I’m an incoming assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Broadly, my research emphasizes practical applications of social psychological theory—particularly related to identity and person-context interactions—to specify the processes through which schools, workplaces, and other focal societal institutions shape (in)equity. I am especially interested in developing and testing new avenues for shifting these institutions in ways that expand people’s equitable access to opportunity. Much of my work highlights the potential of preparing societal institutions to reject widespread stigmatizing narratives about marginalized people in favor of alternative “strength-based approaches” that recognize the valuable skills, knowledge, and resources that people gain as a direct factor of their otherwise marginalized identities.

You can find a copy of my current CV here.

Email: d.silverman [at] yale.edu

Twitter: twitter [dot] com/dm_silverman

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Teachers, faculty members, and administrators, you can find an EdWeek article about some of my research here or read one of our free open-access research articles about classroom practices that support students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds here. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Researchers, you can find one of our meta-scientific papers on opportunities to incorporate strength-based approaches in your research here. Personality and Social Psychology Review graciously selected this article to be made open access earlier this year as their second most cited paper of 2024. You can also learn more about some of my emerging work on “opportunity hoarding” in our most recent PNAS article.