Malin Lilley Profile

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Malin Lilley, Ph.D.

Dr. Malin Lilley is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Counseling and Psychology Department at Texas A&M University - Central Texas. She completed her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience with a minor in biology at Colgate University. She then earned a master’s and Ph.D. in Brain and Behavior Science (Experimental Psychology) from The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Lilley has taught a variety of courses including Behavioral Research Methods, Statistics, Writing in Psychology, Psychology Major Seminar, Lifespan Development, Human Sexuality, and Comparative Psychology.

Dr. Lilley’s research focuses on marine mammal behavior and cognition and, most recently, the development of social interactions in beluga whales. Another area of interest for Dr. Lilley is studying how students’ personal and professional goals are impacted by their social identity (e.g., being a first-generation college student). For Dr. Lilley’s most current work, please see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Malin-Lilley/research. Students (both undergraduate and master’s level) are welcome to contact Dr. Lilley via email (malin.lilley@tamuct.edu) regarding current research opportunities.


Selected Publications

Huynh, H. P., Wicks, A., Raya, A., Castellanos, I., Weatherford, D. R., & Lilley, M. K. (2024).
Social comparison processes of Hispanic students at Hispanic majority institutions. Psychological Reports, https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941241241641

Ham, J. R., Lilley, M. K., & Hill, H. M. (2023). Non-conceptive sexual behavior in cetaceans: comparison of form and function. In B. Wursig & D. Orbach (Eds.) Sex in cetaceans, (pp. 129-152). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_7

Manitzas Hill, H. M., Dudzinski, K. M., Lilley, M. K., & Ham, J. R. (2023). Sexual behaviors of odontocetes in managed care. In B. Wursig & D. Orbach (Eds.) Sex in cetaceans (pp. 173-198). Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_9

Huynh, H., Sifuentes, K., & Lilley, M. (2023). Context matters: Stress for minority students who attend minority-majority universities. Psychological Reports, 126(1), 246-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211043459

Lilley, M. K., Ham, J. R., Manitzas Hill, H. M. (2022). Observations of courtship in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas).
Aquatic Mammals, 48(6). https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.547

Lilley, M. K., Ham, J. R., Miller, M. R., Kolodziej, K., Hill, H. M. (2022). Investigation of lateralization of socio-sexual behavior in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Behavioural Processes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104718

Lilley, M., De Vere, A., & Yeater, D. (2020). Laterality of eye use by bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis) dolphins while viewing predictable and unpredictable stimuli. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 33. https://doi.org/10.46867/ijcp.2020.33.03.01

Lilley, M., Ham, J., & Hill, H. (2020). The development of socio-sexual behavior in beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) under human care. Behavioural Processes, 171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2019.104025