Brenda Russell

Dr. Brenda Russell is a professor of ssychology at Penn State Berks. Her scholarly and teaching interests include psychology and law; perceptions of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence; homicide defendants; and the social psychological and cognitive aspects of jury decision making. 

Dr. Russell is particularly interested in how gender and sexual orientation play a role in evaluating defendants and victims in legal cases such as self-defense in intimate partner violence, rape, sexual coercion, bullying, and sexual harassment. She has written dozens of scholarly articles on the topics and seven books to date. Her latest edited book on domestic violence is called "Gender and Domestic Violence: Contemporary Legal Practice and Intervention Reforms” with Oxford University Press. Dr. Russell’s second edition two-volume set texts of Perceptions of Female Offenders are due out this November with Springer Nature.

Dr. Russell also serves as consultant and program evaluator for various federal and state educational, law enforcement, justice, and treatment programs. She has served on legislative committees and works as an expert witness in cases of domestic violence homicide. Her teaching interests include introduction to psychology, social psychology, psychology and the law (forensic psychology), research methods, the science of psychology, sexual and domestic violence, program evaluation, and criminal investigation.

View Dr. Russell's curriculum vitae »