Melissa Burkley
- Media Contact
My primary area of research centers around the issues of stereotypes, stigma, and group processes. My work has examined:
- how men-as-predatory and women-as-prey metaphors perpetuate sexual violence
- the role of sexism in teh 2016 presidential election
- the development and refinement of an implicit bias measure (i.e., the Affect Misattribution Procedure)
- the development of a new measure that assess the extent that men's self-worth is based on their masculinity (i.e., the Masculinity Contingency Scale)
- the structure and content of Native American stereotypes
- the harmful effects of Native American sports mascots
- how women use gender stereotypes to excuse their math failures and the positive/negative consequences that result
- how sexist video games perpetuate sexism and sexual violence
- how gay stereotypes result in stereotype lift
My second area of research is concerned with motivation. I have co-authored a textbook on the topic entitled Motivation Science and have also conducted studies on various topics including:
- how goals fuse with people's sense of self (i.e., goal fusion)
- fixed versus malleable beliefs about beauty (aka The Ugly Duckling Effect)
- circadian rhythms and self-control
- factors of goal commitment
In addition to my academic work, I am also a blogger and writer. I write a blog for Psychology Today called "The Social Thinker" and I run "The Writer's Laboratory," a blog that teaches writers how to use psychological science to improve their craft. You can check it out at www.melissaburkley.com
Primary Interests:
- Group Processes
- Intergroup Relations
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Books:
Journal Articles:
- Bock, J. & Burkley, M. (in press). On the prowl: Examining the impact of men-as-predator and women-as-prey metaphors on attitudes that perpetuate sexual violence. Sex Roles.
- Bock, J., Byrd-Craven, J., & Burkley, M. (2017). The role of sexism in voting in the 2016 presidential election. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 189-193.
- Burkley, E., Curtis, J., Burkley, M., & Hatvany, T. (2015) Goal Fusion: The integration of goals within the self-concept. Self & Identity, 14(3), 348-368.
- Burkley, E., Durante, F., Fiske, S. T., Burkley, M., & Andrade, A. (2017). Structure and content of Native American stereotypic subgroups: Not just (ig)noble. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23, 209-213.
- Burkley, M., Andrade, A., & Burkley, E. (2016). When using a negative gender stereotype as an excuse increases gender stereotyping in others. Journal of Social Psychology, 156, 202-210.
- Burkley, M., & Blanton, H. (2008). Endorsing a negative in-group stereotype as a self-protective strategy: Sacrificing the group to save the self. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 37-49.
- Burkley, M., Burkley, E., Andrade, A. & Bell, A. (2016). Symbols of pride or prejudice? Examining the impact of Native American sports mascots on stereotype application. Journal of Social Psychology,157, 223-235.
- Burkley, M., Burkley, E., Stermer, P. S., Andrade, A., Bell, A. C., & Curtis, J. (2014). The ugly duckling effect: Examining fixed versus malleable beliefs about beauty. Social Cognition. 32, 466-483.
- Burkley, M., Parker, J., Stermer, P. S., & Burkley, E. (2010). Trait beliefs that make women vulnerable to math disengagement. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 234-238.
- Burkley, M., Wong, Y. J., & Bell, A. C. (2016). The Masculinity Contingency Scale (MCS): Scale development and psychometric properties. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 17(2), 113-115.
- Cotner, C., & Burkley, M. (2013). Queer eye for the straight guy: Sexual orientation and stereotype lift effects on performance in the fashion domain. Journal of Homosexuality, 60, 1336-1348.
- Curtis, J., Burkley, E., & Burkley, M. (2014). The rhythm is gonna get you: The influence of circadian rhythm synchrony on self-control outcomes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8, 609-625.
- Imura, M., Burkley, M., & Brown, R. (2014). Honor to the core: Measuring implicit honor ideology endorsement. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 27-31.
- Parker, J. & Burkley, M. (2009). Who’s chasing whom: The impact of gender and relationship status on mate poaching. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1016-1019.
- Parker, J., & Burkley, M. (2009). Who’s chasing whom? The impact of gender and relationship status on mate poaching. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1016-1019.
- Payne, B. K, Brown-Iannuzzi, J., Burkley, M., Arbuckle, N., Cooley, E., Cameron, C. D., & Lundberg, K. B. (2013). Intention invention and the Affect Misattribution Procedure: Reply to Bar-Anan and Nosek (2012). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 375-386.
- Payne, K., Burkley, M., & Stokes, M. (2008). Why do implicit and explicit attitude tests diverge? The role of structural fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 16-31.
- Stermer, P., & Burkley, M. (2015). SeX-Box: Exposure to sexist video games predicts benevolent sexism. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4, 47-55.
- Wong, Y. J., Burkley, M., Bell, A. C., Klann, E., & Wang, S. Y. (2017). Manly to the core: Measuring men’s implicit masculine self-concept via the semantic misattribution procedure. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 320-325.
Courses Taught:
- Research Methods in Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Stereotypes and Prejudice
- Home: 405-334-3245
- Email: melissa.burkley@gmail.com
Melissa Burkley
Lake Saint Louis, Missouri 63367
United States of America