Dr. Clifton Oyamot

Associate Dean, Academic Programs and Student Success

Clifton Oyamot joined the Dean’s Office in July 2023. Prior to this position, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at San José State University. He earned his BA in Psychology from Reed College, and PhD in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of Minnesota.  Before joining the SJSU Psychology department in 2005, Clifton was a visiting Assistant Professor at Carleton College. 

Dr. Oyamot’s research integrates social psychological and personality perspectives to understand (a) how social norms and cultural values can curb - or embolden - authoritarians’ intolerance toward immigrants and sexual minorities, (b) the psychology of “clutter” as it relates to identity and the sense of self, and (c) aspects of interpersonal relationships (personality and social media use; power dynamics in close relationships).  

Dr. Oyamot’s scholarly work has appeared in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, and Political Psychology (forthcoming).  He routinely involves undergraduate and graduate students in his research projects, many of whom have co-authored then presented research posters of their work at local and regional conferences.  Dr. Oyamot received a Google Research Award to fund a project investigating how aspects of personality influence the ways in which people create and manage social worlds, identities, and self-presentations on social networking sites.  He has also contributed to interdisciplinary projects with faculty from the College of Engineering (COE) around fostering student success, and which culminated in co-authored articles that appear in the International Journal of Engineering Education, and Advances in Engineering Education.