Jerry Burger's recent research has focused largely on social influence, particularly compliance. He recently conducted a partial replication of Stanley Milgram’s famous obedience studies that allowed for useful comparisons with the original investigations while protecting the well-being of participants. The research was featured in the January 3, 2007, broadcast of ABC News’ Primetime. You can see a short summary of that broadcast at:

http://a.abcnews.com/Primetime/story?id=2765416&page=1

You can purchase a copy of the broadcast for $17.95 at:

http://www.amazon.com/ABC-News-Primetime-Basic-Instincts/dp/B000VHY8DW/

You can read some reactions to the research here:

New York Times editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29mon3.html?r=1
APA Monitor: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/05/ethics.html

Professor Burger also has conducted research on the perception of and motivation for personal control. He developed the Desirability of Control Scale to measure individual differences in the extent to which people prefer to feel in control of their environment. In 1992, he published a book reviewing research with the DC Scale. Professor Burger's undergraduate personality textbook (Thomson/Wadsworth) is now in its eighth edition. The book bridges the traditional theories approach to understanding personality with current research in the field.

Primary Interests:

Interpersonal Processes
Motivation, Goal Setting
Personality, Individual Differences
Persuasion, Social Influence
Social Cognition

Interpersonal Processes
Motivation, Goal Setting
Personality, Individual Differences

Persuasion, Social Influence
Social Cognition

Books:

Journal Articles:

Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today? American Psychologist, 64, 1-11.
Burger, J. M. (1999). The foot-in-the-door compliance procedure: A multiple-process analysis and review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 303-325.
Burger, J. M., & Caldwell, D. C. (2003). The effects of monetary incentives and labeling on the foot-in-the-door effect: Evidence for a self-perception process. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 25, 235-241.
Burger, J. M., & Cornelius, T. (2003). Raising the price of agreement: Public commitment and the low-ball compliance procedure. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 923-934.
Burger, J. M., Ehrlichman, A. M., Raymond, N. C., Ishikawa, J. M., & Sandoval, J. (2006). Reciprocal favor exchange and compliance. Social Influence, 1, 169-184.
Burger, J. M., & Guadagno, R. E. (2003). Self-concept clarity and the foot-in-the-door procedure. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 25, 79-86.
Burger, J. M., Hornisher, J., Martin, V. E., Newman, G., & Pringle, S. (2007). The pique technique: Overcoming mindlessness or shifting heuristics? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 2086-2096.
Burger, J. M., & Lynn, A. L. (2005). Superstitious behavior among American and Japanese professional baseball players. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 27, 71-76.
Burger, J. M., Messian, N., Patel, S., del Prado, A., & Anderson, C. (2004). What a coincidence! The effects of incidental similarity on compliance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 35-43.
Burger, J. M., Soroka, S., Gonzago, K., Murphy, E., & Somervell, E. (2001). The effect of fleeting attraction on compliance to requests. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1578-1586.

Other Publications:

Burger, J. M. (2002). Four decades and counting [Review of the book Obedience to authority: Current perspectives on the Milgram paradigm]. Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 47, 665-667.
Burger, J. M. (1998). Solitude. In H. S. Friedman (Ed.), The encyclopedia of mental health (pp. 563-569). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
The Desirability of Control Scale

Courses Taught:

Personality
Psychology As a Social Science
Research Methods
Research Practicum
Social Psychology
Writing in Psychology

Personality
Psychology As a Social Science
Research Methods

Research Practicum
Social Psychology
Writing in Psychology

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Jerry Burger
Department of Psychology
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
United States

Phone: (408) 544-4489