Kayla Burd, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Applied Social Cognition and Law

Psychology and Law - Cognition/Cognitive Development

Dr. Burd will be reviewing graduate applications for Fall of 2025

Ph.D., Cornell University, 2018

M.A., Cornell University, 2016

M.S., Arizona State University, 2013

B.A., Hofstra University, 2010

kburd@uwyo.edu; Biological Science Building 133

Research Interests

•  Social cognitive processes in legal decision making within:

  • Eyewitnesses

  • Police Officers

  • Jurors

• Impact of extra-legal biases on perception, memory, reasoning, and decision-making

 Social Cognition and Law Lab

Academic Positions

Assistant Professor, University of Wyoming, 2020-Present
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Iowa State University, 2018-2020 

Teaching

Advanced Cognitive Development
Cognitive Psychology
General Psychology
Judgment and Decision-making
Psychology and Law

Current Graduate Students:

Amanda Anzovino, M.S.
Olivia Grella, M.A., M.S.
Jaylan Aliev, M.S.

Representative Publications

Burd, K. A., Burrow, A. L., & Guyll, M. (in press). Pulling away from the trigger: The influence of purpose in life and self-affirmation on decisions to shoot. Frontiers: Psychology.

Madon, S., Burd, K. A., & Guyll, M. (in press). Inconclusive forensic decisions disadvantage the innocent via their downstream effects. Law and Human Behavior.

Koch, M. K., Burd, K. A., & Mendel, J. (in press). Same crime, same time? Effects of maturation level, race, and gender in ambiguous legal scenarios. Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Guyll, M., Madon, S., Yang, Y., Burd, K. A., & Wells, G. L. (2023). Validity of forensic cartridge-case comparisons. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(20), e2210428120.

^Choi, S., Burd, K. A., & *Choi, A. (2022). Looking hateworthy: An investigation of the relationship between Chinese phenotypicality and COVID-19-related prejudice and discrimination. Race and Justice. 

Ratner, K., Burrow, A. L., Burd, K. A., & Hill, P. L. (2021). On the conflation of purpose and meaning in life: A qualitative study of high school and college student conceptions. Applied Developmental Science, 25(4), 364-384. 

Burd, K. A., & McQuiston, D. E. (2019). Facility dogs in the courtroom: Comfort without prejudice? Criminal Justice Review, 44, 515-536. 

Burd, K. A., & Hans, V. P. (2018). Reasoned verdicts: Oversold? Cornell International Law Journal, 51, 319-360.

Burd, K. A., & Burrow, A. L. (2017). Conceptualizing similarities and differences between purpose in life and self-affirmation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11, e12366.

Helm, R. K., Ceci, S. J., & Burd, K. A. (2016). Can implicit associations distinguish true and false eyewitness memory? Developing and testing the IATe. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 34, 803-819.

Helm, R. K., Ceci, S. J., & Burd, K. A. (2016). Unpacking insanity defence standards: An experimental study of rationality and control tests in criminal law. The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 8, 63-68.

Hritz, A. C., Royer, C. E., Helm, R. K., Burd, K. A., Ojeda, K., & Ceci, S. J. (2015). Children’s suggestibility research: Things to know before interviewing a child. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica, 25, 3-12.