Megan Burns
@megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
66 followers 110 following 17 posts
Social Psychology PhD student at Northwestern University, alum of University of Michigan (she/her) :-) interested in inequality, power, unions, and societal injustice
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Reposted by Megan Burns
danielbraaten.bsky.social
Labor Day is a very good day for my fellow academics to joint their local @aaup.org and if your school doesn't have one you should start one!
aaup.org
AAUP @aaup.org · Aug 29
As Labor Day approaches, we urge all AAUP members & chapters to join the national actions organized by @aft.org & the MayDayStrong coalition. Their website provides a directory & instructions for locating nearby actions.

maydaystrong.org

See you on the streets!

#DefendHigherEd
#WorkersDeserve
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
I've been in the trenches of my comprehensive exams so I'm late to the party, but I'm so proud of this paper! It was cathartic to reflect on field and the purpose of our work within it. Thank you @mwkraus.bsky.social for the opportunity to contribute!
natrevpsychol.nature.com
A functional approach to the psychology of inequality

Perspective by Michael W. Kraus (@mwkraus.bsky.social‬), Daniel J. Sanji, Megan E. Burns, Aline da Silva Frost, Iseul Cha-Ju, A. Chyei Vinluan, LaStarr Hollie & Cydney H. Dupree (‪@cydneydupree.bsky.social‬)

go.nature.com/4fMVfVV
a, An example of the deficit-based model of the psychology of inequality, in which psychological processes related to cognition, emotion and motivation influence desirable behavioural patterns that sort people and groups into different levels of resources and opportunities in society. b, An example of a functional model of inequality as domination and resistance. Psychological processes that arise from the structural context promote actions that either support and reproduce structures of inequality or dismantle those structures.
Reposted by Megan Burns
mwkraus.bsky.social
It's publication day for our first paper out of the www.csinequality.org lab completed entirely at NU. To write it, we asked: what research in the social psychology of inequality do we like and why do we like it? The answer is this paper:
natrevpsychol.nature.com
A functional approach to the psychology of inequality

Perspective by Michael W. Kraus (@mwkraus.bsky.social‬), Daniel J. Sanji, Megan E. Burns, Aline da Silva Frost, Iseul Cha-Ju, A. Chyei Vinluan, LaStarr Hollie & Cydney H. Dupree (‪@cydneydupree.bsky.social‬)

go.nature.com/4fMVfVV
a, An example of the deficit-based model of the psychology of inequality, in which psychological processes related to cognition, emotion and motivation influence desirable behavioural patterns that sort people and groups into different levels of resources and opportunities in society. b, An example of a functional model of inequality as domination and resistance. Psychological processes that arise from the structural context promote actions that either support and reproduce structures of inequality or dismantle those structures.
Reposted by Megan Burns
michaelhobbes.bsky.social
It makes no sense to frame this as some sort of correction — adequate nutrition is more important for kids with health conditions, not less.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/w...
Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, who is about 18 months old and was born during the war, lives with his mother and brother in a tent on a Gaza beach.

Mohammed’s mother, Hedaya al-Mutawaq, 31, said the toddler’s father was killed last October when he went out to seek food.

“I walk the streets looking for food,” she said by phone, her voice barely audible. The charity kitchens she relies on to help feed Mohammed and his brother, Joud, 3, cannot always help, and they go hungry. “As an adult, I can bear the hunger,” she said. “But my kids can’t.”

Mohammed, according to his doctor, had pre-existing health problems affecting his brain and his muscle development. But his health deteriorated rapidly in recent months as it became increasingly difficult to find food and medical care, and the medical clinic that treated him said he suffers from severe malnutrition.

“I look at him and I can’t help but cry,” she said.

“We go to bed hungry and wake up thinking only about how to find food,” she added. “I can’t find milk or diapers.”
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
"I learned from them that even in the most inhumane conditions, human dignity cannot be stripped away from human beings unless they decide to give up. I learned from these strong women what solidarity looks like." Please read Rümeysa Öztürk's account of her ICE detention.
Op-ed: ‘Even God cannot hear us here’: What I witnessed inside an ICE women’s prison - The Tufts Daily
On a Tuesday in March, I had spent most of my day working on my dissertation proposal and started to feel exhausted and hungry. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and I was fasting. Once finished, I qu...
www.tuftsdaily.com
Reposted by Megan Burns
neillewisjr.bsky.social
As we begin a week of extreme heat in much of the U.S., you may find this Heat Emergency Preparedness Toolkit useful. It has recommendations for individuals, organizations, and local governments:

blogs.cornell.edu/heat/
Extreme Heat
blogs.cornell.edu
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hi Neha! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hi Cami! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
Reposted by Megan Burns
mwkraus.bsky.social
How do experiences of discrimination shape beliefs about inter-minority solidarity, and how does it vary among Asian subgroups?

Read on to find out! By Dr. Chyei Vinluan and @danielsanji.bsky.social
psyarxivbot.bsky.social
Asian ethnic subgroup moderates the relationship between Asian American discrimination experiences and solidarity with Black Americans: https://osf.io/vr4sm
Reposted by Megan Burns
psyarxivbot.bsky.social
Asian ethnic subgroup moderates the relationship between Asian American discrimination experiences and solidarity with Black Americans: https://osf.io/vr4sm
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Silvia! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Mari! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you worked at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Bella! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Evan! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Lyra! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Collin! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews ($15) with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
Hey Saoirse! I’m a PhD student studying labor unions at Northwestern University! I noticed you work at Starbucks, I’m reaching out because I’m conducting paid interviews with Starbucks workers about their workplace experiences! Please follow/message me if you’d like to learn more & participate!
megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social
What's good for an organization often comes at the expense of its workers. In this pre-print, we find that exposure to workplace conflicts & information about union grievance procedures reduces perceived alignment between workers and management and increases union attitudes. Check it out below!
mwkraus.bsky.social
#MayDay is a good day to remember that organizations and workers often have misaligned goals. Reminders of this can make people more supportive of unions (according to research by @megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social )!

osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
Reposted by Megan Burns
mwkraus.bsky.social
#MayDay is a good day to remember that organizations and workers often have misaligned goals. Reminders of this can make people more supportive of unions (according to research by @megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social )!

osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
Reposted by Megan Burns
hakeemjefferson.bsky.social
A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.

I hope you’ll read and share the piece.

stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
What DEI threatens isn’t merit. It’s monopoly.
Political science professor Hakeem Jefferson argues for DEI's importance to de-monopolizing universities.
stanforddaily.com
Reposted by Megan Burns
allofmilov.bsky.social
This whole piece is great but this paragraph especially:
Reposted by Megan Burns
mwkraus.bsky.social
Check out @megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social's new work on worker/org (mis)alignment and union attitudes ✊🏻
ipratnu.bsky.social
A working paper by @megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social and @mwkraus.bsky.social suggests that in today’s climate of economic inequality and growing cultural awareness of labor unions, workers—particularly young ones—may be increasingly interested in unionizing. www.ipr.northwestern.edu/our-work/wor...
Reposted by Megan Burns
ipratnu.bsky.social
A working paper by @megan-elaine-burns.bsky.social and @mwkraus.bsky.social suggests that in today’s climate of economic inequality and growing cultural awareness of labor unions, workers—particularly young ones—may be increasingly interested in unionizing. www.ipr.northwestern.edu/our-work/wor...
Reposted by Megan Burns
scottlgreer.bsky.social
“Older Black Americans are twice as likely as white patients to develop [dementia]. Just as it is not illegal to research breast cancer in women, Mezuk said, it should not be illegal to research dementia in Black and lower-income white Americans.”

www.michigandaily.com/news/researc...
NIH terminates $13 million grant on dementia
A $12.9 million grant for a study on dementia risks among at-risk U.S. populations was terminated by the National Institutes of Health.
www.michigandaily.com