Steven M. Almaraz

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I am an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at East Los Angeles College, but I began my Psychology journey in high school. Like many, my first exposure to psychology was the classical conditioning of Pavlov’s dogs. I was immediately hooked. I decided to major in Psychology at Mt. San Antonio College and continued on to attain my B.A. in psychology at UCLA. There, I was fortunate enough to join Dr. Kerri Johnson’s Social Vision lab and investigate how our perceptions of others are affected by our racial and sexual groups and even our current states of mind. Contributing to the Psychology I once only read about was exhilarating and inspired me to pursue my Ph.D. in Social Psychology with Dr. Kurt Hugenberg at Miami University. With Kurt, I continued to ask questions related to relations across group lines, with a particular focus on how people make judgments of others’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics, even based on only facial or bodily information.

At Miami, I was fortunate enough to gain experience teaching and mentoring undergraduates. At first, I was reluctant to take on this daunting task, but I quickly grew to love this role. Seeing the spark in a student’s eyes when they finally grasp a particularly difficult concept is a feeling that cannot be matched. At ELAC, I have the opportunity to reach back to my Community College roots and help new undergraduates begin their own journey into Psychology.