I am an interdisciplinary experimental psychologist and the director of the UNCW Honors Scholars Program.  My research interests are in the areas of animal behavior and health psychology, both related to aspects of sexual and reproductive behavior.  I maintain a lab to study to behavior of live-bearing fish (like guppies) and currently have mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, and swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri.  My graduate and undergraduate students are involved in studies related to mate choice and social interactions, including one study on behavioral pharmacology.  I am also beginning to collaborate with Mark Galizio on a study related to learning and odor cues.  Related to health psychology, I study attitudes about controversial issues in sexuality (for example, sexually transmitted disease, gender roles and contraceptive risk taking) and have developed a number of attitude survey instruments.  Currently, a graduate student and I are testing a new attitude scale related to gender identity.

Select Publications

Research related to animal behavior:

        Bruce, K & Simone, M.* (July 2004). Male size and melanism influence social interactions in eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki).  Poster presentation at the American Psychological Association meeting, Hawaii.

        McLaughlin, M. & Bruce, K. (2001).  The effect of male familiarity on proximity time in female eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki).  Psychological Record, 51, 237-250.

Research related to human sexuality:

   Williamson, A. & Bruce, K.  (March 2004; April, 2004).  Love Attitudes, Sexual Behavior and Gender Roles in College Students.  Poster presented at the Sandhills Psi Chi Conference and the Southern Regional Honors Council conference, both Wilmington, NC.

          McMullin, D.*, & Bruce, K. (March 2002).  Black and White college students’ attitudes toward homosexuals.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Orlando, FL. 

        Bruce, K. & Walker, L*. &. (2001).  College students’ attitudes about AIDS:  1986-2000.  AIDS Education and Prevention, 13, 428-437.

          Boshamer, C. B. & Bruce, K.  (1999).  A scale to measure attitudes about HIV-antibody testing:  Development and psychometric validation. AIDS Education & Prevention, 11, 400-413.