Melissa J. Ferguson is an American professor of psychology and was a Senior Associate Dean of Social Sciences at Cornell University[1] before becoming a professor at Yale University in 2020.[2] She is known for her work on how people form and evolve their interpretations of social events, and how people recognize and evaluate information like fake news.[1][3] Ferguson's research shows that information consumers can avoid misinformation by focusing on the quality of its source.[4]
University of Chicago postdoctoral researcher Stav Atir authored a 2018 study with Ferguson that was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The study examined the tendency for people to refer to male professionals by their last names far more often than female professionals. The research suggests that the practice of referring to a professional by only their last name confers greater authority and fame, thus placing women at a disadvantage.[5][6]
Ferguson led the 2019 implementation of the Cornell Center for Social Sciences, a public policy organization, with Christopher Wildeman.[7]
- ^ a b "Melissa J. Ferguson". Department of Psychology. Cornell University. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "CV" (PDF). Yale University. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ Cone, Jeremy; Ferguson, Melissa J. (28 May 2019). "Perspectives: In the war against misinformation, fact-checking works. Big Tech needs to do more of it". CNN. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Maynard, Christopher (8 May 2019). "Focusing on the source can help consumers avoid 'fake news'". Consumer Affairs. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "News at a glance". Science. 360 (6396): 1380–1382. 28 June 2018. Bibcode:2018Sci...360.1380.. doi:10.1126/science.360.6396.1380. PMID 29954956. S2CID 49600944.
- ^ Ferguson, Melissa J.; Atir, Stav. "Do You Use Somebody's First Name or Last Name? The Answer Speaks Volumes". WSJ.
- ^ Kelley, Susan. "Cornell creates Center for Social Sciences". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 21 November 2019.