Michael J. Bernstein, Ph.D.

(He, Him, His)
Interim Division Head for Social Sciences, Business and Education
Professor of Psychology, Psychological and Social Sciences
Woodland, 236j

Grants, Awards, and Honors

2020 – 2023
National Science Foundation BCS-1946784 and BCS-1946788
Awarded to Co-PI Michael J. Bernstein and Joshua Correll
$459,554 for 36 months

2017 – 2019
Penn State Abington Career Development Professorship
Awarded to PI Michael J. Bernstein
$27,000 for 24 months
Ecological momentary assessment and biobehavioral health on the study of social exclusion

2017 – 2019
Penn State Abington Career Development Professorship
Awarded to PI Michael J. Bernstein 
$27,000.00 for 24 months

2016 – 2017
Association for Psychological Science Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of
Psychological Science
Awarded to PI Michael J. Bernstein and Co-PI Jacob A. Benfield
$5,000.00 for 12 months

2015 – 2017
Proctor and Gamble Corporation
Awarded to PI Michael J. Bernstein
$30,500.00 for 24 months

2013 – 2017
National Science Foundation BCS-1323418 and BCS-1323349
Awarded to Co-PI Michael J. Bernstein and Heather M. Claypool
$325,000.00 for 36 months (additional 12-month extension approved)

2015 – 2016
Penn State University Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) Collaborative Fellowship
$10,000 for 12 months

2013-2016 National Science Foundation BCS-1323418 and BCS-1323349
Awarded to Co-PI Michael J. Bernstein and Heather M. Claypool
$325,000.00 for 36 months (2013-2016)
“Social exclusion as a determinant of individuation and stereotyping”

2014 – 2015                   
Proctor and Gamble Corporation
Awarded to PI Michael J. Bernstein
$10,500.00 for 12 months

AWARDS AND HONORS

2020 Penn State University George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

2017 Elected Fellow, Society for Experimental Social Psychology

2016 Elected Fellow, Midwestern Psychological Association Fellow

2013 - 2014 Penn State Abington “Lion Heart” Award from Class of 2014

2013 - 2014 Penn State Faculty Senate Scholar Award

2012 - 2013 Penn State Faculty Senate Outstanding Teaching Award

2012 - 2013 Penn State Abington Public Scholar Award

Social Ostracism, Face Processing, Stereotyping and Prejudice, Person Perception

(For a complete CV, click the button above)

Deska, J., Kunstman, J., Lloyd, P., Almaraz, A., Bernstein, M. J., Gonzales, J. P., & Hugenberg, K. (2020). Race-based biases in judgments of social pain. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103964 

Kunstman, J., Deska, J., Bernstein, M. J., Ogunbadero, R., & Hugenberg, K. (2020). Black racial phentotypicality shapes social pain and support judgments. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 90. 

Lloyd, E. P., Sim, M., Smalley, E., Bernstein, M. J., & Hugenberg, K. (2020). Good Cop, Bad Cop: Race-Based Differences in Mental Representations of Police. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219898562 

Majka, E.A., White, M., Bowling, L., Garcia, R., Skinner, T., Bennett, K.F., Bernstein, M.J., & Sim, J.J. (2020). The affiliative consequences of same-race and cross-race mimicry. The Journal of Social Psychology, 160, 603-612. 

Schaan, V. K., Schulz, A., Bernstein, M. J., Schächinger, H., & Vögele, C. (2020). Effects of rejection intensity and rejection sensitivity on social approach behavior in women. PloS one, 15(1), e0227799.  

Wirth, J. H., LeRoy, A. S., & Bernstein, M. J. (2020). “You’re such a pain!”: Investigating how psychological pain influences the ostracism of a burdensome group member. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 23, 519-545. 

Bernstein, M. J., Claypool, H. M., Nadzan, M. A., Schuepfer, K., Benfield, J. A., & Nutt, R. J. (2019). Wanting to be around others, right now: Validating the state motivations to foster social connections scale. Journal of Social Psychology, 159, 709-724. 

Bernstein, M. J. & Haines, E., (Eds.). (2019). Emerging perspectives on self and identity. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Claypool, H. M., & Bernstein, M. J. (2019). Exclusion and its impact on social information processing. In S. Rudert, R. Greifeneder, & K. Williams (Eds.), Current Directions in Ostracism, Social Exclusion, and Rejection Research. (pp. 49-64). New York: Psychology Press.  

Bernstein, M. J., Chen, Z., Poon, K T., Benfield, J. A., & Ng, H. K. S. (2018). Ostracized but why? Effects of attributions and empathy on connecting with the socially excluded. PLOS-One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201183 

Bernstein, M. J., Zawadzki, M. J., Juth, V., Benfield, J. A., & Smyth, J. (2018). Social interactions in daily life: Within-person associations between momentary social experiences and psychological and physical health indicators. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35, 372-394. 

Kunstman, J. W., Lloyd, E. P., Tuscherer, T., & Bernstein, M. J., (2017). The face of suspicion: Suspicion of whites’ motives moderates mental representations of whites. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 8, 953-960. 

Wesselmann, E. D., Wirth, J. H., & Bernstein, M. J. (2017). Expectations of social inclusion and exclusion. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 112. 

Wirth, J. H., Bernstein, M. J., Wesselmann, E. D., & LeRoy, A. S. (2017). Social cues establish expectations of rejection and affect the response to being rejected. Group Process and Intergroup Relations, 20, 32-51. 

Bernstein, M. J., (2016). Research in social psychology: Consequences of short- and long-term social exclusion. In Riva, P. & Eck, J. (Eds), Social Exclusion: Psychological approaches to understanding and reducing its impact (pp. 51-72). Switzerland, Springer International Publishing.

Cursan, A., & Bernstein, M. J., Pascual, A., & Felonneua, M. L. (2016). Impact of gendered in-group/out-group ostracism on women’s academic performances. Journal of Social Psychology.

Bernstein, M. J., Sacco, D. F., Young, S. G., Hugenberg, K. (in press). The impact of race and inclusionary status on memory for ingroup and outgroup faces. Basic and Applied Social Psychology.

Klein, R. A., Ratliff, K. A., Vianello, M., Adams, R. B., Jr., Bahník, S., Bernstein, M. J., Bocian, K., Brandt, M. J., Brooks, B., Brumbaugh, C. C., Cemalcilar, Z., Chandler, J., Cheong, W., Davis, W. E., Devos, T., Eisner, M., Frankowska, N., Furrow, D., Galliani, E. M., Hasselman, F., Hicks, J. A., Hovermale, J. F., Hunt, S. J., Huntsinger, J. R., IJzerman, H., John, M., Joy-Gaba, J. A., Kappes, H. B., Krueger, L. E., Kurtz, J., Levitan, C. A., Mallett, R. K., Morris, W. L., Nelson, A. J., Nier, J. A., Packard, G., Pilati, R., Rutchick, A. M., Schmidt, K., Skorinko, J. L., Smith, R., Steiner, T. G., Storbeck, J., Van Swol, L. M., Thompson, D., van 't Veer, A. E., Vaughn, L. A., Vranka, M., Wichman, A. L., Woodzicka, J. A., & Nosek, B. A. (in press). Data from investigating variation in replicability: A "many labs" replication project. Manuscript in press at The Journal of Open Psychology Data.

Sacco, D. F., Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., & Hugenberg, K. (in press). Reactions to social inclusion and exclusion as a function of perceived ingroup similarity. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Wirth, J. H., Turchan, P. J., Zimmerman, A. G., & Bernstein, M. J. (in press). Atimia: A novel group-based paradigm for manipulating ostracism and group members’ performance. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Claypool, H. M., & Bernstein, M. J. (2014). Social exclusion and stereotyping: Why and when exclusion fosters individuation of others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106, 571.

*Gillmor, K., Bernstein, M. J., Benfield, J. A. (2014). Have you no shame? Infrahumanization of promiscuous sexual assault victims as moderated by dispositional and situational Just World orientation. Journal of Student Research, 3, 34-45 

Klein, R. A., Ratliff, K. A., Vianello, M., Adams, R. B., Jr., Bahník, Š., Bernstein, M. J., Bocian, K., Brandt, M. J., Brooks, B., Brumbaugh, C. C., Cemalcilar, Z., Chandler, J., Cheong, W., Davis, W. E., Devos, T., Eisner, M., Frankowska, N., Furrow, D., Galliani, E. M., Hasselman, F., Hicks, J. A., Hovermale, J. F., Hunt, S. J., Huntsinger, J. R., IJzerman, H., John, M., Joy-Gaba, J. A., Kappes, H. B., Krueger, L. E., Kurtz, J., Levitan, C. A., Mallett, R., Morris, W. L., Nelson, A. J., Nier, J. A., Packard, G., Pilati, R., Rutchick, A. M., Schmidt, K., Skorinko, J. L., Smith, R., Steiner, T. G., Storbeck, J., Van Swol, L. M., Thompson, D., van’t Veer, A., Vaughn, L. A., Vranka, M., Wichman, A., Woodzicka, J. A., & Nosek, B. A. (2014). Investigating variation in replicability: A “many labs” replication project. Social Psychology, 45, 142-152.

*Standish, A., Benfield, J. A., Bernstein, M. J., & Tragresser, S. (2014). Characteristics of borderline personality disorder and disgust sensitivity. The Psychological Record, 1-9.

Wilson, J. P., See, P. E., Hugenberg, K., Bernstein, M. J., & Chartier, C. R. (2014). Anticipated interaction moderates the own-group bias in face recognition. PLOS One, 9, e90668.

Zhansheng, C., Bernstein, M. J., Poon, K. T., & Teng, F. (2014). Rejecting another pains the self: The impact of perceived future rejection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 50, 225-233.

Bernstein, M. J., Claypool, H. M., Young, S. G., Tuscherer, T., Sacco, D. F., & Brown, C. M. (2013). Never let them see you cry: Self-presentation as a moderator of the relationship between exclusion and self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 

Bernstein, M. J. & Benfield, J. A. (2013). Past perspectives are related to present relationships: Past-positive and negative time perspectives differentially predict rejection sensitivity. The Psychological Record, 63, 615-628.

Wilson, J. P., Hugenberg, K. J., & Bernstein, M. J. (2013). The Cross-Race effect and eyewitness identification: How to improve recognition and reduce decision errors in eyewitness situations. Social Interest and Policy Review, 7, 83-113.

Zell, E., & Bernstein, M. J. (2013). You may think you’re right… Young adults are more liberal than they realize. Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Bernstein, M. J., & Claypool, H. M. (2012a). Social exclusion and pain sensitivity: Why exclusion sometimes hurts and sometimes numbs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 185-196.

Bernstein, M. J., & Claypool, H. M. (2012b). Not all social exclusions are created equal: Emotional distress following social exclusion is moderated by exclusion paradigm. Social Influence, 7, 113-130.

Claypool, H. M., Housley, M. K., Hugenberg, K., Bernstein, M. J., & Mackie, D. M. (2012). Easing in: Fluent processing brings others into the ingroup. Group Process and Intergroup Relations, 15, 441-455.

Lee, E. A., Soto, J. A., Swim, J. K., & Bernstein, M. J. (2012). Bitter reproach or sweet revenge: Cultural differences in response to racism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 920-932 

Oikawa, K., Odero, G. L., Platt, E., Hatherwell, A., Bernstein, M. J., Albensi, B. C. (2012). NF-kB p50 Subunit Knockout Impairs Late LTP and Alters Long Term Memory in the Mouse. Biomedical Central Neuroscience, 13:45. 

*Ratcliff, N. J. & Bernstein, M. J., Cundiff, J. L., & Vescio T. K. (2012). Seeing wrath from the top (through stratified lenses): Perceivers high in social dominance orientation show superior anger identification for high-status individuals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1373-1376.

Sacco, D. F., Young, S. G., Brown, C. M., Bernstein, M. J., & Hugenberg, K. (2012). Social exclusion and female mating behavior: Rejected women show strategic enhancement of short-term mating interest. Evolutionary Psychology, 10, 573-587.

Young, S. G., Hugenberg, K. J., Bernstein, M. J., & Sacco, D. F. (2012). Perception and motivation in face recognition: A critical review of theories of the Cross Race Effect. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16, 116-142.

Hugenberg, K., Young, S.G., Sacco, D.F., & Bernstein, M.J. (2011). Social categorization influences face perception and face memory. In A.J. Calder, G. Rhodes, J.V. Haxby, and M. H. Johnson, (Eds.), The Handbook of Face Perception. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

*Ratcliff, N., Hugenberg, K., Shriver, E., & Bernstein, M. J. (2011). The allure of power: The effect of status on face memory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1003-1015.

Sacco, D. F., Brown, C. M., Young, S. G., Bernstein, M. J., & Hugenberg, K. (2011). Social inclusion facilitates risky mating behavior in men. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 985-998.

Bernstein, M. J., Sacco, D. F., Brown, C. M., Young, S. G., & Claypool, H. M. (2010). A preference for genuine smiles following social exclusion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 196-199.

Bernstein, M. J., Sacco, D. F., Young, S. G., Hugenberg, K., & Cook, E. (2010). Being ‘in’ with the in crowd: The effects of social exclusion and inclusion are enhanced by the perceived essentialism of ingroups and outgroups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 999-1009.

Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., & Claypool, H. M. (2010). Obama’s win is a gain for Blacks? Changes in implicit prejudice following the 2008 election. Social Psychology, 41, 147-151.

Hugenberg, K., Young, Bernstein, M. J., S. G., & Sacco, D. (2010). The categorization-individuation model: An integrative account of the cross race recognition deficit. Psychological Review, 117, 1168-1187.

Sacco, D. F. & Bernstein, M. J. (2010). A video introduction to psychology: Using technology to facilitate interest and participation in psychology research. Journal of Teaching Psychology, 37, 28-31.

Young S.G., Bernstein, M.J., & Hugenberg, K. (2010). When do Own-Group Biases in face recognition occur? Encoding versus recognition. Social Cognition, 28, 140-150. 

Brown, C. M., Young, S. G., Sacco, D. F., Bernstein, M. J., & Claypool, H. M. (2009). Social inclusion facilitates interests in mating. Evolutionary Psychology, 7, 11-27. 

Young, S. G., Bernstein, M. J., & Claypool, H. M. (2009). Rejected by the nation: The electoral defeat of candidates included in the self is experienced as personal rejection. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 9, 315-326.

Young, S.G., Hugenberg, K., Bernstein, M.J., & Sacco, D.F. (2009). Interracial context debilitate same-race face recognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1123-1126.

Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., Brown, C. M., Sacco, D. F., & Claypool, H. M. (2008). Adaptive responses to social exclusion: Social rejection improves detection of real and fake smiles. Psychological Science, 19, 981-983. 

Shriver, E., Young, S. G., Hugenberg, K., Bernstein, M. J., & Lanter, J. (2008). Class, race, and the face: Social context modulates the cross-race effect in face recognition. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 260-274.

Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., & Hugenberg, K. (2007). The cross-category effect: Mere social categorization is sufficient to elicit an own-group bias in face recognition. Psychological Science, 18, 706-712.

Ph D, Social Psychology, Miami University

MA, Social Psychology, Miami University

BA, Psychology, Philosophy, Muhlenberg College