Dr. Mary Inman

Professor of Psychology, Department Chair
616.395.7148inman@hope.edu
Profile photo of Dr. Mary Inman

Dr. Mary Inman teaches courses such as Social Psychology and Research Methods, leads students in her research, and serves the college and community in many ways. She joined the Hope faculty in 1999.

Areas of expertise

Mary studied peopleɫəs perceptions of discrimination for 15 years, wrote two books that teach undergraduates how to do psychological research, and then shifted her research interests to body image concerns. She has been interviewed about her recent research for articles in the popular press, including and .  

She enjoys collaborating with students to conduct, present and write up research. She engages students in her research on identifying the causes of, and solutions to, low body esteem. Her second line of research examines how people determine whether an event reflects discrimination. She has created manipulations to determine whether people can enlarge their definition of discrimination.

Education

  • Ph.D., social psychology, University of Iowa, 1992
  • M.A., social psychology, University of Iowa, 1989
  • B.A., psychology, Iowa State University, 1987

Honors, grants and awards

Mary received Hope Collegeɫəs service award in 2011 for her work as chair of the Human Subject Review Board and her work on diversity training. She has also won teaching awards from her students.

Mary enjoys interdisciplinary teaching and research. She received interdisciplinary grants to help educators raise awareness in their classes about environmental sustainability. Her other grants include developing interdisciplinary tutorials for classes and interdisciplinary research grants to study the biological effects of perceiving discrimination.

Select publications

  • ɫɜɫɝ (with D. Johansen and D. Sherman), Journal of Religion and Health, 2022
  • ɫɜ (with S. Hoogeveen et al.), Religion, Brain & Behavior, 2022
  • ɫɜɫɝ (with G. Park et al.), International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2022
  • ɫɜThe Socialization-Stressor Model of Racial Harassmentɫɝ (with P. Radhakrishnan and K. Liggett), in Research in Human Resource Management (ed. by D.L. Stone, J.H. Dulebohn and K.M. Lukaszewski), Information Age Publishing, 2020
  • ɫɜBody Esteem and Appearance-based Self-worth: A Test of Religious Moderators in Men and Womenɫɝ (with C.V.O. Witvliet,) Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 2017
  • ɫɜɫɝ (with A. Snyder and K. Preprah), Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 2016
  • ɫɜ,ɫɝ Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2014
  • ɫɜɫɝ (with E. Iceberg and L. McKeel), Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2014
  • The Research Companion for Introductory Psychology (supplemental textbook for college students), Cengage Publishing, 2011
  • The Research Companion for Social Psychology (supplemental textbook for college students), Cengage Publishing, 2011
  • ɫɜɫɝ (with V. Swami et al.), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2010
  • ɫɜMisperceptions in Intergroup Conflict: Disagreeing ɫ What We Disagree ɫ,ɫɝ Psychological Science, 2006
  • ɫɜBoasting and Firsthand and Secondhand Impressions: A New Explanation for the Positive Teller-Listener Extremity Effectsɫɝ (with N. McDonald and A. Ruch), Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2004
  • ɫɜSelf-Certainty and Feedback Seeking Behavior: Do Uncertain People Show Self-Assessment or Self-Protective Tendencies?,ɫɝ Representative Research in Social Psychology, 2002
  • ɫɜDo You See What I See? Similarities and Differences in Victims' and Observers' Perceptions of Discrimination,ɫɝ Social Cognition, 2001
  • ɫɜPerceiving Discrimination: The Role of Prototypes and Norm Violationɫɝ (with J. Huerta and S. Oh), Social Cognition, 1998
  • ɫɜWhy Listeners Hear Less Than They Are Told: Attentional Load and the Teller-Listener Extremity Effectɫɝ (with R.S. Baron, J.P. David and B.M. Brunsman), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1997
  • ɫɜThe Influence of Prototypes on Perceptions of Prejudiceɫɝ (with R.S. Baron), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1996
  • ɫɜNegative Emotion and Message Processingɫɝ (with R.S. Baron et al.), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1994
  • ɫɜDo We Tell Less Than We Know or Hear Less Than We Are Told? Exploring the Teller-Listener Extremity Effectɫɝ (with A.J. Reichl and R.S. Baron), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,1993
  • ɫɜNegative Emotion and Superficial Social Processingɫɝ (with R.S. Baron, C.F. Kao and H. Logan), Motivation and Emotion, 1992
  • ɫɜDetecting and Labeling Prejudice: Do Female Perpetrators Go Undetected?ɫɝ (with R.S. Baron and C.F. Kao), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1991

View some of Maryɫəs published work at .

Outside the college

Mary mentors students and youth inside and outside of Hope College, plays in a handbell choir, enjoys playing and watching sports and is a naturalist.

Profile photo of Dr. Mary Inman
Dr. Mary Inman

Phone Number616.395.7148

A. Paul Schaap Science Center 1164 35 East 12th Street Holland, MI 49423-3605