Lisa Dilks, Ph.D.

Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor - Sociology

Dr. Lisa Dilks is an Associate Professor of Sociology. She received a B.A in women’s studies and an M.A. in sociology from the University of Wyoming. She also received an M.S. in statistics and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Dilks is a structural social psychologist, a branch of microsociology that studies the impact of external social factors on individuals’ behaviors and interactions with others. Under this theoretical framework, her research falls into two specific but interrelated areas: 1) the creation of and remedies to social inequalities resulting from status differences among individuals, with 2) a specific focus on gender inequalities at both the individual and structural level. Dr. Dilks’s ongoing projects continue to utilize both status and gender theories from structural social psychology but explore their application to criminological phenomena, including punishments and arrest likelihoods for both street crime and white-collar crime. Her research is primarily quantitative, employing experimental and quasi-experimental methods along with the analysis of large secondary data sets to answer questions in both these areas.

Dr. Dilks teaches undergraduate courses in gender, social psychology, and experimental methods. At the graduate level, she teaches statistical methods along with experimental design and analysis.

Selected Publications

Lisa M. Dilks, Tucker McGrimmon, and Shane Thye. 2017. “Assessing the Impact of Status Information Conveyance on the Distribution of Negative Rewards: A Preliminary Test and Model.” Advances in Group Processes, 34:49-79.

Karen G. Weiss and Lisa M. Dilks. 2016. “Intoxication and Crime Risk: Contextualizing the Effects of ‘Party’ Routines on Recurrent Physical and Sexual Attacks Among College Students.” Criminal Justice Review 41:173-189.

Leslie E. Tower and Lisa M. Dilks. 2015. “Work/Life Satisfaction Policy in ADVANCE Universities: Assessing Levels of Flexibility.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 8:157-174.

· Summary reprinted in AWIS Magazine (Association for Women in Science) article “ADVANCE-ing Work/Life Policies in Higher Education.” Vol. 48, pp. 24-27; Summer 2016)

· Appeared in Science article “Diversity through ADVANCEment.” (Vol. 350, Issue 6264, pp. 1052-1053; November 25, 2015).

Courses Taught

SOCA 320 Social Psychology
SOCA 360 Women & Men In Society
SOCA 488 Capstone Experience: Experimenting with Human Behavior
SOCA 517 (M.A) & SOCA 615 (Ph.D.) Sociological Data Analysis and Interpretation 1
SOCA 518 (M.A.) & SOCA 616 (Ph.D.) Sociological Data Analysis and Interpretation 2
SOCA 729 (PhD): Experimental Design and Analysis for Sociology