Deborah A. Prentice is a scholar of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and a university administrator. She serves as provost at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs. In October 2022, following approval by the university's Regent House she was appointed next Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Education

Prentice graduated with an A.B. in human biology and music from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1984. She then pursued graduate studies at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where she received an M.S. in

in 1986, an M.Phil. in psychology in 1987, and a Ph.D. in psychology in 1989.

Career

Prentice began at Princeton in 1988, becoming assistant professor in 1989. Prior to becoming provost on July 1, 2017, Prentice served as Dean of the Faculty from 2014 to 2017. Her research focuses on social norms. Her pioneering work on

pluralistic ignorance In social psychology, pluralistic ignorance refers to a situation in which the minority position on a given topic is wrongly perceived to be the majority position or where the majority position is wrongly perceived to be the minority position. Thi ...

applied to college campus alcohol use is a foundation of numerous campus

alcohol education Alcohol education is the practice of disseminating information about the effects of alcohol on health, as well as society and the family unit. It was introduced into the public schools by temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Tem ...

and

bystander intervention Bystander intervention is a type of training used in post-secondary education institutions to prevent sexual assault or rape, binge drinking and harassment and unwanted comments of racist, homophobic, or transphobic nature. A bystander is a pers ...

programs.

Personal life

Prentice is married with three children.

Works

*"Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: Some consequences of misperceiving the social norm" with D.T. Miller, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 64(2): 243–256. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.64.2.243 http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.64.2.243 *"What women and men should be, shouldn't be, are allowed to be, and don't have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes" with E. Carranza, '' Psychology of Women Quarterly'', 26 (2002), 269-281. * "Essentializing differences between women and men" with D.T. Miller, '' Psychological Science'', 17 (2006), 129-135. * (2006). "On the distinction between acting like an individual and feeling like an individual" in T. Postmes & J. Jetten (eds.) ''Individuality and the group: Advances in social identity'' (37-55). (Sage Publications, 2006). * "Mobilizing and weakening peer influence as mechanisms for changing behavior: Implications for alcohol intervention programs" in M. J. Prinstein & K. A. Dodge (eds.) ''Understanding peer influence in children and adolescents'' (161-180). (Guilford, 2008). * "The psychology of social norms and the promotion of human rights" in R. Goodman, D. Jinks, & A. K. Woods (eds.), ''Understanding social action, promoting human rights'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, in press).

References

Living people Princeton University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) {{academic-stub