Melanie Killen

University of Maryland, College Park

Distinguished University Professor

Dr. Melanie Killen is Distinguished University Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Professor of Psychology (Affiliate), and Director of the Social and Moral Development Lab at the University of Maryland. She is the Editor of the Handbook of Moral Development (2008, 2014, 2024) along with two monographs and five edited volumes. Commissioned by Anderson Cooper at CNN AC360, Dr. Killen and her team conducted a study on children's racial bias for a set of stories aired on CNN AC360, "Kids on Race: The Hidden Picture" in April 2012 which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding News and Analysis. Dr. Killen is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2024. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, Dr. Killen studies children's and adolescents' social cognition and moral reasoning, social exclusion and inclusion, stereotypes and bias, morality and theory of mind, intergroup attitudes and relationships, conceptions of social inequalities, broadening participation in STEM, and designed a school-based program, Developing Inclusive Youth, to promote children's concepts of fairness, equity, and inclusion in classroom environments.