Jessica Bray | University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

Jessica Bray

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Jessica.Bray@uky.edu

Kastle Hall 012-I

(859)-257-4549

Research Interests

Social psychology
Race
Race & Ethnicity
Prejudice and Stereotypes
Discrimination
Intergroup Relations
Memory

Affiliations

Psychology
Developmental, Social, and Health Psychology

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

I classify myself as a social cognitive psychologist who studies intergroup relations at the cognitive level. Through my research I aim to explain how social categories (e.g., race/ethnicity, occupation) impact initial impressions of others, the longevity of those impressions, and how stereotypic impressions feed into prejudices and discrimination. My program of research demonstrates that impressions occur spontaneously, are sometimes influenced by group membership, and lead to differences in how we perceive and interact with outgroup members. My future work will break down discriminatory behaviors by looking at the nuances of impression formation. By pushing this research to test for the behavioral consequences of these impressions, I hope to eventually study how these subtle initial processes can produce aggression towards others and group-based violence and terrorism.

Selected Publications

Selected Publications:

Peer Reviewed Publications

Ireland, K., Turner, L., Bowe, G., Bray, J. R., Cassanova, B., White, C., Peek, S., Riser, D. & White, K. (Accepted, Pending Minor Revisions). They have a point: Strategies to improve receptivity to interracial criticism and promote behavioral change. Social Psychological Bulletin

Armenta, A. D., James, K., Bray, J. R., Zárate, M. (2022). National Nostalgia and Prostalgia Predict Support for Black Lives Matter and Creating a New Normal After the Pandemic. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 22(1), 89-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12283

White, K. Bray, J. R., Lang, J., McLeroy, A., Hernandez, S., & McLaughlin, C. (2022). The Intergroup Sensitivity Effect Among Racial Groups in the United States. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302211069962

Book Chapters

Bray, J. R., Armenta, A. D., & Zárate, M. A. (2022). Memory consolidation: The Cornerstone for Gauging Spontaneous Impression Longevity. In Moskowitz, G. & Balcetis, E. (Eds.), The Handbook of First Impressions: A Social Psychological Approach.

Armenta, A. D., Bray, J. R., & Zárate, M. A. (2022). How globalization brought upon by immigration shapes intragroup and intergroup relations. In Katzarska-Miller, I. & Reysen, S. (Eds.), Globalized Identities: The Impact of Globalization on Self and Identity. Pelgrave Macmillan.