Biography

Melissa J. Williams joined the Goizueta faculty in 2011, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She earned a PhD in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Williams studies the intersection between social identities (gender, race, stigma, or national culture) and workplace hierarchies. Her research has been published in major journals (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Management Science) and covered in the media. She previously served as an Associate Editor at Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (2021-24) and as Area Coordinator for the Organization & Management area at Goizueta (2020-24). Professor Williams can be reached directly at mjwilliams (at) emory.edu.

Media

  • <span>Melissa Williams</span>
    Melissa Williams

Education

  • PhD in Social / Personality Psychology
    University of California, Berkeley
  • BA in Psychology
    Rice University

Everyday questioning of women’s authority and legitimacy at work yields greater burnout and less persistence in a male-dominated profession

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Williams, M. J., Esianor, B., Hendrick, S., Farlow, J. L., Farrell, A., Kupfer, R. A., Meyer, T. K., Vinson, K. N., Wandell, G. M., & Chen, A. Y.
July 14, 2026
2025

Looking the part: Stereotypicality in appearance among White professionals predicts leadership attainment and perceived leadership suitability

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Williams, M. J., Wade, J. B., Nwadei, T., Swaminathan, A., Harrison, K., & Bukstein, S.
December 27, 2025
2024

When the boss steps up: Workplace power, task responsibility, and engagement with unpleasant tasks

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Williams, M. J., Lopiano, G., & Heller, D.
July 14, 2026
2022

Interdependence and reflected failure: Cultural differences in stigma by association☆

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
He, T., & Williams, M. J.
July 14, 2026
2021

Destigmatization and Its Imbalanced Effects in Labor Markets

Management Science
Negro, G., Williams, M. J., Pontikes, E., & Lopiano, G.
April 9, 2013
2021

The face of STEM: Racial phenotypic stereotypicality predicts STEM persistence by—and ability attributions about—students of color.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Williams, M. J., George-Jones, J., & Hebl, M. R.
July 14, 2026
2019

Sexual aggression when power is new: Effects of acute high power on chronically low-power individuals

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Williams, M. J., Gruenfeld, D. H., & Guillory, L.
July 10, 2025
2017

The subtle suspension of backlash: A meta-analysis of penalties for women's implicit and explicit dominance behavior

Psychological Bulletin
Williams, M. J., & Tiedens, L. Z.
December 20, 2025
2016

Serving the self from the seat of power: Goals and threats predict leaders’ self-interested behavior

Journal of Management
Williams, M. J.
July 14, 2026
2014

When "mom's the boss": Control over domestic decision making reduces women's interest in workplace power

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations
Williams, M. J., & Chen, S.
July 14, 2026
2014

Selectively friending: Racial stereotypicality and social rejection

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Hebl, M. R., Williams, M. J., Sundermann, J., Kell, H., & Davies, P. G.
July 14, 2026
2012

Fundamental(ist) attribution error: Protestants are dispositionally focused

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Li, Y. J., Johnson, K. A., Cohen, A. B., Williams, M. J., Knowles, E. D., & Chen, Z.
November 13, 2025
2012

The masculinity of money: Automatic stereotypes predict gender differences in estimated salaries

Psychology of Women Quarterly
Williams, M. J., Paluck, E. L., & Spencer-Rodgers, J.
February 7, 2010
2010

Cultural differences in expectations of change and tolerance for contradiction: A decade of empirical research

Personality and Social Psychology Review
Spencer-Rodgers, J., Williams, M. J., & Peng, K.
July 14, 2026
2010

Biological conceptions of race and the motivation to cross racial boundaries

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Williams, M. J., & Eberhardt, J. L.
July 14, 2026
2008

Gender clues and cues: Online interactions as windows into lay theories about men and women

Basic and Applied Social Psychology
Williams, M. J., & Mendelsohn, G. A.
July 14, 2026
2008

Not yet human: Implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Goff, P. A., Eberhardt, J. L., Williams, M. J., & Jackson, M. C.
July 14, 2026
2008

Culture and group perception: Dispositional and stereotypic inferences about novel and national groups

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Spencer-Rodgers, J., Williams, M. J., Hamilton, D. L., Peng, K., & Wang, L.
July 14, 2026
2007

Warding off the attacker: Self-defense in theory and in practice

Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Williams, M. J., & Hebl, M. R.
July 30, 2006
2005