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Lauren E. Duncan considers herself to be a feminist political psychologist.  She earned her Ph.D. in Personality Psychology and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan in 1995.  She is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Smith College.  She is active in the International Society of Political Psychology and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.  She teaches courses in the Psychology of Women and Gender and the Psychology of Political Activism.

In her research, she is interested in understanding why some people want to change society and why others want to maintain the status quo.  Most of her work on activism has focused on women’s motivation for participation in women’s rights movements.  Her work on status quo maintenance has focused on right wing authoritarianism, and all of her work integrates a feminist perspective.  She has published numerous empirical articles addressing both topics, but more recently has focused on more integrative and theoretical work aimed at bringing together the different strands of her training and interests (personality, political, and feminist psychology). 

She has also successfully negotiated the tenure process while bearing and raising three children pre-tenure, and is happy to discuss work/family issues with other conference attendees.