Rate My Professor Amanda Vicary

Dr. Vicary's research explores crime, the criminal justice system, and popular media, focusing on the cultural fascination with true crime, wrongful convictions, public perceptions of crime, and romantic relationships formed when one person is incarcerated. Her scholarship has been published in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Social Psychological and Personality Science. Key publications include "Captured by True Crime: Why Are Women Drawn to Tales of Rape, Murder, and Serial Killers?" (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2010), "Patterns of Stability in Adult Attachment: An Empirical Test of Two Models of Continuity and Change" (2011), "The Experiences in Close Relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A Method for Assessing Attachment Orientations Across Relationships" (2011), "Attachment Features and Functions in Adult Romantic Relationships" (2012), and "Student Reactions to the Shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University: Does Sharing Grief and Support Over the Internet Affect Recovery?" (2010). She has secured multiple grants, such as Illinois Wesleyan University Artistic and Scholarly Development Grants (2019, $2,000; 2016, $2,000; 2013, $2,000), Instructional Development Grants, Curriculum Development Grants, and the President's Innovation Fund (2022, $500). Her expertise has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, CNN, NPR, and television programs on Investigation Discovery, Oxygen, and HBO. Dr. Vicary has delivered numerous invited public lectures on true crime and wrongful convictions at public libraries and schools, including over 15 talks across Illinois libraries in 2022 alone.