Amanda R. Burkholder is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Furman University. Her research focuses broadly on children’s and adolescents’ conceptions of social inequalities, how prejudice infiltrates peer settings, and the development of moral reasoning. At Furman, Amanda teaches General Psychology (PSY 111), Childhood and Adolescence (PSY 211), and Research Methods and Statistics (PSY 201 & 202).

Prior to joining the faculty at Furman, Amanda was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral research associate in the department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. Her postdoctoral work centered on a prejudice reduction intervention study entitled “Promoting Intergroup Friendships and Reducing Prejudice in Childhood,” under principal investigator Dr. Melanie Killen, PhD and co-investigator Dr. Laura Stapleton.

In May 2021, she received her PhD in Human Development with a specialization in Developmental Science and a Certificate in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Maryland. During her doctoral studies, she was mentored by Dr. Melanie Killen in the Social and Moral Development Laboratory and funded through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. In 2014, Amanda completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota, where she worked in the labs of Drs. Philip Zelazo and Megan Gunnar.