Research Overview

The primary aim of my research is to elucidate the processes that either perpetuate or disrupt inequality in society. As a psychologist, I integrate theories from psychology and also draw on work from history, political science, and sociology to investigate how youth develop amidst racism. In my primary line of research, I examine whether and how facilitating racially marginalized youth’s critical consciousness—the structural-historical analysis of inequality, agency to enact social change, and sociopolitical action to promote social change—can support them in navigating racism and other forms of oppression. My interest in youth critical consciousness stems from my appreciation of the instances in which youth transformed their communities and broader society in service of justice. 

Although I use an array of methods in my work (e.g., longitudinal quantitative research, focus group interviews, survey experiments), my work is primarily quantitative, and I invoke critical perspectives on quantitative methods.

Publications

Pinedo, A., Diemer, M. A., Frisby M. B. (2024). Critical Consciousness and Youth Political Activism. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology.

Pinedo, A., Frisby, M., Kubi, G., Vezaldenos, V., Diemer, M. A., McAlister, S., & Harris, E. (2024). Charting the longitudinal trajectories and interplay of critical consciousness among youth activists. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13977

Pinedo, A., Kubi, G., & Diemer, M. A. (2023). Synthesizing Critical Consciousness and Identity-Based Motivation to Clarify How Economically Marginalized Youth of Color Navigate and Challenge Racial Capitalism. Book chapter in Critical Consciousness: Expanding Theory, Methods, and Measurement. (L. J. Rapa & E. B. Godfrey, Eds.). Cambridge University Press.

Pinedo, A., Vossoughi, N., & Lewis, N. A., Jr. (2021). Critical pedagogy and children’s beneficial development. Policy Insights from the Brain and Behavioral Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1177/23727322211033000

Bañales, J., Pech, A., Pinetta, B., Pinedo, A., Diemer, M. A., & Romero, A. J. (2021). Critiquing Inequality in Society and on Campus: Peers and Faculty Facilitate Civic and Academic Outcomes of College Students. Research in Higher Education.

Walton, G. M., Okonofua, J. A., Remington, K. S., Hurst, D., Pinedo, A., Weitz, E., Ospina, J. P., Tate, H., & Eberhardt, J. L. (2021). Lifting the Bar: A relationship-orienting intervention prevents recidivism among children reentering school from juvenile detention. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211013

Pinedo, A., Durkee, M. I., Diemer, M. A., & Hope, E. C. (2021). Disentangling longitudinal trajectories of racial discrimination and critical action among Black and Latinx college students: What role do peers play?. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000434

Diemer, M. A., Pinedo, A., Bañales, J., Mathews, C. J., Frisby, M. B., Harris, E. M., & McAlister, S. (2021). Recentering action in critical consciousness. Child Development Perspectives, 15(1), 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12393

Diemer, M. A., Frisby, M. B., Pinedo, A., Bardelli, E., Elliot, E., Harris, E., ... & Voight, A. M. (2022). Development of the short critical consciousness scale (ShoCCS). Applied developmental science, 26(3), 409-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2020.1834394