Faculty Mentor: Leary
Research Interests:
I have three major areas of research interest.
First, I am interested in belief superiority: the belief that one's own viewpoints are more correct than other people's. My research focuses on the causes and consequences of belief superiority to see what factors might cause such beliefs and whether they plays a part in everyday interpersonal conflicts.
Second, I am interested in the psychological processes that promote and prevent environmentalism. In particular, I am interested in the role that self-presentational motivations, habits,and excuse-making play in the adoption and maintenance of green behaviors.
Third, I am interested in accounts--the statements that people make to explain undesirable behaviors. I am exploring how people choose between excuses, justifications, and exceptions and how these decisions affect later behavior and reactions from others.