Hazel Markus

About

Hazel Rose Markus is the Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, with a primary focus on the role of self in regulating behavior and the influence of the social world on the self. Her research examines how various cultural factors—including nation or region of origin, gender, social class, race, ethnicity, religion, and occupation—shape thought, feeling, and action. Her work aims to understand the social and cultural mechanisms that influence individual behavior and societal outcomes, contributing to fields such as social psychology, cultural psychology, and education. Her scholarly contributions include investigating how social identities and cultural contexts impact psychological experiences and behaviors, as well as exploring strategies for fostering cultural inclusion and equity in educational and social systems. Markus's research also addresses issues related to racial disparities, social class differences, and the development of interventions to promote inclusive practices and reduce bias in various societal domains.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Social Science
• Sociology
• Law
• Mathematics
• Mathematical analysis
• Economics
• Public relations

Selected publications

• Masculine defaults: Identifying and mitigating hidden cultural biases.

  Psychological Review · 2020 · 307 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Understanding and remedying women's underrepresentation in majority-male fields and occupations require the recognition of a lesser-known form of cultural bias called masculine defaults. Masculine defaults exist when aspects of a culture value, reward, or regard as standard, normal, neutral, or necessary characteristics or behaviors associated with the male gender role. Although feminist theorists have previously described and analyzed masculine defaults (e.g., Bem, 1984; de Beauvoir, 1953; Gill…

  DOI

• How Culture Shapes What People Want From AI

  2024-05-11 · 67 citations

  preprintOpen access

  There is an urgent need to incorporate the perspectives of culturally diverse groups into AI developments. We present a novel conceptual framework for research that aims to expand, reimagine, and reground mainstream visions of AI using independent and interdependent cultural models of the self and the environment. Two survey studies support this framework and provide preliminary evidence that people apply their cultural models when imagining their ideal AI. Compared with European American respon…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Health in the United States: Are Appeals to Choice and Personal Responsibility Making Americans Sick?

  Perspectives on Psychological Science · 2020 · 59 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The United States suffers high rates of preventable lifestyle disease despite widespread calls for people to take responsibility for their health. The United States also stands out in its rejection of government action to guide industry practices and consumer choices. Why? We examine how deeply rooted cultural narratives about "free choice" and "personal responsibility" infuse policymaking, advertising, media, social norms, and individual attitudes about health in the United States. We argue tha…

  DOI

• Passion matters but not equally everywhere: Predicting achievement from interest, enjoyment, and efficacy in 59 societies

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021 · 58 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  How to identify the students and employees most likely to achieve is a challenge in every field. American academic and lay theories alike highlight the importance of passion for strong achievement. Based on a Western independent model of motivation, passionate individuals-those who have a strong interest, demonstrate deep enjoyment, and express confidence in what they are doing-are considered future achievers. Those with less passion are thought to have less potential and are often passed over f…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What causes social class disparities in education? The role of the mismatches between academic contexts and working-class socialization contexts and how the effects of these mismatches are explained.

  Psychological Review · 2024-07-18 · 43 citations

  reviewOpen access

  magnify social class disparities in education. This integrated model has the potential to reshape research and discourse on social class and education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Choice as an Engine of Individualism: When and Why is Choice Beneficial or Detrimental in Three Cultural Contexts

  NSF · $500k · 2009–2015

• NIH Grant R01AG008279

  NIH · $1.1M · 1996

Frequent coauthors

• Shinobu Kitayama

  49 shared

• Alia J. Crum

  Stanford University

  43 shared

• Jennifer L. Eberhardt

  43 shared

• Lauren C. Howe

  Swiss Finance Institute

  36 shared

• Emerson J. Hardebeck

  Antioch University Seattle

  36 shared

• Carol D. Ryff

  Institute on Aging

  30 shared

• Nicole M. Stephens

  Northwestern University

  26 shared

• Mayumi Karasawa

  Tokyo Woman's Christian University

  22 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Psychology

  University of Michigan

Similar researchers at Stanford University

• Jordan Gerard Starckh-230
• Leanne Williamsh-140
• Carol Dweckh-122