Brian S. Lowery

The Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior
Academic Area:

Bio

Brian Lowery is The Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior. He received his doctorate in social psychology from UCLA in 2001, and has been on faculty at Stanford since 2002. At Stanford GSB, Professor Lowery is currently driving an initiative, Leadership for Society, to support the development of leaders for a diverse society. He was also recently named founding co-director of Stanford’s new Institute on Race. The mission of the institute is to “produce cutting-edge research and solutions to realize racial justice.”

Lowery’s research has two major threads. The first thread examines the way people understand inequality, and how these understandings affect their attitudes and behavior. The second thread examines the consequences of the reality that others shape our selves and we shape theirs. This work explores issues ranging from the nature of racial, gender and other social identities to an understanding of how others help us generate meaning in life. This research has been published in major scholarly journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Law and Human Behavior. His book on these topics, Selfless, will be available March 28, 2023. He also hosts a podcast, Know What You See, and a course webinar open to the public, The Leadership for Society series, all of which can be found at KnowWhatYouSee.com.

Administrative Titles

Founding Co-Director of the Institute for Advancing Just Societies
Director, Executive Program in Leadership: The Effective Use of Power
Co-Director, Interpersonal Dynamics for High-Performance Executives
Director, Black Leaders Program

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 2002
  • MA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1998
  • BS, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 1996

Academic Appointments

  • Stanford University, 2002–present

Awards and Honors

  • Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Fellow, 2017–18
  • Graduate School of Business Trust Faculty Fellow, 2014–15

Service to the Profession

Member

    • American Psychological Society
    • Society for Personality and Social Psychology
    • Academy of Management
    • Society of Experimental Social Psychology

    Research Statement

    Brian Lowery’s research seeks to extend knowledge of individuals’ experience of inequality and fairness. His work suggests that individuals distinguish between inequalities framed as advantage as opposed to disadvantage. This finding affects how individuals perceive inequality and the steps they take, if any, to reduce it. Thus, his work sheds light on intergroup conflict and the nature of social justice.

    Journal Articles

    Vivian Xiao, Brian S. Lowery, Amelia Stillwell
    Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
    2023 Vol. 49 Issue 4 Pages 554–570
    Charles Chu, Brian S. Lowery
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    2023 Vol. 125 Issue 5 Pages 1055–1071
    Sanaz Talaifar, Brian S. Lowery
    Perspectives on Psychological Science
    September 2022 Vol. 18 Issue 3 Pages 544–575
    Amelia Stillwell, Brian S. Lowery
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    September 2021 Vol. 121 Issue 3 Pages 548–572
    L. Taylor Phillips, Brian S. Lowery
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    December 2020 Vol. 119 Issue 6 Pages 1403–1422
    L. Taylor Phillips, Brian S. Lowery
    Currents Directions in Psychological Science
    May 1, 2018 Vol. 27 Issue 3 Pages 156-162
    Sora Jun, Brian S. Lowery, Lucia Guillory
    Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
    December 1, 2017 Vol. 43 Issue 12 Pages 1615-1629
    L. Taylor Phillips, Brian S. Lowery
    Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    November 2015 Vol. 61 Pages 12-18
    Eric D. Knowles, Brian S. Lowery, Rosalind M. Chow, Miguel M. Unzueta
    Perspectives on Psychological Science
    November 17, 2014 Vol. 9 Issue 6 Pages 594-609
    Rosalind M. Chow, Brian S. Lowery, Caitlin M. Hogan
    Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
    March 1, 2013 Vol. 39 Issue 3 Pages 332-345
    Brian S. Lowery, Rosalind M. Chow, Eric D. Knowles, Miguel M. Unzueta
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    February 2012 Vol. 102 Issue 2 Pages 323-336
    Brian S. Lowery, Daryl A. Wout
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    June 2010 Vol. 98 Issue 6 Pages 956-966
    Eric D. Knowles, Brian S. Lowery, Rebecca L Schaumberg
    Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    March 2010 Vol. 46 Issue 2 Pages 420–423
    Eric D. Knowles, Brian S. Lowery, Rebecca L. Schaumberg
    Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    July 2009 Vol. 45 Issue 4 Pages 965-969
    Brian S. Lowery, Rosalind M. Chow, Jennifer Randall Cosby
    Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    February 2009 Vol. 45 Issue 2 Pages 375-378
    Eric D. Knowles, Brian S. Lowery, Caitlin M. Hogan, Rosalind M. Chow
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    2009 Vol. 96 Issue 4 Pages 857-869
    Brian S. Lowery, Miguel M. Unzueta
    Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    November 2008 Vol. 44 Issue 6 Pages 1491-1497
    Miguel M. Unzueta, Brian S. Lowery, Eric D. Knowles
    Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
    January 2008 Vol. 105 Issue 1 Pages 1–13
    Rosalind M. Chow, Brian S. Lowery, Eric D. Knowles
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    2008 Vol. 44 Issue 4 Pages 1073–1081
    Brian S. Lowery, Naomi I. Eisenberger, Curtis D. Hardin, Stacy Sinclair
    Basic and Applied Social Psychology
    December 2007 Vol. 29 Issue 2 Pages 151-157
    Brian S. Lowery, Eric D. Knowles, Miguel M. Unzueta
    Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
    September 2007 Vol. 33 Issue 9 Pages 1237-1250
    Brian S. Lowery, Miguel M. Unzueta , Eric D. Knowles, Phillip Atiba Goff
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    2006 Vol. 90 Issue 6 Pages 961-974
    Stacey Sinclair, Brian S. Lowery, Curtis D. Hardin, A. Colangelo
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    2005 Vol. 89 Issue 4 Pages 583-592
    Brian S. Lowery, Sandra Graham
    Law and Human Behavior
    October 2004 Vol. 28 Issue 5 Pages 483-504

    Other Publications

    Rosalind M. Chow, L. Taylor Phillips, Brian S. Lowery, Miguel M. Unzueta June 8, 2021 Vol. 62 Issue 4 Pages 25–31

    Books

    Brian S. Lowery
    HarperCollins Publishers
    March 2023

    Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs

    Transform your leadership, build community, and explore the complexities of showing up authentically in the Black Leaders Program.
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    Learn how to grow and scale your company in this 10-month program ​for CEOs and founders of established businesses in Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia.
    Reinvigorate and ramp up your professional journey and evolve as a leader in our flagship executive program.
    Transform knowledge into impact and drive innovation and change in your organization with Stanford LEAD, our flagship online business program.

    Insights by Stanford Business

    October 08, 2024
    Want to become a better negotiator? We asked the faculty who study and teach negotiation for their advice.
    May 17, 2024
    Marketing and organizational behavior professors share how their recent research applies to communication.
    June 23, 2023
    Brian Lowery presents a challenging look at our sense of self — and just how little say we have over it.
    April 05, 2023
    In this bonus episode, Brian Lowery discusses his new book, Selfless: The Social Creation of You.
    December 12, 2022
    A sampling of the big ideas and timely research produced by Stanford GSB faculty this year.
    December 06, 2022
    Our favorite episodes from the past year delve into business topics from workplace communication and power to technology, finance, and economics.
    August 16, 2022
    Dean says today’s business leaders have great opportunities to use modern technology for good while mitigating its harms.
    March 25, 2022
    When women break gender norms, the most negative reactions may come from people of the same race.
    December 13, 2021
    Here are some of our top picks from the Stanford GSB community’s podcasts in 2021.
    September 07, 2021
    Learn how one Ghanaian entrepreneur overcame fires, floods, theft, and COVID-19 to build a more resilient and successful company.
    May 04, 2021
    When confronted with evidence of systemic inequality, people with privilege may react by overstating the obstacles they’ve faced.
    April 23, 2021
    In this podcast episode, we discuss best practices when inspiring young people to seize responsibility.
    April 19, 2021
    We’ve compiled top insights and advice from previous episodes to help you cultivate a compelling professional presence through the screen.
    February 05, 2021
    In this podcast episode, a publishing executive talks about decisions editors need to make to bring in more voices to tell our country’s authentic stories.
    January 21, 2021
    In this podcast episode, two historians discuss why our understanding of history continues to change and who decides what story gets told.
    January 07, 2021
    In this podcast episode, a racial equity movement leader discusses the art and science of building Black power.
    December 11, 2020
    Cozy up and listen up to our top episodes from 2020.
    November 25, 2020
    In this podcast episode, an expert explains the troubled history of Black banking, and how today’s racial wealth gap is rooted in centuries of discrimination.
    November 12, 2020
    In this podcast episode, political leaders Deval Patrick and Jeff Flake discuss what needs to be done to make progress toward democracy for all in the U.S.
    November 06, 2020
    In this podcast episode, we explore how good leaders can self reflect and better communicate to advance social justice.
    October 29, 2020
    In this podcast episode, an expert in racial and economic equity explains why ending discrimination is a democratic, economic, and national imperative.
    October 15, 2020
    In this podcast episode, corporate diversity experts discuss the challenge of creating paths for inclusion.
    June 16, 2020
    From Hollywood to courtrooms to biased hiring practices, Stanford GSB experts analyze the breadth of racial discrimination — and how to grow beyond it.
    July 27, 2016
    One scholar shows how you can gain more power, and why you should be leery.
    August 27, 2015
    Research shows that white Americans, when faced with evidence of racial privilege, deny that they have benefited personally.
    November 01, 2009
    Research shows that implicit racial prejudices corresponded with a reluctance to vote for Barack Obama and with opposition to his health care plan.
    January 01, 2008
    Concern about group position and well-being can tilt peoples’ opinions against affirmative action policies, even if they want to help minorities.
    January 01, 2008
    Negative racial stereotypes affect even the most well-intentioned people, but research shows we can also be influenced for the better.

    School News

    October 07, 2024
    In a moment of polarization and protest, Stanford GSB is working to ensure open discussion and respectful disagreement.
    March 30, 2021
    The Stanford Executive Education Black Leaders Program is the only program of its kind offered by a leading business school.
    August 06, 2020
    If you want to move a business school’s curriculum online in a single weekend, you better practice what you teach.
    May 29, 2020
    Students chronicle their COVID-19 reflections to create a unique archive.
    April 14, 2020
    Students are taking advantage of new class offerings and preparing to lead in a transformed world.
    October 30, 2019
    Project-based courses pair students with external organizations to solve real-world business problems.
    September 27, 2018
    Considering the future of management education as we welcome students back to campus.
    March 07, 2018
    Get an exclusive MBA student’s-eye view as a mentor guides her squad through this intense one-day test of leadership skills.