Elizabeth Majka
Elizabeth (Liz) A. Majka, Ph.D.
Associate Chair and Associate Professor, Psychology
B.A. Beloit College (WI)
Ph.D. University of Chicago
Liz Majka was born and raised in LaGrange (IL) and is delighted to have landed her dream job so close to family and friends. As a social psychologist, her research centers broadly on how people maintain a sense of belonging. Specific projects have focused on nonverbal behavior (mimicry and synchrony), well-being, prosocial behavior, attitude strength, and perceiving others. She enjoys mentoring students through research and serving as the advisor for Psychology Club. She is also a Co-Director of the KEYSTONE Program, which helps STEM students succeed at Elmhurst.
Outside of school, Liz enjoys running, playing soccer, and spending time with her husband and kids. She also enjoys snuggling with her chubby black pug and her tortoise-shelled cat.
- PSY 210 Introduction to Psychological Science
- PSY 303 Social Psychology
- PSY 325 Psychology and Culture
- PSY 355 Statistics
- PSY 356 Research Methods
- PSY 496 Capstone: The Psychology of Happiness
- KEY 115 J-Term and August Science Bootcamp
- KEY 120 STEMINAR
- EXP 250 Psychology
- PSY 249/349/449/493/495/497 Research Mentorship, etc.
Students, if you are interested in serving as a Research Assistant, please email Dr. Majka at [email protected].
Representative Publications
† Student in Research Lab
Zhou, Z., †Wang, M., Yang, Y., & Majka, E.A. (2024). Face masks facilitate discrimination of genuine and fake smiles—But people believe the opposite. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 115, 104658.
Majka, E.A., Bennett, K. F., Sawyer, T.P., Johnson, J.L., & Guenther, M.F. (2023). An interdisciplinary course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) creates a community of practice for STEM undergraduates and leads to psychosocial gains. Journal of College Science Teaching, 52(4), 48-60.
†White, M.W., †Khan, N., †Deren, J.S., Sim, J.J., & Majka, E.A. (2022). Give a dog a bone: Spending money on pets promotes happiness. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-7.
Majka, E.A., Guenther, M.F., & Raimondi, S.L. (2021). Science bootcamp goes virtual. A compressed, interdisciplinary, online course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) promotes psychosocial gains in STEM transfer students. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22 (1), 1-10.
Majka, E.A., †White, M.W., †Bowling, L.A., †Garcia, R.M., †Skinner, T.L., Bennett, K.F., Bernstein, M.J., & Sim, J.J. (2020). The affiliative consequences of same-race and cross-race mimicry. The Journal of Social Psychology, 160(5), 603-612.
Majka, E.A., Raimondi, S.L, & Guenther, M.F. (2020). Adapting an interdisciplinary, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) course to an online format. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, 4(1), 74-75.
Zhou, H., Majka, E.A., & Epley, N. (2017). Inferring perspective versus getting perspective. Underestimating the value of being in another person’s shoes. Psychological Science, 1-12.
Cacioppo, S., Zhou, H., Monteleone, G., Majka, E.A., Quinn, K.A., Ball, A., Norman, G., Semin, G.R., & Cacioppo, J.T. (2014). You are in sync with me: Neural correlates of interpersonal synchrony with an adaptive partner. Neuroscience, 277, 842-858.