Campus Directory

Division Social Sciences Division

Department/College/Unit Psychology Department

Title Distinguished Professor

Affiliation Faculty

Faculty Type Regular Faculty

Areas of Expertise Social Psychology
Women's Studies
Violence and Violence Prevention
Social Justice
Sexuality
Feminist Studies
Sexism and Gender Bias
Gender Studies
Mass Media
Popular Culture

Web Site

Primary Office Location Social Sciences 2
Room 361

Office Hours for Students/ Office Hours (Winter 2026) Monday 12-1

Mail Stop Psychology Faculty Services

Biography, Education and Training

M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan
B.S., M.S., Michigan State University

Summary of Expertise

Connections between power and sex, sexual aggression and abuse, trauma. Sexual decision-making, sexuality and media, the sexualization and objectification of girls and women. Authoritarianism, feminist political psychology. Motivation, especially power and affiliation-intimacy motives.

Research Interests

Eileen L. Zurbriggen is a feminist social/personality psychologist investigating the intersections between power, sexuality, and gender. Her research draws from multiple disciplinary and theoretical perspectives both within psychology (including social, developmental, and political psychology) and outside of it (including feminist theory, queer theory, philosophy, and communications studies).

Professor Zurbriggen's program of research has included a variety of projects, braiding together three underlying themes. First, much of her research has focused on understanding the causes and consequences of behaviors that connect power and sexuality, from the most traumatic (e.g., sexualized torture, rape, childhood sexual abuse) to those with less obvious negative consequences (e.g., the sexual objectification of women,  chivalrous actions by men). Second, her research targets the intrapsychic and interpersonal aspects of connections between power, gender, and sexuality. For example, how does objectification of one's romantic partner affect that interpersonal relationship? Finally, she aims to connect to larger social structures and issues (e.g., the media, U.S. presidential elections and foreign policy, the relationship between rape and war).

Selected Publications

• Ward, L. M., Daniels, E. A., Zurbriggen, E. L., & Rosenscruggs, D.  (2023). The sources and consequences of sexual objectification. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2, 496-513. 
• Ben Hagai, E., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2022). Queer theory and psychology: Gender, sexuality, and transgender identities. Springer/Nature.
• Vallerga, M., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2022). Hegemonic masculinities in the 'manosphere': A thematic analysis of beliefs about men and women on The Red Pill and Incel. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 22(1), 602-625.
• Zurbriggen, E. L., & Vallerga, M. (2022). Democratic candidates in the 2020 U. S. presidential primary: The portrayal of race, gender, and age in editorial cartoons.  Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 22(1), 6-29.
• Harsey, S. J., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2021).  Men’s and women’s self-objectification, objectification of women, and sexist beliefs. Self and Identity, 20(7), 861-868.
• Daniels, E. A., Zurbriggen, E. L., & Ward, L. M.  (2020).  Becoming an object: A review of self-objectification in girls.  Body Image, 33, 278-299.
• Sherman, A. M., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2014).  "Boys can be anything": Effect of Barbie play on girls' career cognitions. Sex Roles, 70, 195-208.
• Zurbriggen, E. L. (2013). Objectification, self-objectification, and societal change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1, 188-215
• Zurbriggen, E. L. (2010). Rape, war, and the socialization of masculinity: Why our refusal to give up war ensures that rape cannot be eradicated. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35, 538-549.
• Zurbriggen, E. L. (2008). Sexualized torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison: Feminist psychological analyses. Feminism and Psychology, 18, 301-320.

Advisees, Grad Students & Researchers Baker-Olson, Anna (abakerol)
Estrada, Dennis (dealestr)

Courses Psych 159D: Psychology of Sexual Aggression
Psych 140T: Psychology of Trauma
Psych 210: The Experimental Method in Social Psychology
Psych 211A: Proseminar: Social Justice and the Individual
Psych 214A: Multivariate Techniques for Psychology
Psych 214B: Advanced Multivariate Techniques for Psychology
Psych 141: Privacy and Surveillance