About

Melissa Ferguson is a professor of psychology at Yale University, with a background in experimental social psychology. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology from New York University in 2002. Prior to her current position at Yale, she was a faculty member in the psychology department at Cornell University from 2002 to 2020. Her research focuses on the implicit cognitive processes that enable evaluation, goal-pursuit, self-control, and social behavior. Her recent research topics include how individuals can update their impressions of others, how they control their behavior, and how they express prejudice. Her work has been published in prominent outlets such as Psychological Science, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Research topics

• Social Science
• Social psychology
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Psychotherapist

Selected publications

• The role of diagnosticity in judging robot competence

  Scientific Reports · 2026-02-06

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Previous research showed people’s explicit (vs. implicit) competence impressions were more sensitive to a robot’s single inconsistent (“oddball”) behavior. We report nine pre-registered studies (N = 3,735 online participants) testing the scope and underlying causes of this dissociation. We found that the dissociation (a) generalized to industrial robots, surgical robots, and self-driving cars; (b) replicated with structurally aligned direct and indirect measures of competence; and (c) is at least partially explained by the diagnosticity of the evidence. We discuss implications for social cognition and human-robot interaction research.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Temporal Dynamics of Self-Control

  2025-01-22

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Self-control—the ability to pursue long-term goals over short-term temptations—is a critical faculty of human cognition, but the cognitive processes enabling self-control are not well understood. Traditional models have focused on impulse inhibition: effortfully inhibiting prepotent motor responses towards a temptation, yielding a stage-based evolution of choice. Other models emphasize dynamic competition between goal and temptation, yielding a more integrative evolution of choice. Although these models represent fundamentally different conceptions of self-control, current methods are inadequate for investigating real-time dynamics, leaving the question of which model best describes self-control unresolved. We investigate these models using mouse-tracking: a dynamic, real-time measure of decision-making in which we measure participants’ computer mouse movements as they navigate tradeoffs between immediate and delayed gratification (e.g., $5 today vs. $20 in 3 months). We develop a novel quantitative approach that integrates the rich spatial and temporal information contained in mouse trajectories, and find evidence for both impulse inhibition and dynamic competition. Notably, impulse inhibition is less frequent, occurring in only one-quarter of choices favoring larger later rewards over smaller sooner ones. We further find substantial individual variability on who relies on impulse inhibition, with more present-biased individuals more likely to use impulse inhibition to choose larger-later options. Finally, our approach reveals the diverse variability within impulse inhibition and dynamic competition, and accounting for this variability greatly strengthened models predicting out-of-sample choices. Our findings clarify the mechanisms underlying self-control and introduce a robust tool for quantifying real-time decision-making dynamics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cognitive underpinnings and ecological correlates of implicit bias against non-Americans in the United States

  Scientific Reports · 2025-04-30

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Of the 330 million residents of the United States, over 40 million were born abroad. Such individuals are routinely referred to using labels such as "alien," "foreigner," and "noncitizen." In this multimethod project relying on data from 5437 U.S. citizens in experimental studies and 193,649 U.S. citizens in archival studies, we examine implicit (automatic) evaluations of non-Americans in the United States, their effects on impression formation, and their ecological correlates in the form of real-life outcomes. In Studies 1A-1C, the labels "alien," "foreigner," and "noncitizen" were found to be highly and similarly implicitly negative. In Studies 2A-2D, applying these labels to specific individuals created immediate implicit negativity toward them, irrespective of their gender or race. Finally, pro-American/anti-foreigner implicit evaluations predicted anti-immigrant policy positions at the level of individuals (Study 3A), and a conceptually and statistically related implicit White-American/Asian-foreign implicit stereotype predicted anti-immigrant voting patterns in 18 relevant ballot initiatives at the level of U.S. counties (Study 3B). Across studies, implicit anti-foreigner bias generalized across participant demographics but was somewhat stronger among men and political conservatives. Together, this work highlights the cognitive underpinnings and real-world correlates of robust and pervasive anti-foreigner biases in the United States.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Future of Women in Psychological Science

  UNC Libraries · 2025-06-27

  articleOpen access

  There has been extensive discussion about gender gaps in representation and career advancement in the sciences. However, psychological science itself has yet to be the focus of discussion or systematic review, despite our field's investment in questions of equity, status, well-being, gender bias, and gender disparities. In the present article, we consider 10 topics relevant for women's career advancement in psychological science. We focus on issues that have been the subject of empirical study, discuss relevant evidence within and outside of psychological science, and draw on established psychological theory and social-science research to begin to chart a path forward. We hope that better understanding of these issues within the field will shed light on areas of existing gender gaps in the discipline and areas where positive change has happened, and spark conversation within our field about how to create lasting change to mitigate remaining gender differences in psychological science.

  PublisherDOI

• Revisiting the role of associative learning in attitude formation and change

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2025-05-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• When Robots are Surprising: The Role of Cue Diagnosticity in Judging Robot Competence

  Research Square · 2025-03-11

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Do Professional Errors Differentially Impact Women and Men? A Crowdsourced Test

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2025-07-01

  article

  Is the status of counter-stereotypical men and women more fragile, leading them to face steeper penalties for professional mistakes? Drawing generalizable conclusions about this is challenging due to the diversity of performance domains and career outcomes. To test the robustness of the

  PublisherDOI

• The Temporal Dynamics of Self-Control

  2025-07-02

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Self-control—the ability to pursue long-term goals over short-term temptations—is a critical faculty of human cognition, but the cognitive processes enabling self-control are not well understood. Traditional models have focused on impulse inhibition: effortfully inhibiting prepotent motor responses towards a temptation, yielding a stage-based evolution of choice. Other models emphasize dynamic competition between goal and temptation, yielding a more integrative evolution of choice. Although these models represent fundamentally different conceptions of self-control, current methods are inadequate for investigating real-time dynamics, leaving the question of which model best describes self-control unresolved. We investigate these models using mouse-tracking: a dynamic, real-time measure of decision-making in which we measure participants’ computer mouse movements as they navigate tradeoffs between immediate and delayed gratification (e.g., $5 today vs. $20 in 3 months). We develop a novel quantitative approach that integrates the rich spatial and temporal information contained in mouse trajectories, and find evidence for both impulse inhibition and dynamic competition. Notably, impulse inhibition is less frequent, occurring in only one-quarter of choices favoring larger later rewards over smaller sooner ones. We further find substantial individual variability on who relies on impulse inhibition, with more present-biased individuals more likely to use impulse inhibition to choose larger-later options. Finally, our approach reveals the diverse variability within impulse inhibition and dynamic competition, and accounting for this variability greatly strengthened models predicting out-of-sample choices. Our findings clarify the mechanisms underlying self-control and introduce a robust tool for quantifying real-time decision-making dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• The temporal dynamics of self-control

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-11-03 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Self-control—the ability to pursue long-term goals over short-term temptations—is a critical faculty of human cognition, but the cognitive processes enabling self-control are not well understood. Traditional models have focused on impulse inhibition: effortfully inhibiting prepotent motor responses toward a temptation, yielding a stage-based evolution of choice. Other models emphasize dynamic competition between goal and temptation, yielding a more integrative evolution of choice. Although these models represent fundamentally different conceptions of self-control, current methods are inadequate for investigating real-time dynamics, leaving the question of which model best describes self-control unresolved. We investigate these models using mouse-tracking: a dynamic, real-time measure of decision-making in which we measure participants’ computer mouse movements as they navigate tradeoffs between immediate and delayed gratification (e.g., $5 today vs. $20 in 3 mo). We develop a quantitative approach that integrates the rich spatial and temporal information contained in mouse trajectories, and find evidence for both impulse inhibition and dynamic competition. Notably, impulse inhibition is less frequent, occurring in only one-quarter of choices favoring larger later rewards over smaller sooner ones. We further find substantial individual variability on who relies on impulse inhibition, with more present-biased individuals more likely to use impulse inhibition to choose larger-later options. Finally, our approach reveals the diverse variability within impulse inhibition and dynamic competition, and accounting for this variability greatly strengthened models predicting out-of-sample choices. Our findings clarify the mechanisms underlying self-control and introduce a robust tool for quantifying real-time decision-making dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Community College Stigma: Evaluating the Predictive Roles of Grit, Academic Self-Concept, and Imposter Phenomenon

  Psi Beta Research Journal - Brief Reports · 2025-12-30

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Stigma affects roughly 40% of undergraduate students in the United States, all of whom attend community colleges (CCRC, 2025). It compromises a student’s academic self-concept while leading to increased impostor feelings and a decrease in motivation (Cokley et al., 2015). The current study examined whether community college stigma can be predicted by grit, impostor phenomenon, and academic self-concept. We hypothesized that grit and academic self-concept negatively predict stereotype internalization and meta stereotype awareness, while impostor phenomenon positively predicts stereotype internalization and meta stereotype awareness. Secondly, we hypothesized that stereotype internalization negatively correlates with future academic and professional pursuits. Data were collected as part of the Psi Beta National Research Project (N = 2,035). A multiple regression analysis found that the selected variables accounted for 42% of stereotype internalization; identification with academics, grade point average, and grit negatively predicted stereotype internalization, while impostor phenomenon positively predicted stereotype internalization. Another multiple regression analysis found that the selected variables accounted for 12% of meta-stereotype awareness; identification with academics and grit negatively predicted meta-stereotype awareness, while impostor phenomenon and grade point average positively predicted meta-stereotype awareness. Lastly, a weak negative correlation between stereotype internalization and future academic and professional pursuits was found. The results support that the selected variables predict stereotype internalization, while also predicting meta-stereotype awareness. These findings suggest that stigma could be decreased by prioritizing one’s passion and perseverance in their pursuits, increasing study time, involvement in campus activities, and confidence in one’s abilities.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• How national cues increase prejudice among intra-national racial groups: Testing behavioral implications, boundaries, and mechanisms

  NSF · $273k · 2013–2017

• NIH Grant R03MH067877

  NIH · $79k · 2004

• NIH Grant R21AG04266201A1

  NIH · $160k · 2015

• NIH Grant R21AG04266202

  NIH · $161k · 2017

Frequent coauthors

• Benedek Kurdi

  50 shared

• Ian Hussey

  41 shared

• Christoph Stahl

  41 shared

• Sean Hughes

  41 shared

• Olivier Corneille

  UCLouvain

  39 shared

• Ran R. Hassin

  Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  32 shared

• Thomas C. Mann

  30 shared

• Xi Shen

  University of Pennsylvania

  23 shared