Riana received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from New York University (NYU) and her B.S. in Psychology and International Studies from the University of Miami. Before NYU, she lived in Amsterdam where she served as a Fulbright Fellow and received her M.S. in Social Psychology Research from the Vrije University Amsterdam. Her research focuses broadly on how people respond to social problems (e.g., social inequality, climate change). She is interested in understanding the ways people seek to address and mitigate social problems and social injustices and the many psychological barriers in addressing them. Riana’s current projects focus on the ways we can communicate about social issues to see how that may impact support for social change.

Awards and Honors

• 2024: Dissertation Award Finalist, Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) 
• 2023: Douglas H. and Katharine Fryer Thesis Award for Best Doctoral Thesis, New York University ($2,000)
• 2022-2023: Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, New York University ($30,238)
• 2022: Ted Coons Graduate Student Travel Award, New York University ($1,000)
• 2021, 2022: Dean's Conference Fund Award, New York University ($500, $500)
• 2020: Friends of Katzell Fellowship for Applied Research, New York University ($1,500)
• 2019: APS RISE Research Award Honorable Mention
• 2019: Graduate Travel Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) 
• 2017-2022: Henry M. MacCracken Fellowship, New York University
• 2017-2022: Dean’s Fellowship Program, New York University
• 2015-2016: VU Fellowship Program for Academic Excellence, Vrije University
• 2014-2015: Fulbright Student Scholarship to the Netherlands, U.S. Department of State
• 2014: Louis P. Mills Award for Service, Miami Women’s Commission 

Select Publications

• *Dietze, P., *Brown, R. M., & Craig, M. A. (2026). Health-focused frames mobilize Americans to action to address LGBTQ inequality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 23(6), e2527168123.
   
• Brown, R. M., Phillips, L. T., & Craig, M. A. (2026). Lay beliefs of privilege: Consequences of the invisible knapsack. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 155(3), 696–717.
   
• *Brown, R. M., *Dietze, P., & Craig, M. A. (2023). Highlighting health consequences of racial disparities sparks support for action. Science, 382(6677), 1394-1398.
   
• Brown, R. M., & Craig, M. A. (2023). Understanding tactical responses to social problems through the lens of regulatory scope. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2, 440–449.

View additional publications in our faculty research database →