Heather Bullock
My research focuses on social psychological dimensions of poverty and economic (in)justice.
I am interested in how members of different socioeconomic groups understand and justify poverty and wealth, as well as their own relative status. Much of my work focuses on identifying the beliefs that predict support for a wide range of welfare and anti-poverty policies.
I also study interpersonal classism in the lives of low-income women. I am documenting the conditions under which classist behaviors are most likely to occur and intersections of classism, racism, and sexism. Of special concern is discrimination that occurs in social service settings (e.g., medical care, public assistance).
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Causal Attribution
- Gender Psychology
- Political Psychology
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Sociology, Social Networks
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Challenging the Myth of Meritocracy and the Widening Economic Divide
Books:
- Belle, D., & Bullock, H. E. (2023). The psychology of poverty, wealth, and economic inequality. Cambridge. UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Bullock, H.E. (2013). Women and poverty: Psychology, public policy, and social justice (part of SPSSI’s Contemporary Social Issues Book Series). Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Lott, B., & Bullock, H. E. (2007). Psychology and economic injustice: Personal, professional, and political intersections. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Rank, M. R., Eppard, L. M., & Bullock, H. E. (2021). Poorly understood: What America gets wrong about poverty. New York: Oxford University Press.
Journal Articles:
- Bullock, H. E. (1999). Attributions for poverty: A comparison of middle class and welfare recipient attitudes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 2059-2082.
- Bullock, H. E., & Fernald, J. L. (2005). Predicting support for the elimination of the dividend tax: The role of framing and attributions for wealth. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 5, 49-66.
- Bullock, H. E., & Fernald, J. L. (2003). "Feminism lite?" Feminist identification, speaker appearance, and perceptions of feminist and antifeminist messengers. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 291-299.
- Bullock, H. E., & Limbert, W. M. (2003). Scaling the socioeconomic ladder: Women's perceptions of class status and opportunity. Journal of Social Issues, 59, 693-709.
- Bullock, H. E., Williams, W. R., & Limbert, W. M. (2003) Predicting support for welfare policies: The impact of attributions and beliefs about inequality. Journal of Poverty, 7, 35-56.
- Bullock, H. E., Wyche, K. F., & Williams, W. R. (2001). Media images of the poor. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 229-246.
- Downing, R. A., LaVeist, T. A., & Bullock, H. E. (2007). Intersections of ethnicity and social class in provider advice regarding reproductive health. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 1803-1807.
- Limbert, W. M., & Bullock, H. E. (2009). Framing U.S. redistributive policies: Tough love for poor women and tax cuts for seniors. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 9, 57-83.
- Limbert, W. M., & Bullock, H. E. (2005). "Playing the fool:" U.S. welfare policy from a critical race perspective. Feminism and Psychology, 15, 253-274.
Other Publications:
- Bullock, H. E. (1995). Class acts: Middle class responses to the poor. In B. Lott and D. Maluso (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Interpersonal Discrimination. New York: Guilford Press.
Courses Taught:
- Advanced Social Research
- Justice/Society/Policy
- Psychology of Poverty
- Psychology of Women
- The Social Psychology of Social Class and Poverty
Heather Bullock
Department of Psychology
359 Social Sciences II
University of California
Santa Cruz, California 95064
United States of America
- Phone: (831) 459-5018