Professional Bio

Dr. Jes Matsick is a feminist psychologist. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan and, as faculty at Penn State, she holds a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

At the broadest level, Dr. Matsick is interested in social and health disparities, and she seeks to bridge psychological science and feminist perspectives to address social issues. Dr. Matsick examines how marginalized groups experience stigma and how stigma contributes to psychosocial well-being (e.g., belonging, safety and threat, pride, stress). Much of her focus is on sexual and gender diversity as she considers how sociopolitical and historical contexts shape marginalized groups’ experiences and perspectives. In her research, she thinks critically about intersectionality theory and justice-centered outcomes. She favors mixed-method approaches to research, and her work creatively couples quantitative practices (e.g., experiments, longitudinal surveys, scale development) with qualitative approaches (e.g., online qualitative prompts, content analysis, thematic analysis). Across her research and teaching activities, she aims to (a) highlight the standpoints of people whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented and (b) integrate feminist approaches into psychological science.

Dr. Matsick directs the Underrepresented Perspectives Lab. To learn more about Dr. Matsick's research, team, and projects, please visit her lab’s website: https://jmatsick.wixsite.com/uplab

Selected Articles and Chapters

*indicates student authors

Matsick, J. L., & Sabik, N. J. (2022). Building a lab at a research-intensive institution: A feminist and sustainable approach to productivity. In K. Richmond, I. H., Settles, S. A. Shields, & A. I. Zelin (Eds.), Feminist scholars on the road to tenure: The personal is professional (pp. 94-111). Cognella. Preprint access: https://osf.io/gydh2/

Matsick, J. L., *Kruk, M., *Oswald, F., & *Palmer, L. (2021). Bridging feminist psychology with open science: Feminist tools and shared values inform best practices for science reform. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45(4), 412-429. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843211026564

*Kruk, M., & Matsick, J. L. (2021). A taxonomy of identity safety cues based on gender and race: From a promising past to an intersectional and translational future. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 7(4), 487-510. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000304

Matsick, J. L., Wardecker, B. M., & *Oswald, F. (2020). Treat sexual stigma to heal health disparities: Improving sexual minorities’ health outcomes. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7(2), 205-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732220942250

*Salomaa, A. C., & Matsick, J. L. (2018). Carving sexuality at its joints: Defining sexual orientation in research and clinical practice. Psychological Assessment. [Advance online publication, DOI: 10.1037/pas0000656].

Conley, T. D., Matsick, J. L., Moors, A. C., & Ziegler, A. (2017). Investigation of consensually non-monogamous relationships: Theories, methods, and new directions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(2), 205-232.

Conley, T. D., Moors, A. C., Matsick, J. L., Ziegler, A., & Valentine, B. A. (2011). Women, men, and the bedroom: Methodological and conceptual insights that narrow, reframe, and eliminate gender differences in sexuality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(5), 296-300.