Monica Gerber is a full professor at the Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile, as well as an associate researcher at the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES). She is currently the director of the Observatory of Violence and Social Legitimacy (OLES). Dr. Gerber holds a PhD in Social Research Methods from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research interests are social and political psychology, social justice attitudes, violence, police use of force and punitiveness. She has a strong interest in quantitative and experimental research methodologies, as well as in quantitative data analysis. She has published in journals such as Psychology of Violence, Political Psychology, Social Justice Research and the British Journal of Criminology.

Research Interests

Dr. Gerber's research sits at the intersection of social and political psychology, as well as criminology and law. Her primary interest is to investigate people's attitudes towards social justice issues, including support for intergroup violence (such as police and protestor use of force), police legitimacy, procedural justice, and punitiveness. Dr. Gerber has a strong interest in quantitative and experimental research methodologies, as well as in quantitative data analysis.

Selected Publications

• Martínez, V., Jiménez-Molina, Á., & Gerber, M. M. (2023). Social contagion, violence, and suicide among adolescents. Current opinion in psychiatry, 36(3), 237-242.
• Gerber, M. M., Cuadrado, C., Figueiredo, A., Crispi, F., Jiménez-Moya, G., & Andrade, V. (2021). Taking care of each other: How can we increase compliance with personal protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile? Political Psychology 42(5), 863-880. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12770
• Gerber, M. M., Moya, C., Castillo, A., Orchard, M., & Puga, I. (2021). Acting collectively to confront injustice: the mediating role of the legitimacy of authorities. Studies in Psychology, 42(1), 76–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2020.1857582
• Gerber, M. M. (2021). Attitudes Toward Punishment. In H. N. Pontell (Ed.), Criminology and criminal justice. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.640
• Gerber, M. M., González, R., Carvacho, H., Jiménez-Moya, G., Moya, C., & Jackson, J. (2018). On the justification of intergroup violence: The roles of procedural justice, police legitimacy, and group identity in attitudes toward violence among indigenous people. Psychology of Violence, 8(3), 379–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000177
• Gerber, M.M., & Jackson, J. (2017). Justifying Violence: Legitimacy, Ideology and Public Support for Police Use of Force. Psychology, crime and law, 23(1), 79-95. doi:10.1080/1068316X.2016.1220556