Lisa Wagner

Lisa S. Wagner, PhD is professor of psychology and director of the gerontology minor at University of San Francisco. Professor Wagner has conducted research on stereotyping and aging for the past 25 years. Through a grant from National Institute on Aging and with support from USF, her research has examined age-related stereotypes and older adults’ experience of stereotype threat. Her recent research promotes intergenerational interactions between younger and older adults and examines effects of these interactions on attitudes toward both age groups.

She teaches courses on social psychology, psychology of prejudice, social psychology of aging, adulthood and aging, and a unique intergenerational course, Generation to Generation, that enrolls traditional college-aged students and retired older adults. Her publications include two co-authored books, Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination (4th edition) (Kite, Whitley, & Wagner, 2023) and Aging and Diversity: An Active Learning Experience (3rd edition), examining how diversity affects the aging experience (Mehrotra & Wagner, 2019).

• Attitudes toward Older Adults
• Stereotype Threat and Older Adults
• Intergenerational Interactions

• Executive Board Member, Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning at USF
• Editorial Board Member: Educational Gerontology
• Program Director, Gerontology

• PhD, Social and Personality Psychology, University of Washington
• BA, English Language and Literature, University of Michigan

• Kite, M.E., Whitley, B.E., & Wagner, L.S. (2023) Psychology of prejudice and discrimination, 4th edition. Routledge.
• Wagner, L.S. & Luger, T.M.* (2021) Generation to generation: effects of intergenerational interactions on attitudes. Educational Gerontology. 47: 1-12.
• Wagner, L.S., Luger, T.M.*, & Calamia, M. (2021). Aging as an element of diversity: Best practices for challenging classroom conversations and avoiding ageism. In M. Kite, K.A. Case, & W.R. Williams (Eds.), Navigating Difficult Moments in Teaching Diversity and Social Justice: Perseverance and Resilience. American Psychological Association.
• Wagner, L.S. & Garrett-Walker, J. (2021) Becoming a target: Anonymous threats while teaching diversity courses or working on social justice issues. In M. Kite, K.A. Case, & W.R. Williams (Eds.), Navigating Difficult Moments in Teaching Diversity and Social Justice: Perseverance and Resilience. American Psychological Association.
• Warner, L., Wagner, L.S. & Grzanka, P. (2021). White privilege in the classroom. In M. Kite, K.A. Case, & W. R. Williams (Eds.), Navigating Difficult Moments in Teaching Diversity and Social Justice: Perseverance and Resilience. American Psychological Association.
• Mehrotra, C.M. & Wagner, L.S. (2019) Aging and diversity: An active learning experience, 3rd edition. New York: Routledge.
• Wagner, L.S. & Luger, T.M.* (2016) Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults. Educational Gerontology. 43: 147-165.
• Sutton, R.B.*, Wagner, L.S., & Cook, K.E. (2012) Perceptions of Social Decisions Made by Individuals of Different Ages. Modern Psychological Studies. 17: 8-18.

*Indicates a student (or former student) co-author