 According to Brenda Major, Deaux's work centers on the question of how social categories affect one's psychological makeup, social behavior, and life outcomes, while emphasizing the subjectivity of people's identities and experiences and the larger social context.Deaux was recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Scholar Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.She received the 2007 Kurt Lewin Memorial Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, with her distinguished address titled "To be American