Aaron Charles Kay | Scholars@Duke

Aaron Charles Kay
J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Professor of International Management

Aaron C. Kay (PhD 2005, Stanford University) is the J Rex Fuqua Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University. His research focuses on the relation between motivation, implicit social cognition, and social issues. He has a particular interest in how basic motivations and needs manifest as specific social and societal beliefs. These include (but are not limited to) the causes and consequences of stereotyping and system justification, religious belief, political ideology, and the attitudes people hold towards their organizations and institutions.

For this research, Aaron Kay has been awarded the Janet T. Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the American Psychological Society, the SAGE Young Scholar Award from the Foundation of Personality and Social Psychology (2010), the Early Career Contribution Award from the International Society of Justice Researchers (2010), the Early Researchers Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (2009), and Dissertation Awards from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (2006) and the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (runner-up; 2006). He has been named a Fellow of the American Psychological Society as well as the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and Dr. Kay's research is widely covered in national and international news and media outlets. Dr. Kay is a past President of the International Society of Justice Research.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Professor of International Management, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2019
Professor of Business Adminstration, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2016
Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016
Affiliate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, Duke Science & Society, Initiatives 2014

Contact Information

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Stanford University 2005
- B.S., McGill University (Canada) 1999
Duke Appointment History
- Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2010 - 2016
- Associate Professor of Business Administration, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2012 - 2016
- Assoc Professor of Business Administration in Fuqua School of Business, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2010 - 2012
Recognition
In the News
- APR 21, 2021 Fuqua School of Business
  
  How Studying Biases About Veterans Could Help Improve Their Post-Military Careers
- FEB 28, 2020 Fuqua School of Business
  
  How Understanding Bias is Crucial to Diversity and Equality
- MAY 7, 2019
  
  Duke Adds 21 Faculty to Distinguished Faculty Rank
- APR 30, 2019 Fuqua School of Business
  
  Love Your Job? Someone May be Taking Advantage of You
- MAR 14, 2016
  
  Fuqua's Aaron Kay Wins Frank Prize for Public Interest Communication
- OCT 14, 2015 Triangle Business Journal
  
  Men perceived as more creative than women
- OCT 13, 2015
  
  If the Work is the Same, Men Still Seen as More Creative
- SEP 23, 2015 Pacific Standard
  
  The imagined link between masculinity and creativity
- JUN 4, 2015 Huffington Post
  
  Here are the words that may keep women from applying for jobs
- NOV 18, 2014
  
  Going Viral With Research: Troy Campbell on Our Political Minds
- NOV 10, 2014 The Washington Post
  
  Conservatives don't hate climate science. They hate the left's climate solutions
- NOV 7, 2014 Newport News Daily Press
  
  Duke study: Solution aversion, not science denial on climate change
- NOV 6, 2014
  
  Denying Problems When We Don’t Like the Solutions
- SEP 25, 2014 Los Angeles Times
  
  Op-ed: Similarities between Democrats, Republicans make them so different
Awards & Honors
- Fellow. Association for Psychological Science. 2013
- Division 9-Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues-Social Issues Dissertation Award. American Psychological Association. 2006
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Gaucher, D., A. C. Kay, and K. Laurin. The Power of the status quo: Consequences for maintaining and perpetuating inequality, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658.
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  - Ramona Bobocel, D., A. C. Kay, M. P. Zanna, and J. M. Olson. The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario symposium. Vol. 11, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658.
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  - Thorisdottir, H., J. T. Jost, and A. C. Kay. On the Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.001.
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- Academic Articles
  - Shepherd, Steven, David K. Sherman, Alair MacLean, and Aaron C. Kay. “The Challenges of Military Veterans in Their Transition to the Workplace: A Call for Integrating Basic and Applied Psychological Science.” Perspectives on Psychological Science : A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science 16, no. 3 (May 2021): 590–613. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620953096.
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  - Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L., Kristjen B. Lundberg, Aaron C. Kay, and B Keith Payne. “A Privileged Point of View: Effects of Subjective Socioeconomic Status on Naïve Realism and Political Division.” Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 47, no. 2 (February 2021): 241–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220921043.
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  - Ponce de Leon, R., S. Wingrove, and A. C. Kay. “Scientific skepticism and inequality: Political and ideological roots.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 91 (November 1, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104045.
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  - Stanley, Matthew L., Elizabeth J. Marsh, and Aaron C. Kay. “Structure-seeking as a psychological antecedent of beliefs about morality.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. General 149, no. 10 (October 2020): 1908–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000752.
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  - Ponce de Leon, R., and A. C. Kay. “Political ideology and compensatory control mechanisms.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 34 (August 1, 2020): 112–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.013.
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  - Axt, Jordan R., Mark J. Landau, and Aaron C. Kay. “The Psychological Appeal of Fake-News Attributions.” Psychological Science 31, no. 7 (July 2020): 848–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620922785.
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  - Kim, Jae Yun, Troy H. Campbell, Steven Shepherd, and Aaron C. Kay. “Understanding contemporary forms of exploitation: Attributions of passion serve to legitimize the poor treatment of workers.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 118, no. 1 (January 2020): 121–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000190.
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  - Ma, A., J. Axt, and A. C. Kay. “A control-based account of stereotyping.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 84 (September 1, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103819.
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  - Ma, A., S. Tang, and A. C. Kay. “Psychological reactance as a function of thought versus behavioral control.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 84 (September 1, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103825.
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  - Shepherd, S., A. C. Kay, and K. Gray. “Military veterans are morally typecast as agentic but unfeeling: Implications for veteran employment.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 153 (July 1, 2019): 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.06.003.
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  - Shepherd, S., and A. C. Kay. “‘Jesus, take the wheel’: the appeal of spiritual products in satiating concerns about randomness.” Journal of Marketing Management 35, no. 5–6 (March 24, 2019): 467–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1556225.
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  - Kim, Jae Yun, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, and Aaron C. Kay. “Lean in messages increase attributions of women's responsibility for gender inequality.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 115, no. 6 (December 2018): 974–1001. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000129.
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  - Fath, S., and A. C. Kay. ““If hierarchical, then corrupt”: Exploring people's tendency to associate hierarchy with corruption in organizations.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 149 (November 1, 2018): 145–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.10.004.
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  - Friesen, Justin P., Kristin Laurin, Steven Shepherd, Danielle Gaucher, and Aaron C. Kay. “System justification: Experimental evidence, its contextual nature, and implications for social change.” The British Journal of Social Psychology, September 19, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12278.
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  - Hoogeveen, S., E. J. Wagenmakers, A. C. Kay, and M. Van Elk. “Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered replication report across two countries.” Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology 3, no. 3 (September 2, 2018): 240–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2019.1684821.
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  - Proudfoot, D., and A. C. Kay. “How perceptions of one's organization can affect perceptions of the self: Membership in a stable organization can sustain individuals' sense of control.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 76 (May 1, 2018): 104–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.01.004.
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  - Landau, M. J., J. Khenfer, L. A. Keefer, T. J. Swanson, and A. C. Kay. “When and why does belief in a controlling God strengthen goal commitment?” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 75 (March 1, 2018): 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.11.012.
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  - Shepherd, S., and A. C. Kay. “Guns as a source of order and chaos: Compensatory control and the psychological (dis)utility of guns for liberals and conservatives.” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 3, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1086/695761.
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  - Tang, S., M. King, and A. C. Kay. “Fate as a motivated (and de-motivating) belief: Evidence for a link from task importance to belief in fate to effort.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 144 (January 1, 2018): 74–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.08.003.
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  - Fath, S., D. Proudfoot, and A. C. Kay. “Effective to a fault: Organizational structure predicts attitudes toward minority organizations.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 73 (November 1, 2017): 290–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.10.003.
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  - Shepherd, S., R. P. Eibach, and A. C. Kay. ““One Nation Under God”: The System-Justifying Function of Symbolically Aligning God and Government.” Political Psychology 38, no. 5 (October 1, 2017): 703–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12353.
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  - Ma, Anyi, Mark J. Landau, Jayanth Narayanan, and Aaron C. Kay. “Thought-control difficulty motivates structure seeking.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. General 146, no. 8 (August 2017): 1067–72. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000282.
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  - Ma, A., and A. C. Kay. “Compensatory control and ambiguity intolerance.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 140 (May 1, 2017): 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.04.001.
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  - Khenfer, J., K. Laurin, E. Tafani, E. Roux, and A. C. Kay. “Interventionist external agents make specific advice less demotivating.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 73 (January 1, 2017): 189–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.07.003.
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  - Laurin, K., and A. C. Kay. “The Motivational Underpinnings of Belief in God” 56 (January 1, 2017): 201–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004.
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  - Leander, N. P., A. C. Kay, T. L. Chartrand, and B. K. Payne. “An affect misattribution pathway to perceptions of Intrinsic reward.” Social Cognition 35, no. 2 (January 1, 2017): 163–80. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2017.35.2.163.
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  - Kay, A. C., and M. J. Brandt. “Ideology and intergroup inequality: emerging directions and trends.” Current Opinion in Psychology 11 (October 1, 2016): 110–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.07.007.
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  - Rahinel, R., N. B. Amaral, J. J. Clarkson, and A. C. Kay. “On incidental catalysts of elaboration: Reminders of environmental structure promote effortful thought.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 64 (May 1, 2016): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.01.001.
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  - Proudfoot, Devon, Aaron C. Kay, and Christy Z. Koval. “A Gender Bias in the Attribution of Creativity: Archival and Experimental Evidence for the Perceived Association Between Masculinity and Creative Thinking.” Psychological Science 26, no. 11 (November 2015): 1751–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615598739.
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  - Proudfoot, D., A. C. Kay, and H. Mann. “Motivated employee blindness: The impact of labor market instability on judgment of organizational inefficiencies.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 130 (July 14, 2015): 108–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.06.008.
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  - Czopp, Alexander M., Aaron C. Kay, and Sapna Cheryan. “Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful.” Perspectives on Psychological Science : A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science 10, no. 4 (July 2015): 451–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615588091.
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  - Landau, Mark J., Aaron C. Kay, and Jennifer A. Whitson. “Compensatory control and the appeal of a structured world.” Psychological Bulletin 141, no. 3 (May 2015): 694–722. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038703.
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  - Tullett, Alexa M., Aaron C. Kay, and Michael Inzlicht. “Randomness increases self-reported anxiety and neurophysiological correlates of performance monitoring.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 10, no. 5 (May 2015): 628–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu097.
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  - Friesen, Justin P., Troy H. Campbell, and Aaron C. Kay. “The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: the appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108, no. 3 (March 2015): 515–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000018.
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  - Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L., Kristjen B. Lundberg, Aaron C. Kay, and B Keith Payne. “Subjective status shapes political preferences.” Psychological Science 26, no. 1 (January 2015): 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614553947.
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  - Kay, A., and J. Napier. “The justice motive as a driver of religious experience.” Religion, Brain and Behavior 5, no. 3 (January 1, 2015): 238–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2014.910262.
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  - Toorn, J. van der, M. Feinberg, J. T. Jost, A. C. Kay, T. R. Tyler, R. Willer, and C. Wilmuth. “A sense of powerlessness fosters system justification: Implications for the legitimation of authority, hierarchy, and government.” Political Psychology 36, no. 1 (January 1, 2015): 93–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12183.
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  - Whitson, J. A., A. D. Galinsky, and A. Kay. “The emotional roots of conspiratorial perceptions, system justification, and belief in the paranormal.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 56 (January 1, 2015): 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2014.09.002.
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  - Campbell, Troy H., and Aaron C. Kay. “Solution aversion: On the relation between ideology and motivated disbelief.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 107, no. 5 (November 2014): 809–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037963.
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  - Proudfoot, D., and A. C. Kay. “Reactance or Rationalization? Predicting Public Responses to Government Policy.” Policy Insights From the Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1, no. 1 (October 1, 2014): 256–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732214550489.
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  - Callan, Mitchell J., Aaron C. Kay, and Rael J. Dawtry. “Making sense of misfortune: deservingness, self-esteem, and patterns of self-defeat.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 107, no. 1 (July 2014): 142–62. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036640.
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  - Friesen, Justin P., Aaron C. Kay, Richard P. Eibach, and Adam D. Galinsky. “Seeking structure in social organization: compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 106, no. 4 (April 2014): 590–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035620.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., Kristin Laurin, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, and Mark J. Landau. “A functional basis for structure-seeking: exposure to structure promotes willingness to engage in motivated action.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. General 143, no. 2 (April 2014): 486–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034462.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., and John T. Jost. “Theoretical integration in motivational science: System justification as one of many "autonomous motivational structures".” The Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37, no. 2 (April 2014): 146–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x13002057.
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  - Tang, Simone, Steven Shepherd, and Aaron C. Kay. “Do difficult decisions motivate belief in fate? A test in the context of the 2012 U.S. presidential election.” Psychological Science 25, no. 4 (April 2014): 1046–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613519448.
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  - Proudfoot, D., and A. C. Kay. “System justification in organizational contexts: How a Motivated preference for the status quo can affect organizational attitudes and behaviors.” Research in Organizational Behavior 34 (January 1, 2014): 173–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.03.001.
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  - Shepherd, S., and A. C. Kay. “When government confidence undermines public involvement in modern disasters.” Social Cognition 32, no. 3 (January 1, 2014): 206–16. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2014.32.3.206.
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  - Yeung, A. W. Y., A. C. Kay, and J. M. Peach. “Anti-feminist backlash: The role of system justification in the rejection of feminism.” Group Processes &Amp; Intergroup Relations 17, no. 4 (January 1, 2014): 474–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430213514121.
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  - Kugler, M. B., F. Funk, J. Braun, M. Gollwitzer, A. C. Kay, and J. M. Darley. “Differences in punitiveness across three cultures: A test of American exceptionalism in justice attitudes.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 103, no. 4 (December 12, 2013): 1071–1114.
  - Laurin, K., A. C. Kay, D. Proudfoot, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “Response to restrictive policies: Reconciling system justification and psychological reactance.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 122, no. 2 (November 1, 2013): 152–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.06.004.
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  - Kay, A. C., and R. P. Eibach. “Compensatory Control and Its Implications for Ideological Extremism.” Journal of Social Issues 69, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 564–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12029.
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  - Zhu, L. L., A. C. Kay, and R. P. Eibach. “A test of the flexible ideology hypothesis: System justification motives interact with ideological cueing to predict political judgments.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 49, no. 4 (July 1, 2013): 755–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.007.
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  - Laurin, K., D. Gaucher, and A. Kay. “Stability and the justification of social inequality.” European Journal of Social Psychology 43, no. 4 (June 1, 2013): 246–54. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1949.
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  - Kay, A. C., M. V. Day, M. P. Zanna, and A. D. Nussbaum. “The insidious (and ironic) effects of positive stereotypes.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 49, no. 2 (March 1, 2013): 287–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.11.003.
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  - Sullivan, D., M. J. Landau, and A. C. Kay. “Toward a comprehensive understanding of existential threat: Insights from paul tillich.” Social Cognition 30, no. 6 (December 1, 2012): 734–57. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2012.30.6.734.
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  - Sullivan, Daniel, Mark J. Landau, Aaron C. Kay, and Zachary K. Rothschild. “Collectivism and the meaning of suffering.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 103, no. 6 (December 2012): 1023–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030382.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Azim F. Shariff, Joseph Henrich, and Aaron C. Kay. “Outsourcing punishment to God: beliefs in divine control reduce earthly punishment.” Proceedings. Biological Sciences 279, no. 1741 (August 2012): 3272–81. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.0615.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Aaron C. Kay, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons. “Reactance versus rationalization: divergent responses to policies that constrain freedom.” Psychological Science 23, no. 2 (February 2012): 205–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611429468.
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  - Shepherd, Steven, and Aaron C. Kay. “On the perpetuation of ignorance: system dependence, system justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical information.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102, no. 2 (February 2012): 264–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026272.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Aaron C. Kay, and Gráinne M. Fitzsimons. “Divergent effects of activating thoughts of God on self-regulation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102, no. 1 (January 2012): 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025971.
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  - Kay, A. C., and J. Friesen. “On social stability and social change: Understanding when system justification does and does not occur.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 20, no. 6 (December 1, 2011): 360–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411422059.
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  - Shepherd, S., A. C. Kay, M. J. Landau, and L. A. Keefer. “Evidence for the specificity of control motivations in worldview defense: Distinguishing compensatory control from uncertainty management and terror management processes.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 47, no. 5 (September 1, 2011): 949–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.03.026.
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  - Day, Martin V., Aaron C. Kay, John G. Holmes, and Jaime L. Napier. “System justification and the defense of committed relationship ideology.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101, no. 2 (August 2011): 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023197.
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  - Laurin, K., A. C. Kay, and S. Shepherd. “Self-stereotyping as a route to system justification.” Social Cognition 29, no. 3 (July 11, 2011): 360–75. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2011.29.3.360.
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  - Gaucher, Danielle, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay. “Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101, no. 1 (July 2011): 109–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022530.
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  - Wheeler, S. C., D. Smeesters, and A. C. Kay. “Culture modifies the operation of prime-to-behavior effects.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 47, no. 4 (July 1, 2011): 824–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.018.
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  - Cutright, K. M., E. C. Wu, J. C. Banfield, A. C. Kay, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “When your world must be defended: Choosing products to justify the system.” Journal of Consumer Research 38, no. 1 (June 1, 2011): 62–77. https://doi.org/10.1086/658469.
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  - Banfield, J. C., A. C. Kay, K. M. Cutright, E. C. Wu, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “A person by situation account of motivated system defense.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 2, no. 2 (March 1, 2011): 212–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550610386809.
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  - Bobocel, D. R., A. C. Kay, M. P. Zanna, and J. M. Olson. “The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario symposium.” The Psychology of Justice and Legitimacy 11 (2011): 1–350. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, and Aaron C. Kay. “Social disadvantage and the self-regulatory function of justice beliefs.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100, no. 1 (January 2011): 149–71. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021343.
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  - Anderson, Joanna E., Aaron C. Kay, and Gráinne M. Fitzsimons. “In search of the silver lining: the justice motive fosters perceptions of benefits in the later lives of tragedy victims.” Psychological Science 21, no. 11 (November 2010): 1599–1604. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610386620.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., Steven Shepherd, Craig W. Blatz, Sook Ning Chua, and Adam D. Galinsky. “For God (or) country: the hydraulic relation between government instability and belief in religious sources of control.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 99, no. 5 (November 2010): 725–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021140.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Steven Shepherd, and Aaron C. Kay. “Restricted emigration, system inescapability, and defense of the status quo: system-justifying consequences of restricted exit opportunities.” Psychological Science 21, no. 8 (August 2010): 1075–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610375448.
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  - Callan, M. J., A. C. Kay, J. M. Olson, N. Brar, and N. Whitefield. “The effects of priming legal concepts on perceived trust and competitiveness, self-interested attitudes, and competitive behavior.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46, no. 2 (March 1, 2010): 325–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.12.005.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., Danielle Gaucher, Ian McGregor, and Kyle Nash. “Religious belief as compensatory control.” Personality and Social Psychology Review : An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc 14, no. 1 (February 2010): 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309353750.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., David A. Moscovitch, and Kristin Laurin. “Randomness, attributions of arousal, and belief in god.” Psychological Science 21, no. 2 (February 2010): 216–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797609357750.
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  - Gaucher, Danielle, Carolyn L. Hafer, Aaron C. Kay, and Nicolas Davidenko. “Compensatory rationalizations and the resolution of everyday undeserved outcomes.” Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 36, no. 1 (January 2010): 109–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209351701.
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  - Smeesters, D., S. C. Wheeler, and A. C. Kay. “Chapter Five: Indirect prime-to-behavior effects: The role of perceptions of the self, others, and situations in connecting primed constructs to social behavior.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 42 (January 1, 2010): 259–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(10)42005-5.
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  - Kay, A. C., J. A. Whitson, D. Gaucher, and A. D. Galinsky. “Compensatory control: Achieving order through the mind, our institutions, and the heavens.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 18, no. 5 (December 1, 2009): 264–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., Danielle Gaucher, Jennifer M. Peach, Kristin Laurin, Justin Friesen, Mark P. Zanna, and Steven J. Spencer. “Inequality, discrimination, and the power of the status quo: Direct evidence for a motivation to see the way things are as the way they should be.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 97, no. 3 (September 2009): 421–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015997.
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  - Bryan, C. J., C. S. Dweck, L. Ross, A. C. Kay, and N. O. Mislavsky. “Political mindset: Effects of schema priming on liberal-conservative political positions.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45, no. 4 (July 1, 2009): 890–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.007.
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  - Callan, M. J., A. C. Kay, N. Davidenko, and J. H. Ellard. “The effects of justice motivation on memory for self- and other-relevant events.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45, no. 4 (July 1, 2009): 614–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.013.
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  - Jost, J. T., A. C. Kay, and H. Thorisdottir. “Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification.” Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification, May 1, 2009, 1–552. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.001.0001.
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  - Kay, A. C., and M. P. Zanna. “A Contextual Analysis of the System Justification Motive and Its Societal Consequences,” May 1, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.007.
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  - Kay, A. C., S. Czapliński, and J. T. Jost. “Left-right ideological differences in system Justification following exposure to complementary versus noncomplementary stereotype exemplars.” European Journal of Social Psychology 39, no. 2 (March 1, 2009): 290–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.500.
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  - Smeesters, Dirk, S Christian Wheeler, and Aaron C. Kay. “The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96, no. 2 (February 2009): 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012959.
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  - Laurin, K., A. C. Kay, and D. A. Moscovitch. “On the belief in God: Towards an understanding of the emotional substrates of compensatory control.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44, no. 6 (November 1, 2008): 1559–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.007.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., Danielle Gaucher, Jamie L. Napier, Mitchell J. Callan, and Kristin Laurin. “God and the government: testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95, no. 1 (July 2008): 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18.
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  - Kay, A. C., S. C. Wheeler, and D. Smeesters. “The situated person: Effects of construct accessibility on situation construals and interpersonal perception.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44, no. 2 (March 1, 2008): 275–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2007.05.005.
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  - Lau, Grace P., Aaron C. Kay, and Steven J. Spencer. “Loving those who justify inequality: the effects of system threat on attraction to women who embody benevolent sexist ideals.” Psychological Science 19, no. 1 (January 2008): 20–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02040.x.
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  - Kay, A. C., J. T. Jost, A. N. Mandisodza, S. J. Sherman, J. V. Petrocelli, and A. L. Johnson. “Panglossian Ideology In The Service Of System Justification: How Complementary Stereotypes Help Us To Rationalize Inequality.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 39 (April 26, 2007): 305–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)39006-5.
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  - Jost, John T., and Aaron C. Kay. “Exposure to benevolent sexism and complementary gender stereotypes: consequences for specific and diffuse forms of system justification.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88, no. 3 (March 2005): 498–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.498.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., John T. Jost, and Sean Young. “Victim derogation and victim enhancement as alternate routes to system justification.” Psychological Science 16, no. 3 (March 2005): 240–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00810.x.
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  - Kay, A. C., S. C. Wheeler, J. A. Bargh, and L. Ross. “Material priming: The influence of mundane physical objects on situational construal and competitive behavioral choice.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 95, no. 1 (September 1, 2004): 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2004.06.003.
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  - Fitzsimons, Gráinne M., and Aaron C. Kay. “Language and interpersonal cognition: causal effects of variations in pronoun usage on perceptions of closeness.” Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 30, no. 5 (May 2004): 547–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203262852.
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  - Kay, Aaron C., and John T. Jost. “Complementary justice: effects of "poor but happy" and "poor but honest" stereotype exemplars on system justification and implicit activation of the justice motive.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85, no. 5 (November 2003): 823–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823.
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  - Baldwin, M. W., and A. C. Kay. “Adult attachment and the inhibition of rejection.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 22, no. 3 (June 1, 2003): 275–93. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.22.3.275.22890.
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  - Mendelson, M. J., and A. C. Kay. “Positive feelings in friendship: Does imbalance in the relationship matter?” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 20, no. 1 (February 1, 2003): 101–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407503020001190.
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  - Kay, A. C., and L. Ross. “The perceptual push: The interplay of implicit cues and explicit situational construals on behavioral intentions in the prisoner's dilemma.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 39, no. 6 (January 1, 2003): 634–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1031(03)00057-X.
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  - Kay, A. C., M. C. Jimenez, and J. T. Jost. “Sour grapes, sweet lemons, and the anticipatory rationalization of the status quo.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28, no. 9 (January 1, 2002): 1300–1312. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672022812014.
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- Book Sections
  - Rutjens, B. T., and A. C. Kay. “Compensatory control theory and the psychological importance of perceiving order.” In Coping with Lack of Control in a Social World, 83–96, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315661452.
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  - Kay, A. C., J. E. Anderson, and G. M. Fitzsimons. “The motivated process of making meaning from negative experiences.” In The Psychology of Meaning. Washington DC: American Psychological Association, 2014.
  - Kay, A. C., M. J. Landau, and D. L. Sullivan. “Agency and Control.” In APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, edited by J. Bargh and E. Borgida. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2014.
  - Banfield, J. C., S. Shepherd, and A. C. Kay. “Consequences of system defense motivations for individuals’ willingness to act sustainably.” In Encouraging Sustainable Behavior: Psychology and the Environment, 111–24, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203141182.
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  - Kay, A. C., and D. L. Sullivan. “Cultural unity and diversity in compensatory control.” In Advances in Culture and Psychology, edited by M. Gelfand, C. Yue, and Y. Hong. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  - Callan, M. J., and A. C. Kay. “Associations Between Law, Competitiveness, and the Pursuit of Self-Interest.” In Ideology, Psychology, and Law, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737512.003.0007.
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  - Jost, J. T., and A. C. Kay. “System justification as an obstacle to the attainment of social justice.” In Social Thinking and Interpersonal Behavior, 277–96, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203139677.
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  - Kay, A. C., and R. P. Eibach. “Ideological Processes.” In The Handbook of Social Cognition, edited by S. Fiske and N. MaCrae. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
  - Kay, A. C., and R. P. Eibach. “The ideological toolbox: Ideologies as tools of motivated social cognition.” In The SAGE Handbook of Social Cognition, 495–515, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446247631.n25.
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  - Ramona Bobocel, D., A. C. Kay, M. P. Zanna, and J. M. Olson. “Preface,” vii–xiv, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658.
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  - Kay, A. C., D. Gaucher, and K. Laurin. “The power of the status quo: Consequences for maintaining and perpetuating inequality.” In The Psychology of Justice and Legitimacy: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 11), edited by R. Bobocel, M. Kay, P. Zanna, and J. M. Olson, 109–18. Philadelphia: Psychology Press, 2010.
  - Kay, A. C., J. Banfield, and K. Laurin. “Ideology and power.” In The Social Psychology of Power, edited by T. Vescio and A. Guinote. New York: Guilford Press, 2010.
  - Kay, A. C., and J. T. Jost. “Social Justice: History, Theory, and Research.” In Handbook of Social Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010.
  - Kay, A. C., and M. P. Zanna. “A contextual analysis of the social and psychological consequences of system justification.” In Social & Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification, edited by J. T. Jost and H. Thoristtodor. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  - Kay, A. C., J. T. Jost, and G. M. Fitzsimons. “The Ideological Animal: On the Epistemic and Existential Bases of System Justification.” In Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology, edited by J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, and T. Pyszczynsk. New York: Guilford Press, 2004.
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