Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Melissa Burkley

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:

Note from the Network: The holder of this profile has certified having all necessary rights, licenses, and authorization to post the files listed below. Visitors are welcome to copy or use any files for noncommercial or journalistic purposes provided they credit the profile holder and cite this page as the source.

Image Gallery

Video Gallery

4:02

"Faculty Expert" Interview


Books:

Journal Articles:

Courses Taught:

  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Stereotypes and Prejudice

Melissa Burkley
Lake Saint Louis, Missouri 63367
United States of America

Send a message to Melissa Burkley

Note: You will be emailed a copy of your message.

Psychology Headlines

From Around the World

News Feed (35,797 subscribers)