Esther Burson

I am an applied developmental psychologist who uses qualitative and quantitative methods to explore themes of intersectionality and solidarity. My research investigates (1) how adolescents form attitudes about social, political, and economic inequality and (2) how these positions affect well-being and intergroup attitudes among young people with historically marginalized racial/ethnic and sexual/gender identities. I draw on theories of developmental, social, and community psychology to frame these questions. 

Before coming to Smith, I completed a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, followed by a two-year postdoctoral position in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research at Cornell University. In this role I led a research-practice partnership with a national youth service organization to explore how national service affects community engagement and intergroup attitudes among program alumni. 

At Smith I teach courses in Adolescent Development, Research Methods, and youth understandings of inequality and social change.

Selected Publications

Kornienko, O., Burson, E., Young, D.L., Godfrey, E.B., & Garner, P.W. (2025). Conscious selection: Critical consciousness informs cultivation of peer networks in a living and learning community. Social Development, 34(1). DOI:10.1111/sode.12780. 

Burson, E., Renley, B. M, Layland, E.K., Rathus, T., Caba, A.E., Simon, K.A., Eaton, L.A., & Watson, R.J. (2025). Youth-focused LGBTQ equity laws predict adolescent depression and self-esteem. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 1-12. 
 
Burson, E., & Godfrey, E.B., Ibrahim, D.A., Calzo, J.P., & Yoshikawa, H., Poteat, V.P. (2024). Queering critical consciousness: Measurement and implications of critical consciousness among sexual and gender minority youth. Research on Human Development, 21(4), 264-282. 

Burson, E., & Godfrey, E.B., Ibrahim, D.A., & Brown, R.M (2023). Structural and historical attributions in critical reflection. In L.J. Rapa and & E.B. Godfrey (Eds.), Critical consciousness: Expanding theory and measurement. Cambridge University Press.

Burson, E., & Godfrey, E.B. (2020). Intraminority solidarity: The role of critical consciousness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1362-1377.

Godfrey, E. B. & Burson, E. (2018). Interrogating the intersections: How intersectional perspectives can inform developmental research on critical consciousness. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 2018(161), 17-38.