Alex Marshburn, M.A.

PhD Student

Alex is a PhD student applying theories of persuasion to increase positive mental health behaviors and reduce mental health stigma. His research has explored the application of vested interest theory to improve mental health outcomes among various populations (e.g., support providers to those experiencing depression, medical residents). He has also implemented an on-campus persuasive messaging campaign to improve the mental-health culture on campus at CGU. Within the lab, he is currently working on projects that apply overheard messaging techniques to improve help-seeking for depression and reduce mental health stigma. Alex is interested in pursuing a career in applied research.

Email | ORCiD | Google Scholar

Publications

Marshburn, A.W., & Siegel, J. T. (2025). Depression, mental health culture, and graduate students: A low-cost, poster-based intervention using attribution messages. Journal of American College Health, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2024.2446441

Marshburn, A. W., Riazi, G., Menezes, S., Ramirez, S., Guldner, G. Wells, J. C. & Siegel, J. T. (2024). A Nation-Wide Survey of Program Directors at a Large Health Care Organization: Prevalence and Perceptions of Resident Wellness Activities. HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine, 5(3), 251-263. https://doi.org/10.36518/2689-0216.1808

Menezes, M., Carpenter, K. M., Marshburn, A. W., Ramirez, S., Guldner, G., Wells, J. C., & Siegel, J. T. (2024). A Qualitative Follow-Up to a Survey of Program Directors on Wellness Programming at a Large Healthcare Organization: Interviews of High- and Low-Exemplar Programs. HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine, 5(3), 265 – 284. https://doi.org/10.36518/2689-0216.1807

Marshburn, A. W., & Siegel, J. T. (2023). Vested in support: Applying vested interest theory to increase support for close others with depression. Journal of Health Psychology, 28(4), 328-342.

Siegel, J. T., McManus, M. D., Blazek, D. R., & Marshburn, A. W. (2023). Three-in-1,000 and dynamic norms: A mixed-method investigation of novel appeals for influencing organ donor registration. Social Science & Medicine, 317, 115544.

Rosenberg, B. D., Marshburn, A. W., & Siegel, J. T. (2022). Persuasive Communication: Source, Message, Audience. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.

Presentations

Marshburn, A. W., Guldner, G., Siegel, J.T. (2025, February) The Transition to Residency Risk Index: Distribution of 1430 Residents and Psychological Correlates of TRRI Scores, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education: Meaning in Medicine, Nashville, TN

Siegel. J.T., Falco, C., Marshburn, A. W., Menezes, S., Carpenter, S. (2024, May) Depression, Stigma, Norms, and Vested Interest: Social Psychological Approaches for Understanding and Increasing Help-Seeking Among Medical Residents, Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA

Siegel, J.T., Falco, C., Marshburn, A. W., Carpenter, K., Carpenter, S. (2024, April) Increasing Wellness of Medical Residents: Psychological Contributions. Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA

Marshburn, A. W. & Siegel, J. T. (2022, May). Vested in Support: Applying Vested Interest Theory to Increase Support for Close Others with Depression. From: Increasing the Provision of Support to People with Depression: Attribution Theory, Moral Elevation, and Vested Interest Theory. Symposium (Siegel, J.T. [Chair]), conducted at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Marshburn, A. W. & Siegel, J. T. (2022, May) One message, two audiences, two Sets of Outcomes. Combining attribution theory and the overheard communication technique to increase help-seeking and reduce the harms of public stigma. From: Experimentally Investigating Four Different Approaches for Increasing Help-Seeking Among People with Depression: Self-Distancing, Overheard Communication, Social Comparison, and Attitude-Strength. Symposium conducted at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Marshburn, A. W. & Siegel, J. T. (2019, May). Vested in support: Applying vested interest theory to increase support for close others with depression. From: Increasing the provision of support to people with depression: Attribution theory, moral elevation, and vested interest theory. Symposium (Siegel, J.T. [Chair]) conducted at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA.