August 17, 1999
Monica R. Biernat (pronounced BUR-NAT) is one of two national winners of the APA's annual Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contribution to Psychology Award in social psychology. Biernat shares the award with C. Neil Macrae, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
The APA announced the winners this spring and will present the awards Aug. 20 to 24 at the APA's annual convention in Boston. Biernat is unable to attend the awards ceremony.
Recipients of the awards must have held a Ph.D. degree for less than nine years. Several early career awards are given each year to scholars in different areas of psychology. This year's awards were granted in the fields of social psychology, perception/motor performance, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, individual differences and applied research.
Biernat earned a Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1989. She came to KU in 1992 from the University of Florida at Gainesville, where she began her teaching career in 1989.
Greg Simpson, chair and professor of KU's psychology department said: "Professor Biernat really fits the ideal of the teacher-scholar. Her teaching has been outstanding, and now to have her research program recognized in this national award makes the department very proud. We're also pleased that it is a KU faculty member who is recognized as a leader in research addressing the very serious issues of prejudice and stereotyping in our society. KU has always had an excellent social psychology program, and Professor Biernat is one of the reasons we're confident of the program's continued strength."
The award recognizes Biernat's research on the shifting standard phenomenon, which demonstrates that the same stereotype can lead people to judge members of different groups by different standards.
An example of the use of shifting standards would be an employer who regards women as less competent than men. This stereotype would lead the employer to have lower expectations for women and consequently set lower standards. Occasionally such an employer may be impressed when a woman employee performs above the lower standard, but Biernat's research suggests that the employer's negative stereotyping isn't likely to change.
Her research has shown: "the female employee is nonetheless required to do much better than her male counterpart to prove that her performance is ability-based," Biernat said. "Thus a good performance is unlikely to lead to career advancement for the woman or to change the stereotype that women are less competent."
Since coming to KU in 1992, Biernat has received research grants exceeding $1.1 million from the National Institute of Mental Health. One series of studies by Biernat examined how negative stereotypes of blacks and of women may affect their employment or admissions opportunities.
Contact: Mary Jane Dunlap, University Relations (785) 864-8853 or e-mail mjdunlap@ukans.edu