Chris Mellinger is a research associate at the Crown Institute. He graduated from the Social Psychology program at CU Boulder under Joshua Correll and Bernadette Park. Chris’s research interests include stereotyping and prejudice, group identity, and methodology. In particular, Chris has examined the psychometric properties of implicit measures of prejudice and stereotyping. He has also studied the ways that group memberships can be important sources of self-worth. In the context of the Crown Institute, Chris is integrating social-psychological insights concerning group-memberships with the Crown’s research programs aimed at promoting wellness. Feelings of belongingness are associated with positive health outcomes both physically and mentally. Group memberships can be important sources of acceptance, but only for groups that people strongly identify with. Chris is exploring the interplay between group identity, belongingness, and mental health in the context of several ongoing and novel projects at Crown.