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Social/Personality Psychology

Social/Personality Psychology Specialization

The specialization in social/personality psychology trains students to examine how features of the social environment and characteristics of individuals interact to influence behavior, cognition, and affect. Training allows students to develop a strong foundation in theoretical perspectives, research methods, and current controversies in the field. Special emphases include social cognition, emotion, subjective well-being, self and identity, personality resilience, interpersonal relations, cultural psychology, and adaptation to stress and perceived risks.

Faculty

Belinda Campos, Ph.D. – University of California, Berkeley
Culture, relationships, positive emotion, health
Pia Dietze, Ph.D. – New York University
Social psychology, social class, economic inequality, social cognition, and intergroup relations
Peter H. Ditto, Ph.D. – Princeton University
Social cognition, motivated judgment and decision-making process, social psychology
Şule Güney, Ph.D. – University of New South Wales, Australia
Judgment and decision making under risk and ambiguity, strategic decision making, cognitive psychology
Jutta Heckhausen, Ph.D. – University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Life-span developmental psychology, motivation and developmental regulation in children, adolescents, and adults, control and health, cultural universals and differences in achievement behavior
Larry Jamner, Ph.D. – State University of New York at Stony Brook
Health psychology, psychophysiology, biopsychosocial factors related to tobacco use in youth
Linda J. Levine, Ph.D. – The University of Chicago
Relations between cognitive and emotional development, how emotions influence attention and memory, the development of children's strategies for coping with negative emotions
Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D. – Stanford University
Human memory, psychology and the law, how facts, ideas, suggestions, and other forms of post-event information can modify our memories
Paul K. Piff, Ph.D. – University of California, Berkeley
Social psychology, group processes, altruism and cooperation, socioeconomic status, inequality, social emotion, moral judgment, ethics, uncertainty
Sarah Pressman, Ph.D. – Carnegie Mellon University
Health psychology, positive emotions, stress physiology, psychosocial effects on physiology and health
Nicholas Scurich, Ph.D. – University of Southern California
Psychology and law, judgment and decision making, violence risk assessment
Oliver Sng, Ph.D. – Arizona State University
Social psychology, evolutionary psychology, cultural psychology, stereotyping, behavioral ecology
Roxane Cohen Silver, Ph.D. – Northwestern University
Coping with stressful life events (e.g., personal traumas, natural disasters, terrorism)
Joanne Zinger, Ph.D. – University of California, Riverside
Expressive writing, meta-analysis, positive psychology, health psychology, preventive medicine, educational psychology