Eric D. Wesselmann

 

 

Research

My general area of interest within social psychology is social influence within groups. One common tactic that groups use to influence members is social ostracism (i.e., being ignored and excluded). There are two approaches that encompass the social psychological study of ostracism, and I conduct research in both. The first approach examines the experience of being ostracized. My research investigates the immediate negative impact of ostracism, as well as how individuals respond behaviorally. The other approach investigates when ostracism occurs. My research focuses on the conditions that motivate individuals to ostracize a group member. I strive to incorporate novel research methods to understand ostracism through both of these approaches.

Wesselmann, E. D., Bagg, D., & Williams, K. D. (2009). "I feel your pain": The effects of observing ostracism on the ostracism detection system. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1308-1311. [Download “Watching” Cyberball files]

Wesselmann, E. D., Butler, F. A., Williams, K. D., & Pickett, C. L. (2010). Adding injury to insult: Unexpected rejection leads to more aggressive responses. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 232-237.

Carter-Sowell, A. R., Wesselmann, E. D., Wirth, J. H., Law, A. T., Chen, Z., Kosasih, M., van der Lee, R., & Williams, K. D. (2010). Belonging trumps justice: Effects of being ostracized for being better or worse than the others. Journal of Individual Psychology, 66, 68-92.

Wesselmann, E. D., Cardoso, F., Slater, S., & Williams, K. D. (2012). “To be looked at as though air”: Civil attention matters. Psychological Science, 23, 166-168. [Click here for popular press write-ups of this paper]

Nezlek, J. B., Wesselmann, E. D., Wheeler, L., & Williams, K. D. Ostracism in everyday life. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. In press.

Wesselmann, E. D., Wirth, J. H., Mroczek, D. K., & Williams, K. D. Dial a feeling: Detecting moderation of affect decline during ostracism. Personality and Individual Differences. In press.

Wesselmann, E. D., Wirth, J. H., Pryor, J. B., Reeder, G. D., & Williams, K. D. When do we ostracize? Social Psychology and Personality Science. In press.

Other topics related to behavior in group/inter-group contexts.

Stigma. Individual reactions to stigmatized groups are often characterized by avoidance and interpersonal rejection. I am interested in both the dynamic structure of stigmatizing beliefs, and ultimately how to counteract these beliefs.

Wesselmann, E. D., & Graziano, W. G. (2010). Sinful and/or possessed? Religious beliefs and mental illness stigma. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 402-437.

Wesselmann, E. D., Reeder, G. D., & Pryor, J. B. The effects of time pressure on controlling reactions to persons with mental illness. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. In press.

Sexual harassment. I apply my interest of social influence to the study of sexual harassment in groups. Sexual harassment typically occurs in contexts where group norms either permit or encourage this behavior.

Wesselmann, E. D., & Kelly, J. R. (2010). Cat-calls and culpability: Investigating the frequency and functions of stranger harassment. Sex Roles, 63, 451-462.

Religion/Spirituality. Recently I started a program of research to understand the antecedents and implications of commitment to religious/spiritual groups. I am also interested in how religion/spirituality may facilitate coping with ostracism experiences.

Wesselmann, E. D., & Williams, K. D. (2010). The potential balm of religion and spirituality for recovering from ostracism. Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, 7, 29-45.

 

Professional symposia

Wesselmann, E. D. (organizer). (2012, May). The psychology of supernatural thinking.  Symposium at the upcoming meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Wesselmann, E. D. (organizer). (2011, May). Diverse perspectives on the psychology of religion, spirituality, and supernatural thinking. Symposium at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Wesselmann, E. D., & Williams, K. D. (organizers). (2010, July). Current research on the links between exclusion/ostracism and aggression. Symposium at the meeting for the International Society for Research on Aggression, Storrs, CT.

Schroeder, D., & Wesselmann, E. D. (organizers). (2010, May). Cooperation, helping, and beyond: New directions in pro-social behavior. Symposium at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

 

Recent conference presentations

Wesselmann, E. D., Ren, D., Swim, E., & Williams, K. D. (2012, January). Does rumination influence recovery from ostracism? Presentation at the meeting for the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Wesselmann, E. D., Graziano, B. G., & Doherty, E. (2011, October). Religious beliefs and mental illness stigma. Presentation at the upcoming meeting for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and of the Religious Research Association, Milwaukee, WI.

Wesselmann, E. D., Cardoso, F. D., Slater, S., & Williams, K. D. (2011, May). Just a glance helps us feel connected. Presentation at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Wesselmann, E. D., VanderDrift, L. E., & Agnew, C. R. (2011, May). Conceptualizing, measuring, and manipulating religious commitment using interdependence theory. Presentation at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Wesselmann, E. D., VanderDrift, L. E., & Agnew, C. R. (2010, February). Using interdependence theory to examine commitment to various religious targets. Presentation at the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Pre-Conference at the annual meeting for the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Las Vegas, NV.

Williams, K. D., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2010, March). Ostracism and aggression. Presentation at the Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology, Sydney, Australia.

Wesselmann, E. D., Carter-Sowell, A. R., Wirth, J. H., & Williams, K. D. (2010, May). Advances in ostracism research: Detection, reaction, and coping. Presentation at the annual meeting for the American Psychological Society, Boston, MA.

Wesselmann, E. D., Wirth, J. H., Howard, A. M., Pryor, J. B., Reeder, G. D., Landau, S. E., & Williams, K. D. (2010, May). When and why do we help ostracized individuals? Presentation at the annual meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Wesselmann, E. D., Carter-Sowell, A. R., Riva, P., Wirth, J. H., & Williams, K. D. (2010, July). When and why aggression fortifies the needs of ostracized individuals. Presentation at the meeting for the International Society for Research on Aggression, Storrs, CT.