Dr. Kelly Burke
My research focuses on the intersection of social and legal psychology. I apply social psychological theory to better understand factors that contribute to injustice in the legal system as well as factors that shape perceptions of legal authorities. My research has examined how prejudice and discrimination shape legal decision making, how jurors’ decisions are influenced by case evidence such as the presence of police officers’ body-worn camera footage and victims’ psychological diagnoses such as depression, and how police officer behavior and pre-existing trust in police influence public perceptions of police. My current research focuses on understanding the psychological mechanisms involved in police officer decision making and various factors that influence it such as civilian race and officer empathy.
UTEP Faculty Profile
Sample Publications:
Burke, K. C., Najdowski, C. J., & Stevenson, M. C. (in press). Racial disparities in policing: Psychological consequences over the lifespan. In A. Redlich & J. Quas (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental psychology and the law. Oxford.
Burke, K. C., & Peter-Hagene, L. C. (in press). Children’s person identification accuracy. In R. Roesch (Volume Ed.), Psychology and law, a volume of Routledge encyclopedia of psychology in the real world. Routledge.
Burke, K. C., Bottoms, B. L., Jackson, V., & Stevenson, M. C. (in press). Children, race, psychology, and law. In R. Roesch (Volume Ed.), Psychology and law, a volume of Routledge encyclopedia of psychology in the real world. Routledge.
Burke, K. C. (2022). Why interracial police-civilian interpersonal interactions can go poorly: Police officer stereotype threat. Psychology, Crime, & Law. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2022.2030335
Sivasubramaniam, D., Burke, K. C., Saulnier, A., Szabo, R., Agius, E., & Bottoms, B. L. (2021). International perspectives on procedural justice: Trust and respect matter even when body-worn cameras are present. Law and Human Behavior, 45(5), 440-455. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000454
Burke, K. C., Peter-Hagene, L. C., Jones, T. M., Bottoms, B. L., Amaravadi, S., Garcia, B., Richardson, K., & Sachdev, K. (2021). Harming cats and dogs: People are as morally outraged, but not as punitive, in animal versus human abuse cases. The Humanistic Psychologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000247
Stevenson, M. C., Bottoms, B. L., & Burke, K. C. (Eds.) (2020). The legacy of racism for children: Psychology, law, and public policy. Oxford.
Burke, K. C., Petty, T., Jones, T. M., Stevenson, M. C., Silberkleit, G., & Bottoms, B. L. (2020). Adults’ perceptions of law-involved minority children and youth: Implications for researchers and professionals. In M. C. Stevenson, B. L. Bottoms, & K. C. Burke (Eds.), The legacy of racism for children: Psychology, law, and public policy (pp. 189-210). Oxford.
Contact Information
Email: kcburke@utep.edu
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Psychology
Personal Information
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago (2022)
Assistant Professor
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