Profile for Kevin Zabel

Brief biography

Kevin Zabel earned his B.A. in Psychology and Economics & Management from Albion College in Albion, MI. He completed his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Social concentration) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.

Prior to joining the psychology faculty at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in Fall 2019, Dr. Zabel served as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Western New England University in Springfield, MA for four years. In that position, he advised students, taught multiple courses (e.g., Introduction to Psychology, First-Year Seminar for Psychology Majors, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Methods, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology,  Multicultural Psychology). He also frequently involved students in his psychology research endeavors.

Dr. Zabel has research interests in social psychology and social cognition, and applies these approaches to attitude-behavior processes, interracial interactions, and diversity efforts. One line of research is focused on better understanding the contexts in which people's attitudes toward social groups predict their judgments and behaviors toward individuals of these groups, as well as the roles that motivation and opportunity (i.e., time, mental resources) play in these processes. A second line of research is focused on content strategies (i.e., what topics individuals prefer to discuss) in interracial interactions, as well as the psychological consequences that occur when these preferences are violated by interaction partners. An emerging line of research is focused on examining situational factors that may reduce the threat of multiculturalism and diversity efforts among majority group members.