Research Interests

I'm interested in the general question of how the self colors our thoughts about the social world. Decades of research suggest that people are "egocentric." That is, their thoughts about others (Does Jill like X? Does Karen believe in Y? How is Linda affected by Z?) are unduly influenced by thoughts about the self (Do I like X? Do I believe in Y? How would I be affected by Z?). My research looks at this egocentric thinking and seeks to understand its causes and consequences in a variety of areas of social life, including:

Empathy and Perspective-Taking:
How do we take others' perspectives? Do we attempt to imagine ourselves in the other person's position, or do we imagine from our own position, as if by substituting the self for the other person? How might this affect our feelings of empathy for and willingness to help someone in need?

Reflected Appraisals:
How do we think we are viewed by others? When imagining others' impressions of ourselves, do we project our self-views onto them, believing they see us the way we see ourselves? Do this lead us to misjudge how others view us?

Social Comparisons:
How do we think our abilities, personality characteristics, and chances of experiencing an event compare with those of others? When making such comparisons, do we think about others' characteristics as much as we should, or do we instead think mostly about our own characteristics? What are the consequences of thinking mostly about the self for our thoughts about how we compare with others?

Group Conflict and Stereotyping:
How do we come to understand the motives and intentions of those we are in conflict with? How are our thoughts about the other sides' motives and intentions influenced by our own? Can this lead us to misjudge the other side, and ultimately heighten the conflict?

Person Memory and Perception:
What do we remember about others? Is our memory for others' characteristics influenced by our own characteristics? Are we more likely to remember characteristics we share in common with others as opposed to those that make us unique from them? Does this tendency to remember shared characteristics affect our liking for and interactions with the other?