Sara E. Burke

Education
Ph.D., Yale University, Social Psychology
B.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Research and Teaching Interests
My research focuses on intergroup bias -- stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and experiences of stigma. Specifically, I research variations in the way bias operates when it targets different groups, highlighting cases where addressing underexamined target groups reveals novel insights about bias that would otherwise have escaped notice. For example, some of my work addresses groups that are perceived as falling in between other groups, such as biracial people and bisexual people.
One of the guiding themes of my teaching is that making inferences about human social behavior requires a careful assessment of complex and often conflicting sources of evidence. I try to incorporate information about research methods and the ambiguities of scientific inference into all of my courses.
Visit my website, saraemilyburke.com, for more information about my research and for some of my statistics teaching materials.
Representative Publications
Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (in press). Perceptions of instability and choice across sexual orientation groups.Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. http://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216663019
Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (2016). Lay conceptions of sexual minority groups. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(3), 635-650. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0655-5
Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (2016). Stereotypes of bisexual people: What do bisexual people themselves think? Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(2), 247-254. http://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000168
Burke, S. E., Dovidio, J. F., Przedworski, J. M., Hardeman, R. R., Perry, S. P., Phelan, S. M., Nelson, D. B., Burgess, D. J., Yeazel, M. W., & van Ryn, M. (2015). Do contact and empathy mitigate bias against gay and lesbian people among heterosexual first-year medical students? A report from the Medical Student CHANGE Study. Academic Medicine, 90(5), 645-651. http://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000661
Burke, S. E., Wang, K., & Dovidio, J. F. (2014). Witnessing disclosure of depression: Gender and attachment avoidance moderate interpersonal evaluations. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33(6), 536-559. http://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2014.33.6.536