Dr. Zlatan Križan
zkrizan@iastate.edu OR (go to main page)
22 Office and Lab Building
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Tel:
Lab Manager: Kyle Scherr
In the SSPeL we explore the psychological dynamics underlying people's perceptions of themselves and others, especially in reference to the immediate and broader social context. Particular attention is paid to social comparative, motivational, and personality processes that are involved.
The research in the SSPeL employs various methods, including carefully controlled experiments, naturalistic analyses of individual differences, and meta-analyses of previous empirical work. The basic tenet of the laboratory is that bridging social and personality perspectives through appreciation of both situational forces and individual differences, together with utilization of multi-method approaches, is most likely to yield meaningful insights into the human nature.
Current Projects
Predictions in Public Settings
We make predictions all the time; we wonder about how we are going to do on an upcoming exam, who will win the next election, and whether we will outdo our friends in a trivia competition. Whereas psychologists have some firm insights into socio-cognitive processes underlying such predictions, their understanding of how our optimism and pessimism might depend on the nature of the inter-personal context is very limited. Will you make the same prediction about an upcoming election in front of a democrat and a republican? Will you predict the same score on an upcoming exam in front of your close friend as you would in front of a casual class acquaintance? We are currently pursuing these questions in a series of lab and field experiments that examine how impression management might influence optimism and pessimism in people's predictions.
Narcissism and Social Comparison
Narcissism, the tendency to hold an inflated view of self-worth and ability, currently commands considerable attention from researchers in various sub-fields of psychology. At the core of the syndrome are extreme views of one's worth, ability, and entitlement, views that are nonetheless situated within insecurities that demand continuous self-affirmation (the so called "narcissistic paradox"). Although the defining features of narcissism are social comparative in nature, we know very little about social comparison dynamics among narcissists. Are they threatened by comparisons with upward targets better than themselves in some way? If so, how do they react? What types of social comparison information are narcissists likely to remember? One current project is using both correlational and experimental approaches to study the narcissistic social comparison tendencies.
The "ABOUT-Average Effect"
You likely heard about the Better-Than-Average Effect; we all believe that we are smarter, more generous, and more considerate than our peers. That is at least what we indicate on questionnaires when asked. But what if we had to say this to someone? Would we still claim that we are above average? In a series of studies we are exploring how public identifiability might make people claim they are ABOUT average, not much different than anybody else. The critical questions concern how the nature of the audience might influence cognitive processes underlying such comparative judgments in interpersonal contexts.
Social Comparison Orientation
Although all of us are sensitive to social comparison information, there are clear individual differences in the extent to which we are interested in how we stack up against others on various dimensions. We are currently conducting a meta-analysis on behavioral, affective, and cognitive consequences of individual differences in social comparison orientation. Additionally, we are working to validate measures for examining tendencies for upwards vs. downward social comparison.
Mood and Comparative Optimism
Like most, you might think that your chances of breaking a leg are lower than average. However, would you still believe this if in a very good or a very bad mod? A current study is concerned with how mood influences such comparative optimism, and in what ways mood might change the way we make such judgments.
Dreams and Personality
Freud was the first theorists to propose a strong link between what is in our dreams and our personality. Modern research on personality, however, has shied away from linking content of dreams with personality models. In a current project we are examining whether basic personality dimensions (such as the Big Five) can predict certain types of dreams, and whether people's personality can be accurately judged based on the content of their dreams.
Current Members (Spring 2008)
Crysta Culp
Claire Hauser
Shari Ivory
Lorraine Moertle
Alicia Renken
Kyle Scherr
Terri Schnelle
Kari Terzino
The NEW Lab Space is currently under construction!
