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.

Ess, M., & Burke, S. E. (2022). Class attitudes and the American work ethic: Praise for the hardworking poor and derogation of the lazy rich. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 100, 104301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104301

Ess, M., Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (in press). Gendered anti-bisexual bias: Heterosexual, bisexual, and gay/lesbian people’s willingness to date sexual orientation ingroup and outgroup members. Journal of Homosexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2022.2030618

Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (2018). Perceptions of instability and choice across sexual orientation groups. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(2), 257–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216663019

Wittlin, N. M., Dovidio, J. F., LaFrance, M., & Burke, S. E. (2018). About face: Memory for transgender versus cisgender targets’ facial appearance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 78, 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.04.009

Burke, S. E., & LaFrance, M. (2016). Lay conceptions of sexual minority groups. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(3), 635–650. https://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. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000168

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. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2014.33.6.536