Biography
Lisa S. Wagner, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Gerontology Minor, and Chair of the Interdisciplinary Committee on Aging at the University of San Francisco (USF). She completed her BA in English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, and her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Washington.
Prof. Wagner has conducted research on stereotyping and prejudice for the past 20 years. Through a grant from the National Institute on Aging and with support from USF, she has examined how stereotypes affect both the person holding the stereotype and the target of that stereotype. Her research has examined age-related stereotypes and older adults’ experience of stereotype threat. Her most recent research promotes intergenerational interactions between younger and older adults and then examines the effects of these interactions on attitudes toward both age groups. As Director of the Gerontology Minor and Chair of the USF Interdisciplinary Committee on Aging, she helps promote awareness of aging issues on campus and create opportunities for meaningful intergenerational contact.
Her teaching interests include courses on social psychology, the psychology of prejudice, the social psychology of aging, adulthood and aging, and a unique intergenerational course, Generation to Generation, that enrolls traditional college-aged students and retired older adults. She is currently co-writing the third edition of a book entitled, Aging and Diversity: An Active Learning Experience.
- Appointments
- Chair, Department of Psychology
- Director, Gerontology Minor
- Chair, Interdisciplinary Committee on Aging
- Editorial Board Member, Educational Gerontology
- Executive Board Member, Friends of the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning
- Education
- PhD, Social and Personality Psychology, University of Washington
- BA, English Language and Literature, University of Michigan
- Research
- Stereotyping and Prejudice
- Aging and Diversity
- Publications
Mehrotra, C.M. & Wagner, L.S. (In Press) Aging and diversity: An active learning experience, 3rd edition. New York: Routledge.
Wagner, L.S. & Luger, T.M. (2017). Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults. Educational Gerontology, 43 (3).
Wagner, L.S. & Luger, T.M.* (2016) Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults. Educational Gerontology. 43: 147-165.
Sutton, R.B., Wagner, L.S., & Cook, K.E. (2012) Perceptions of Social Decisions Made by Individuals of Different Ages. Modern Psychological Studies. 17: 8-18.
Mehrotra, C.M. & Wagner, L.S. (2009) Aging and diversity: An active learning experience, 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Wagner, L.S. & Mehrotra, C.H. (2008). Aging and Diversity: An Active Learning Experience. Routledge. Print.
Wagner, L.S. & Wagner, T.H. (2003) The effect of age on the use of health and self-care information: Confronting the stereotype. The Gerontologist. 43: 318-324.
Whaley, B.B., Wagner, L.S., Cook, K.E., & Jeha, N. (2002) Individual differences and rebuttal analogy in persuasive messages: Effect of need for cognition. Communication and Cognition. 35: 293-209.
Kite, M.E. & Wagner, L.S. (2002) Attitudes toward older adults. In T. D. Nelson (Ed.), Ageism: stereotyping and prejudice against older persons (pp. 163-200). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Wagner, L.S., Carlin, L., Tenner, A., & Cauce, A.M. (2001) A snapshot of homeless youth in Seattle: Their characteristics, behaviors and beliefs about HIV protective strategies. Journal of Community Health. 26: 219-232.
Wagner, T.H. & Wagner, L.S. (1999) Who gets second opinions? Health Affairs.18: 137-145.
Whaley, B.B. & Wagner, L.S. (2000) Rebuttal analogy in persuasive messages: Communicator likability and cognitive responses. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 19: 66-84.
Uehara, E.S., Farris, M., Graham, T., Morelli, P.T., Phillips, R., (Wagner) Smith, L., & Bates, R.E. (1997). A collaborative-comparative approach to learning qualitative data analysis. Journal of Teaching in Social Work. 14: 45-67.