BIAS Lab
Bailey Identity And Social Cognition Lab
Led by Dr. April H. Bailey at the University of Edinburgh, the BIAS lab investigates questions about gender and other social groups. We use approaches from social psychology, cognitive psychology, experimental philosophy, and computational linguistics.
For example in one line of research, we investigate how people represent foundational human concepts, such as the idea of a PERSON. This concept shapes decision-making across domains. In the consumer domain, product designers make potentially costly decisions about what a typical “person” needs and wants. In the legal domain, jurors make decisions based on what a "reasonable person" might do.
In theory, the concept of a person applies to all people. In practice, we find the concept prioritizes men over women and White people over people of other race/ethnicities.
Through our research, the BIAS Lab seeks to understand how underlying psychological processes contribute to social inequities. Ultimately, we hope to help create a more equitable society for all. Our research has been featured in popular outlets including Scientific American and Psychology Today.
Lab Director
Postdoctoral training, NYU
Ph.D., Yale University
B.A., Colgate University
Bio: I am a Lecturer of Psychology (Assistant Professor equivalent) at the University of Edinburgh. Outside the lab, I enjoy cycling and reading fantasy, sci-fi, and philosophy.
Curriculum Vitae
2024 APS Rising Star ⭐ recognizes outstanding early-career researchers
Trish Burkins
Ph.D. Student
MSc in Psychology, University of New Hampshire
Bio: I'm a Ph.D. Student in social psychology at the University of New Hampshire, working with Dr. Bailey in the BIAS Lab. Originally from Middlebury VT, I graduated from Ithaca College in 2021. I love painting, games, and meeting new people!
Research Interests: My current work in the BIAS lab is investigating the interaction between gender, androcentrism, and personhood, with further research into the mechanisms behind this interaction currently on the horizon.
Jenny Jones
Prof. Research Assistant
MSc in Dev. LInguistics, University of Edinburgh
Bio: Having worked extensively as an English foreign language teacher, teacher trainer, mentor and translator, I have a thorough understanding of language systems and acquisition, especially between English, Spanish and Catalan. However, it was raising trilingual children that motivated me to investigate multilingualism with the aim of improving educational outcomes for children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Research Interests: My current research examines whether number information is processed differently for bilinguals in each of their languages. In combination with this study I also work for Bilingualism Matters, an international network for disseminating knowledge about bilingualism.
Em Bolton
Ph.D. Student
MSc in Social Psychology, University of Edinburgh
Bio: I'm a PhD Student at the University of Edinburgh, currently working in an overlap of moral, social, and political psychology alongside Dr. Adam Moore and Dr. April Bailey. I enjoy wildlife, climbing and beachcombing.
Research Interests: My previous research stems from Forensic Psychology, particularly involving sexual homicide and sexual assault. This transitioned to Intimate Partner Violence during my MSc and I now use a similar framework to look at the rise of authoritarianism in the US.
Pre-Doc Students
Darren Ewy
Wenrui Wu
Maya Sellier
Xinyue Yu
MSc Thesis Students
University of Edinburgh
Sara Austad
Lola Beck
Grace Murray
Willow Soning
Year 4 Dissertation Students
University of Edinburgh
Imogen Leather
Ellie Freel
Xintong Luo
Rosie Eastwood
Year 4 Dissertation Students
University of Edinburgh
Abigail Michaels
Senior Independent Study Student
University of New Hampshire
Affiliates & Collaborators
Sofía
Briones
Lab Manager
Haverford College
Dr. Andrei Cimpian
Professor of Psychology
NYU
Dr. Felix
Danbold
Associate Professor
UCL (SOM)
Dr. Jo Demaree-Cotton
Research Fellow at the Ueirho Center
Oxford
Dr. Jack
Dovidio
Professor of Psychology
Yale
Ingrid
Friedman
PhD Student in Psychology
Drexel
Shan
Gao
PhD Student in Psychology
University of Hawaii
Dr. Adriana L. Germano
Assistant Professor of OB
Yale (SOM)
Dr. Zach
Horne
Lecturer
(Assistant Prof.)
University of Edinburgh
Dr. Jonas
Kunst
Professor of Psychology
University of Oslo
Dr. Benedek Kurdi
Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of Illinois UC
Maya
Kreitman
PhD student in Psychology
The Chicago School
Dr. Rachel
Leshin
Postdoctoral Fellow
Princeton
Faisal Mohammad
Lab Manager
NUS, Medicine
Jialin
Zhou
MSc Student
University of Chicago
BIAS Lab Research and Media Highlights
2024: New paper in press! Bailey, A. H., Ikizer, E., Dembroff, R., Wodak, D., & Cimpian, A. (in press). People's beliefs about pronouns reflect both the language they speak and their ideologies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
2024: New paper in press! Bailey, A. H., Williams, A., Poddar, A., Cimpian, A. (in press). Intersectional male-centric and White-centric biases in collective concepts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
2023: Bailey, A. H., & Knobe, J. (2023). Biological essentialism correlates with (but doesn’t cause?) intergroup bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
2023: Dr. Bailey spoke about our research on the Opinion Science podcast
2022: Bailey, A. H., Williams, A., & Cimpian, A. (2022). Based on billions of words on the internet, PEOPLE = MEN. Science Advances. (Media Coverage)
BIAS Lab News
2025: Dr. Bailey shared the BIAS Lab's research with the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago and the Management & Organization group at Kellogg, Northwestern. Thank you for the invitations. ✈️
2025: Dr. Bailey and BIAS lab affiliates Jialin Zhou and Sofía Briones presented our research at SPSP in Denver, CO. ✈️
2025: Jenny Jones joined the BIAS Lab as a professional research assistant with expertise in translation and linguistics. Welcome!
2024: The BIAS Lab was awarded a PPLS Small Project Grant from UoE
2024: Em Bolton joins the lab as a PhD student
2024: The BIAS Lab moved to the University of Edinburgh (UoE) in Scotland ✈️ 🏴
2024: Congratulations to BIAS Lab graduating seniors: Will Gaudreau, Erin Luckern, and Niko McPherson! 🎓
2024: PhD student Trish successfully defended their master's! Congratulations to Trish Burkins, M.S. 🎓
2024: Research assistant Natalie Wagner received the psychology department's award for an outstanding junior student. Way to go Natalie! 🏆
2024: Research assistants Sadie and Abigail received competitive summer funding fellowships through the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research ("SURFs"). Congratulations Sadie and Abigail!
2024: Dr. Bailey shared the BIAS Lab's research with psychology departments around the country and around the world! Thank you to Edinburgh, NYU, the University of Deleware, and others for having us. ✈️
2024: Dr. Bailey received a Knowledge Frontier's grant as a co-I from the British Academy. This grant will facilitate a new line of work on gender, autonomy, and consent with a team of philosophers at Oxford.
2024: PhD student Trish Burkins received a competitive summer funding fellowship, the "STAFF". Congrats Trish! 🏆
2024: Dr. Bailey is selected as a ⭐ Rising Star ⭐ by the Association for Psychological Science. 🏆
2024: The BIAS Lab was awarded a research grant through the Global, Racial, and Social Inequality Lab at UNH.
2023: Dr. Bailey presented research led by PhD student Trish Burkins at the SESP conference in Wisconsin. ✈️
2023: Sofía Briones joined the BIAS Lab as a research coordinator. Welcome Sofía!
2023: Dr. Bailey shared the BIAS Lab's research with psychology departments around the country and around the world! Thank you to UCONN, NYU Abu Dhabi, Maryland, and others for having us. ✈️
2023: The BIAS Lab welcomed research assistants Cade, Courtney, Mi, Will G., Will C., Abigail, Sadie, and Niko to the lab. Welcome!
2023: The BIAS Lab presented research posters at the "Live Free" Symposium in Durham, New Hampshire.
2023: Research Coordinator Nich DiMaggio is accepted to the Chicago Booth School of Business Behavioral Science PhD Program. Congrats Nich!
2023: The BIAS Lab was awarded a research grant and summer funding through the Global, Racial, and Social Inequality Lab at UNH.
2023: The BIAS Lab welcomed research assistants Alexandra, Erin, and Paige to the lab.
2022: The BIAS Lab is founded at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).