Melanie Ayres

Assistant Professor

Start Year: 2008

Psychology
Office: 169 Centennial Science Hall
Phone: 715-425-3775

Email: melanie.ayres@uwrf.edu

Education:

University of California Santa Cruz, PhD (2008)
University of California Santa Cruz, MS
University of Oregon, BS

Melanie is a developmental psychologist who teaches courses in Child and Adolescent Development, Adult Development and Aging, Psychology of Gender, General Psychology, and Research Methods. Her research is broadly focused on gender development. In specific, she has conducted research examining adolescent girls’ and college women’s experiences of and responses to sexism, gender differences in men’s and women’s communication, and parent-child conversations about discrimination. Most recently, Melanie implemented a research study that investigated the experiences of “simultaneous oppressions” using an intersectional theoretical approach to issues of gender, race, and class. She also examined how parents and peers influenced adolescents’ developing understanding of discrimination and coping strategies. Melanie is also interested in factors that instigate and influence youth’s continued involvement in activism. She is also affiliated with the Women’s Studies program.