Gateway. https://www.findevgateway.org/blog/2024/04/beyond-poor-using-empowering-narratives-to-advance-impacts-of-aid.

Byrne, Dom. (2024, January 26). ‘Why we should think about more than cash when seeking to eradicate poverty’. Nature Careers Podcast. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00208-3.

Bossuroy, T., Premand, P., & Thomas, C. (2023, February 16). Can Psychosocial Interventions Make Anti-Poverty Programmes More Cost-Effective? Evidence from Niger. VoxDev.