Assistant Professor
E-mail: dkarafan@nyit.edu

Education

Ph.D. in Social Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 2004
M.A. in Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 2002,
B.A. in Psychology, with departmental honors, 1999

Academic and Clinical Appointments

September 2006-present: Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Sciences, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury
September 2004-September 2006: Assistant Professor, Department of Social Science, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Spring 2004: Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, Dowling College
Spring 2003: Summer 2003; Summer 2001; Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, SUNY Stony Brook

Research Interests

• Prejudice Reduction
• Volunteerism
• Intergroup Relations
• Lay Theories

Professional Memberships

• Society for Personality and Social Psychology
• Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
• Society for Research in Child Development
• Society for the Teaching of Psychology
• Eastern Psychological Association

Publications

Karafantis, D.M., & Levy, S.R. (2004). The Role of Children's Lay Theories About the Malleability of Human Attributes in Beliefs About and Volunteerism for Disadvantaged Groups. Child Development, 75, 236-250.

Levy, S.R., West, T., Bigler, R., Karafantis, D.M., Ramirez, L, & Velilla, E. (2005). Messages About the Uniqueness and Similarities of People: Impact on U.S. Black and Latino youth. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 714-733.

Levy, S.R., West, T., Ramirez, L., & Karafantis, D.M (2006). The Protestant Work Ethic: A Lay Theory with Dual Intergroup Implications. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 95-115.

Books

Karafantis, D.M. (2008). The Impact of the Colorblind Principles on the Social Attitudes of College Students. Germany: VDM Verlag.

Book Chapters
Levy, S.R., Karafantis, D.M., & Ramirez, L. (2008). A Social-developmental Perspective on Lay Theories and Intergroup Relations. In S.R. Levy and M. Killen (Eds.), Intergroup Attitudes and Relations in Childhood Through Adulthood (pp 146-156). Oxford University Press.

Levy, S.R., & Karafantis, D.M. (2007). Lay Theories and Intergroup Relations. In C. McKown & S. Quintana (Eds.), The Handbook of Race, Racism, and the Developing Child (pp 111-132). Wiley.

Manuscripts Submitted for Publication
Karafantis, D.M., Pierre-Louis, J., & Lewandowski, G.W. A comparison of the multicultural and colorblind perspectives on the intergroup attitudes of college students. Basic and Applied Social Psychology.

Conference Presentations

1. Levy, S.R., & Troise, D.M. (2001, April). Children's Social Concerns with Appearing Prejudiced.  Symposium paper presented in C. McKown (Chair), "The development and consequences of stereotype processes in childhood." Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.
2. Troise, D.M., & Levy, S.R.  (2001, April).  To imitate or to please: The role of social awareness on children's reported prejudiced attitudes.  Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.
3. Troise, D.M., West, T., Harris, S., & Levy, S.R. (2002, February).  The Role of Children's Lay Theories in Volunteering.  Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah, GA.
4. West, T., Harrris, S., Troise, D.M., & Levy, S.R. (2002, February).  Lay Theories and Volunteerism for Homeless Persons.  Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah, GA.
5. West, T., Levy, S.R., & Troise, D.M. (2003, June). The role of lay belief systems in intergroup attitudes and anti-bias education. Symposium paper presented in S. Levy (Chair) "Integrating developmental theory and research in anti-bias education programs." Anti-bias education: Practice, research, and Theory, Evanston, IL.
6. Levy, S.R., Troise, D.M., Moyer, A., Aboud, F.E., & Bigler, R.E. (2003, June). A meta-analytic review of the effectiveness of anti-bias interventions and subsequent social-cognitive developmental approach to improving racial attitudes among children. Symposium paper presented in S. Gaertner (Chair) "Integrating theory, practice, and research: A focus on school-based intervention programs." Anti-bias education: Practice, research, and Theory, Evanston, IL.
7. Levy, S.R., Karafantis, D., Ramirez, L., & West, T. (2005, January).  Dual
intergroup implications of the Protestant work ethic.  Symposium paper presented at the Pre-conference on "Developmental Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice" at Sixth Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans.
8. Levy, S.R., West, T., Ramirez, L., & Karafantis, D. (2005, January).  Dual
intergroup implications of the Colorblind theory. Symposium paper presented in S.R. Levy and A. Rutland (Chairs) "Integrating Developmental and Social Psychological Research on Intergroup Bias" at the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans.
9. Levy, S.R., West, T., Ramirez, L., & Karafantis, D. (2005, April).  Does
the Colorblind Theory Help or Hinder Social Tolerance Among Children? Symposium paper presented in A. Rutland and S.R. Levy (Chairs) "New Theoretical Insights on the Development and Reduction of Children's Ethnic/Racial Prejudice" at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, Georgia.
10. Karafantis, D.M., Pierre-Louis, J., & Lewandowski, G. (2007, March).  A comparison of the  multicultural and colorblind perspectives on the intergroup attitudes of college students.  Poster presented at the conference of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
11. Donohue, E., & Karafantis, D.M. (2007, March).  Geriatric psychological well-being and quality of life: Autonomy versus assisted living homes.  Poster presented at the conference of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
12. Cosentino, R., & Karafantis, D.M. (2007, April).  An examination of college students' color preference and personality characteristics.  Poster presented at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), NYIT, Old Westbury, NY.
13. Donohue, E., & Karafantis, D.M. (2007, April).  The effect of external influences on the voting trends of college aged students and adults.  Poster presented at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), NYIT, Old Westbury, NY.
14. Flaim, J., & Karafantis, D.M. (2007, April).  An examination of the "Boys Don't Cry" stereotype: How gender differences affect the way we grieve.  Poster presented at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), NYIT, Old Westbury, NY.
15. Karafantis, D.M. (2008, March).  The Impact of the Colorblind Principles on the Social Attitudes of College Students.  Symposium paper presented in M.R. Andreychik (Chair) "Social Psychology of Prejudice" at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association Conference, Boston, MA.
16. Cosentino, R., & Karafantis, D.M. (2008, March).  An examination of college students' color preference and personality characteristics.  Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association Conference, Boston, MA.
17. Flaim, J., & Karafantis, D.M. (2008, March).  An examination of the "Boys Don't Cry" stereotype: How gender differences affect the way we grieve.  Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association Conference, Boston, MA.

Grant Activity

Grant Agency: New York Institute of Technology ISRC Grant
Title of Grant:  The Impact of Colorblind Principles on the Social Attitudes of College Students
Principal Investigators: Dr. Dina M. Karafantis
Amount: $2,925.46
Start Date: January 1, 2008
Duration: 1 year

Grant Agency: NCAT
Title of Grant:  Redesigning Introduction to Psychology
Principal Investigators: Dr. Maria LaPadula; Dr. Dina M. Karafantis
Start Date: January 1, 2008

Grant Agency: CUNY Research Foundation
Title of Grant: A Comparison of the Multicultural and Colorblind Perspectives on the Intergroup Attitudes of College Students
Principal Investigators: Dr. Dina M. Karafantis
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Joanne Pierre-Louis
Amount: $28,093
Start Date: December 30, 2004
Duration: 6 months