Krisanne Bursik, Ph.D.

Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Psychology
B.A., Villanova University (Psychology); M.A., Ph.D., Boston University (Psychology).

Contact Information

Suffolk University
Department of Psychology
41 Temple Street
Boston, MA 02114
Donahue 138
617-573-8295 (Office)
617-3056318 (Fax)
kbursik@suffolk.edu

Courses Taught

PSYCH 226 Theories of Personality
PSYCH 326 Abnormal Psychology
PSYCH 772 The Teaching of Psychology

Specialty Areas

Personality and individual differences; adolescent and adult ego development; gender and women’s studies.

My research integrates several theoretical models and empirical domains from personality psychology, developmental psychology, and the field of gender studies. More specifically, I have been examining the relations among several developmental pathways including character development, moral development, identity development, and gender role development – all integral components of adult personality. Several recent studies have explored how individual differences in adolescent gender role development and ego development predict differences in the behavior, conscious attitudes, and unconscious processes of adolescents and emerging adults. My work is guided by neoanalytic (ego psychology) models of coping and adaptation (Loevinger; Block), as well as contemporary Positive Psychology frameworks emphasizing constructs such as moral identity, integrity, and holistic well being. My empirical research has examined gender, gender role, and ego developmental differences in relationship satisfaction, divorce adjustment, perceptions of sexual harassment, and dream content.

Ongoing research explores additional behavioral, emotional, and cognitive correlates of these developmental lines. Recent co-authored presentations and publications with doctoral students extend these themes to related domains including: the prediction of adolescent academic achievement; the experience of guilt and shame; the capacity to envision therapeutic goals; the valuing of monogamy; and the development of political ideologies. New empirical projects explore ego developmental differences in risky sexual behavior and personal integrity. I am also currently working on several studies examining the psychometric and structural properties of the Sentence Completion Test of ego development.

Selected Publications

Schmookler, T., & Bursik, K. (2007). The value of monogamy in emerging adulthood: A gendered perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24(6), 819-835.

Stackert, R., & Bursik, K. (2006). Ego development and the therapeutic goal-setting capacities of mentally ill adults. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60, 357-374.

Bursik, K., & Martin, T. A. (2006). Ego development and adolescent academic achievement. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 1-18.

Benetti-McQuoid, J., & Bursik, K. (2005). Individual differences in experiences of and responses to guilt and shame: Examining the lenses of gender and gender role. Sex Roles, 53, 133-142.

Vareschi, C., & Bursik, K. (2005). Attachment style differences in the parental interactions and adaptation patterns of divorcing parents. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 42, 15-32.