Gene Kelly
Education
- B.A.: psychology and English, Lebanon Valley College
- Graduate Certificate: sociology/diversity and inclusion, University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- M.S.: counseling/higher education, West Chester University (PA)
- M.S.: forensic psychology, Arizona State University
- Ph.D.: human development, Marywood University
Teaching Interests
One of my greatest joys is teaching undergraduate students the myriad ways that psychology impacts our daily lives–our interactions with others, our self-reflection, our consumption of all forms of media, and our work within (and sometimes against) the systems of our society and culture.
My interests here at Muhlenberg surround developmental psychology as well as the intersections of psychology with the criminal justice system. For example, what factors lead to individuals choosing to engage in criminal behaviors? How do law enforcement officials, judges, juries, prosecutors, et cetera, utilize psychological principles in their work (e.g., eyewitness evidence, decisions on bail/pretrial detention, sentencing, conviction, and correctional facilities)? What are the best practices that prevent people from continuing criminality?
I teach the following courses: Introductory Psychology, Child Development, Introduction to Forensic Psychology, Personality Theories, Psychology of Criminal Behavior, Adolescent Development, Psychology of Criminal Investigation, and Women’s and Gender Studies.
Research and Scholarship
My research interests are multi-faceted. As a developmentalist, I focus much of my work on examining adolescent and college student development–most often in the areas of gender, racial, and sexual identity development. My dissertation research focused on how conformity pressures for college-aged males related to their gender is related to their attitudes toward victims and perpetrators of sexual violence.
I also have published a lot of material around how media depicts marginalized groups and how this may influence how people develop with a positive self-identity. I’ve written about sexual scripts for gay men in Glee, lesbian invisibility in films such as The Color Purple and Fried Green Tomatoes, intersections of race and sexuality in Tyler Perry’s Madea films, and how adult media shapes attitudes towards sexual violence of men who have sex with men.
Here at ‘Berg, I’m excited to expand my research interest with students especially who are interested in gender, sexuality, adolescent recidivism, prison rehabilitation programs, or other ideas students have!!
Recent projects have involved: attitudes toward incarcerated individuals (Harriet Komlatse ’25 and Reece Montano ’27), attitudes toward immigrants (Julianna Munoz ’26), belongingness in students with disabilities (Ell Torres ’26), and eyewitness evidence (Alexa Cinelli ’26).
- Adolescent Development
- Child Development
- CUE: Advanced Research in Psychology
- Introductory Psychology
- Psychology Independent Study/Research - Family and Mental Health
- Psychology Independent Study/Research - Perceptions of Inmates
- Psychology Independent Study/Research - Psychology in Film
- Psychology Independent Study/Research: Child Victims as Adults
- Psychology Independent Study/Research: Disability Online
- Psychology Independent Study/Research: Perceptions of Inmates
- Psychology Independent Study/Research: Psychology of Film
- Research Apprenticeship: Eyewitness Testimony
- Special Topic: Criminal Investigation
- Special Topics: Forensic Psychology
- Special Topics: Psychology of Criminal Behavior
- Topics in Women's and Gender Studies
Kelly, G. (2020). Rape myths in Internet-based MSM pornography: Men who are with men are still men. In F. Jacobs (Ed.). Pornography: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
Kelly, G. (2019). Lesbian invisibility continued: The “straight-washing” of Southern women in The Color Purple and Fried Green Tomatoes. Book chapter submitted to B. M. Jack (Ed.) Southern History on Screen: Race and Rights, 1976-2016. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press.
Kelly, G. (2016). Perry as Madea: Homophobia gets a pass when it’s a man in a dress. In B. C. Johnson (Ed.) The Problematic Tyler Perry. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
Kelly, G. (2015). Kurt and Blaine: New sexual scripts for gay youth. In B.C. Johnson & D. K. Faill (Eds.) Glee and “New Directions” for social change. Boston, MA: Sense Publishers.
Saddler, T. N., Kelly, E., and Strayhorn, T. (2013). Black doctoral students’ identities: Intersections of race, class, and gender. In T. Strayhorn (Ed.) Living at the intersections: Social identities and Black collegians. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Kelly, G. (3 Jun 2013). They taught me more… ACPA Commission for Social Justice Educator’s blog. Available at http://acpacsje.wordpress.com/
Kelly, G. (27 May 2013). Hegemonic masculinities and adult entertainment: Fighting reinforcement. ACPA Standing Committee on Men and Masculinities blog. Available at: http://www.acpascmm.blogspot.com/
Psychology
Contact: genekelly@muhlenberg.edu