The Gender Mosaic Lab
Projects
A radar chart of the mean factor scores of each of the six clusters displaying for each of the six clusters (marked in different colors) the mean z-score on each of the seven factors. The light grey lines mark intervals of 0.5 standard deviation. All factors are scored so that higher values indicate greater deviation from the normative binary assumption
Puberty and Adulthood
Our research examines mosaicism in gender-related development, investigating how multiple facets relating to gender/sex/uality align (or do not align) within individuals across the lifespan. Drawing on contemporary theories of gender as a multidimensional construct, we study how gender identity, sexual orientation, gender typicality, and feelings toward the body’s sex characteristics relate to one another during puberty, and adulthood. This work is situated within broader debates regarding whether gendered traits and experiences cluster into binary patterns or instead reflect diverse, mosaic-like configurations, helping to address a gap in research on these processes in non-clinical populations.
Across multiple projects, we use both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine these questions. Our research includes large-scale questionnaire studies as well as semi-structured retrospective interviews with participants of diverse gender identities (cisgender, transgender, and non-binary) and sexual orientations. Using methods such as factor analysis, unsupervised clustering and mosaic analysis, we assess how these facets correlate within and across individuals, identifying patterns that reflect varying experiences of gender typicality and atypicality. Together, these projects aim to advance theoretical models of gender by examining how its different components are organized within individuals, and how this organization changes over time. Our findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of gender development, as well as feelings towards the body's sex characteristics, highlighting the diversity of lived experiences and challenging strictly binary conceptualizations of gender.
Cross-Culture
Our lab collects data for cross-cultural research which makes it possible to examine how individual-level psychological and social gendered processes are shaped by cultural, institutional, and structural contexts. A core component of this work is the creation of a large, harmonized cross-national dataset covering approximately 30 countries selected to maximize cultural, political, religious, and socioeconomic diversity rather than regional proximity. By combining large-scale survey data with carefully curated country-level indicators (e.g., religiosity, gender equality, legal frameworks, development, and cultural norms), we build data infrastructures that allow for systematic comparisons across societies with fundamentally different value systems and social arrangements.
Using this framework, our projects investigate topics such as job and activity preferences, reactions to stress, sexuality, same-sex attraction, religiosity, aggression, gender mosaicism, and related domains of social behavior and gender identity. Across these lines of work, we focus on how individual-level effects such as gender differences, attractions, or reactions are moderated, amplified, or attenuated by cultural and national contexts. Methodologically, we rely on multivariate analyses, including multilevel modeling strategies that explicitly link individual experiences to country-level environments, allowing us to identify both universal patterns and context-specific dynamics. Together, these projects aim to advance theory on how culture and social structure interact with individual differences to produce diverse outcomes across societies.
The cyclical relations between gender ideology, gender-based sorting and labelling, and a biological-essentialist lay theory of gender
Bias Reduction
Our research focuses on the "gender binary cycle"—the reinforcing loop between essentialist beliefs, non-egalitarian ideologies, and gender-biased behaviors. We investigate whether the Gender Mosaic framework can serve as an effective psychological intervention to disrupt this cycle. Our primary goal is to determine if shifting individuals' lay theories of gender from a binary perspective to a mosaic perspective can reduce gender essentialism and promote gender equity.
To explore these questions, we implement both experimental manipulations and correlational designs. Our work spans multiple projects examining different modes of exposure to the mosaic concept. One line of research tests the efficacy of presenting the Gender Mosaic as a general scientific narrative compared to other theoretical frameworks. Another project investigates the personal impact of revealing an individual's own unique gender profile using the Gender Mosaic Questionnaire (GMQ). We utilize a diverse array of dependent measures to capture a holistic view of gender bias, combining validated self-report questionnaires with implicit behavioral tasks that assess economic decision-making, social categorization, and personal preferences.
Our ongoing research also delves into the individual differences that influence how people respond to these interventions. We are examining how various personal characteristics—such as cognitive styles (e.g., open-mindedness) and feelings of threat regarding one's gender identity (e.g., precarious masculinity)—moderate the acceptance of the mosaic framework. By systematically evaluating these mechanisms, we aim to advance theoretical understanding of how gender ideologies are maintained and to develop practical, evidence-based interventions for reducing gender bias.