Welcome to Advancing Identity Management or AIM Lab!

Our research centers around experiences of employees belonging to various marginalized identity groups. Specifically, we explore how stereotypes and other forms of prejudice create pressures for employees to “fit in” via identity management or code-switching. Through this work, we hope to better understand not only experiences of identity management, but unforeseen consequences to employee well-being.

AIM Graduate Students

Caitlin Shamiya

Caitlin Shamiya is a first-year PhD student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Virginia Tech. Being first-generation and Middle Eastern, she is interested in examining the experiences of Arab Americans, with a particular focus on identity shifting, behavioral regulation, and their implications for workplace discrimination and employee well-being. Broadly, Caitlin’s research is motivated by an interest in how organizational systems and practices can more effectively uphold employee protections and institutional trust.

AIM Undergraduate Research Assistants

Tristan White

Tristan White is an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech with a strong interest in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and applied research. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is particularly interested in how psychological science can be used to support employee well-being, development, and performance within organizational settings. Tristan is drawn to research that examines the relationship between individual differences, organizational culture, and outcomes in real-world contexts. Through her work in the lab, she hopes to strengthen her research skills and deepen her understanding of how data-driven insights can inform ethical and effective organizational practices.

Cameryn Sierra

Cameryn Sierra is a sophomore at Virginia Tech, currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology and public health. Cameryn is interested in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and more specifically exploring difficulties people of color experience in the workplace and how it effects their performance and issues with diversity in the business setting.

Ariana Hill

Ariana Hill is a dedicated second-year undergraduate student with interest in Industrial Organizational Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology, with a minor in Adaptive Brain and Behavior. Ariana is interested in issues around cultural diversity and gender identity and how those impact everyday interactions including the workforce. She hopes to further her understanding of how research is applied and used in different areas.

Cecilia Cortes

Cecilia Cortes is a dedicated full-time staff member and a part-time student of Virginia Tech with a passion for Industrial Organizational Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is interested in researching the employment experiences of marginalized identity groups. Cecilia strives to contribute to research that allows us to better understand the consequences to employee well-being resulting from stereotyping, prejudice, and workplace pressures.

AIM Alumni

Mercedes Alvarez

Kedean (Kay) Brown

Current Projects

A Meta-Analytic Review of Racial Identity Shifting in the Workplace (in progress)

Collaborating authors: Caitlin Shamiya, Sam Kalmar, and Ning Hsu

This meta-analysis reviews and synthesizes the organizational literature on identity shifting, with a focus on how racial identity shifting relates to workplace experiences, behaviors, and outcomes.

Multi-identity Management (MIM): A Model of Navigating Intersecting Identities  (under review)

Collaborating authors: Elisabeth Silver, Caitlin Shamiya, Nina Carmichael-Tanaka, Jorge Lumbreras, and Neal Outland

This theoretical paper introduces the Multi-Identity Management (MIM) framework, which integrates models of intersectional stereotype content (i.e., MOSAIC) with social identity-based impression management (SIM) theory. The MIM framework explains how individuals strategically navigate stereotypes associated with their multiple, intersecting identities in the workplace.

Designing Technology to Support Employees with ADHD: A Study on Body Doubling  (in progress)

Collaborating authors: Elisabeth Silver, Sydney Reichin, Ashley Shew, and Ihudiya Finda Williams

The current study aims to better understand how people with ADHD navigate feelings of burnout, job performance, and motivation in the workplace, with particular attention to the potential benefits of body doubling as an intervention to support performance goals and job retention.

Daily Workplace Experiences among Women with ADHD: Impact of Workplace Stigma on Sleep and Well-Being (in progress)

Collaborating authors: Charles Calderwood, Jessica Gass, and Ashley Shew

The current study aims to examine how internalized stigma impacts women of color’s decisions to mask versus disclose ADHD at work. Further, in taking a daily dairy approach to measurement, the study explores the impact daily masking has on reported sleep.

Changes in Procedural Justice Judgments of Affirmative Action (under review)

Collaborating authors: Caitlin Shamiya, Cecilia Cortes, Ivan Hernandez, & Nathan Carter

The current study examines (a) the extent to which region predicts significant differences in applicant-rated procedural justice of affirmative action in employment contexts, and (b) whether average procedural justice perceptions of affirmative action have declined between 2021 and 2025, reflecting recent Supreme Court decisions and Executive Branch scrutiny in the United States government.

“Too Strong”: Exploring Differences in Supervisor Perceptions and Recommendations of Black Women with Mental Health Concerns (in progress)

Collaborating authors: Apoorva Sarmal, Ariana Hill, & Mercedes Alvarez

The current experiment examines whether employee race and gender predict differences in supervisor perceptions and recommended accommodations for disclosed mental health concerns among Black women.

Experiences of Code-Switching Among Workers of Color: A Mixed Methods Approach (under review)

Collaborating authors: Apoorva Sarmal, Jorge Lumbreras, Nina Carmichael-Tanaka, & Shelby Davis

Using qualitative interviews, this study investigates how people of color define their workplace code-switching experiences. Employing a grounded-theory approach, it identifies antecedents and outcomes of both intercultural (assimilative behaviors) and intracultural (community-seeking behaviors) code-switching. A follow-up quantitative study will test those antecedents.

Future Directions of Workplace Code-Switching (forthcoming)

Collaborating authors: Apoorva Sarmal, Jorge Lumbreras, Mercedes Alvarez

This chapter provides a deep dive into the code-switching literature: how it's conceptualized across disciplines and within workplaces. We conclude with future research directions and practical implications for organizations and policy.

Select Publications

Melson-Silimon, A., & Thomas, K. (2025). Wearing Many Faces: Experiences of Identity Management Among Black Women. Elevating the Voices of Women of Color in the Workplace, 333-376

Melson-Silimon, A., Spivey, B., & Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. (2024). The construction of racial stereotypes and how they serve as racial propaganda. Manuscript accepted for publication at Social and Personality Psychology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12862

Melson-Silimon, A., Harmata, R., Lefevre-Levy, R., Behrend, T.S., & Carter, N.T. (2023). Diversity in the digital age: Cybervetting, doxxing, and employment discrimination. In E.B. King, Q.M. Roberson, & M.R. Hebl (Eds), Research in Social Issues in Management: The Future of Scholarship on Diversity & Inclusion

LeFevre-Levy, R., Melson-Silimon, A., Harmata, R., Hulett, A. L., & Carter, N. T. (2023). Neurodiversity in the workplace: Considering neuroatypicality as a form of diversity. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 16(1), 1-19