Dr. Cipriano joined the CPSY family as an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology.

Where is your hometown?
My hometown is Syracuse, New York! It is in the central, upstate NY area.

Tell us about your educational background.
My higher education background began at Ithaca College where I earned a B.A. in psychology and a minor in counseling. At Ithaca College I was engaged in psychology, and sociology courses in addition to courses critical of specific systems of power and oppression (e.g., sexism, racism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, etc.). During my time as an undergraduate student, I was a member of Dr. Bernard Beins’ psychology of humor research team where I fell in love with the process of collaboratively developing empirical questions and designing and conducting research studies that move us closer to answering them. In my experience on this research team, I realized that I enjoyed mentoring the newer team members and was developing independent research questions and ideas connected to the topics I was learning about in my courses. These realizations led me to pursue an academic career as a social psychologist. After undergrad, I moved to Indiana and entered the Social Psychology master’s program at Ball State University, where I studied under Dr. Justin Lehmiller. At BSU, I gained valuable foundational knowledge of the field and insight into what, specifically, I wanted to research in the next stage of my education. I collaborated on research examining fantasies about, interest in, and experiences of threesomes. I also conducted a master’s thesis experimentally testing an aspect of Precarious Manhood Theory in a new context; That is, whether men respond to perceived threats to their masculinity by endorsing sexual violence humor. I also examined whether group differences between heterosexual and queer men were present in the findings. My passion for mentorship grew at BSU through the assistantship I had helping to run the Ph.D. Pathways program for minoritized undergraduate students interested in doctorate level study. After earning my M.A. in social psychology, I moved to Nebraska and began earning a Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, working under Dr. Kathryn Holland in her Sexual Assault and Sexual Health research lab. At UNL, I gained a wealth of knowledge about qualitative, mixed method, and applied research which provided balance to the quantitative, experimental research knowledge I gained at BSU. I was directly involved in over ten collaborative research studies at UNL on topics related to sexual violence, sexual identity, and sexual health. I also conducted two independent research projects on the experiences and challenges plurisexual (multiple gender attracted) women face; One of these was my dissertation, which I conducted using survey and interview methods to examine bipositivity as a protective mechanism for U.S. plurisexual women survivors of sexual violence. At UNL, I mentored many undergraduate students and some graduate students through collaborative research and developed a passion for teaching and pedagogy.

What first interested you in social psychology?
What interested me in social psychology was its unique, simultaneous focus on individuals, groups, and cultures. It allowed me to connect what interested me in sociology and psychology in one field, and to pursue empirical questions that apply to everyday lived experiences and social issues.

Please describe your role within the department.
I am an assistant professor of social psychology, teaching social psychology courses and conducting social psychological research with students from multiple areas of psychology.

What are your research and teaching interests?
My research interests are the many intersections between stigma, identity, violence, community, and wellbeing. I am currently focused on studying these factors among plurisexual women, and especially those with additional marginalizations (e.g., trans and gender expansive plurisexual women, plurisexual women of color). My teaching interests include gender, sexuality, prejudice and discrimination, diversity, intersectionality, research methods, history of psychology, and pedagogy.

Outside of academia, what are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy gardening, cooking, and learning to build things (e.g., cat trees and other furniture). I also enjoy attending drag shows and supporting local artists.

What food could you not live without?
I could not live without Italian food! I was raised on home-cooked Italian American meals and find them very comforting.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would really love to travel to Scotland and Italy, as my grandparents emigrated from Scotland and Italy to the U.S., and I have not yet been able to visit and explore the local cultures!

How do you practice self-care?
I practice self-care by ensuring I have quality time with my loved ones and solo time to re-charge and re-center each wee