Since its beginnings in 1973, the social psychology program at ASU has greatly grown and is now widely recognized as among the best such programs in the country. How do we account for this success?

Although there are several specific answers to that question, probably the best is that the faculty and students of the ASU social psychology program have been a highly productive group over the years, both in research at the national and international level and in teaching at the university level.
 

This productivity has been facilitated by two main factors. The first is that the group is coherent and cordial. Its members value one another's work and enjoy collaborating on research projects. It is common for faculty to publish jointly, and it is almost invariably the case that, when a faculty member produces an article or book chapter, at least one student from the program is a coauthor. One indication of the group's solidarity is that, although there have been numerous close calls, the program has never lost a faculty member to a rival university. Even when tempted by the strong recruitment efforts of other highly prestigious universities and psychology departments, our social psychologists have always decided to stay at ASU.
 

The second reason for the growth and stature of social psychology here has been the dialogue between traditional theoretical/academic perspectives on social psychology and the view that social psychology can be profitably applied to social problems, business, health and family. Several of the faculty combine social psychological theory with direct application to societal issues. Accordingly, the Program has developed an international reputation for providing a dual emphasis in these complementary arenas of theoretical and applied work.
 

The senior member of the current social psychology faculty is Sanford Braver (Ph.D., University of Michigan). Sandy has moved his long–standing theoretical interest in bargaining and conflict resolution into the applied social psychology domain. For the last 20 years, he has been exploring the social psychology of families. Researched originally with two large grants from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, Sandy now has a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to explore the meanings family members attach to one another and the impact this has on children undergoing the adolescent transition. The author of "Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myth," Sandy is a sought–after consultant at the interface of psychology and family law. He is also affiliated with the Department's Prevention Research Center (PRC), under which he has two more large grants that explore issues of taking social psychological interventions and principles into the wider community. This applied avenue also piques his methodological and quantitative curiosity, and he has been developing research design and statistical methods, especially those emphasizing external validity, for such problems. Sandy's teaching interests revolve around graduate and undergraduate statistics and methods courses and the senior honors seminar.
 

Robert Cialdini came to ASU in 1971 after getting his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina and spending a post–doctoral year at Columbia University. His interests in persuasion and social influence have continued over the years, manifesting recently in a focus on consumer psychology, which he makes a large part of his graduate and undergraduate courses in interpersonal influence. Bob's interest in the influence process is also evident in his projects currently underway to investigate the factors that incline people to behave according to the norms of the society (e.g., to preserve the natural environment), and that incline people toward altruistic action. In addition to many articles in the field’s top research journals, Bob is author of, "Influence: Science and Practice," author of a chapter on social influence in the newest edition of the Handbook of Social Psychology , and co–author with ASU colleagues Doug Kenrick and Steve Neuberg of, "Social Psychology: Unraveling the Mystery." He has received the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the Society of Consumer Psychology, the Donald T. Campbell Award for Distinguished Contributions in Social Psychology from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the inaugural Peitho Award for Distinguished Contributions to the study of social influence.

After a four year stint at Montana State University, Douglas Kenrick returned to ASU, where he had received his Ph.D. Doug's main research interests involve the application of evolutionary models to social cognition, interpersonal behavior, and the emergence of cultural norms. In line with models of differential parental investment, several studies have indicated that women and men have different standards for short–term mates, but more similar standards for long–term mates. In line with life history models, other studies have examined lifespan changes in men's and women's preferences in mates, and have uncovered some interesting universals in mate choice (such as preferences linked to fertility cues in women). Another line of research has examined how fundamental social motivations (e.g., concerns about physical safety, or mating desires) influence basic cognitive processes. Other applications have examined how such processes apply to social behaviors such as social influence and self–presentation. Doug's research has appeared in a wide range of journals and books, including Psychological Review, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Handbook of Social Psychology. Along with Mark Schaller and Jeff Simpson, he edited Evolutionary Social Psychology, and with Steve Neuberg and Bob Cialdini, co–authored, "Social Psychology: Unraveling the Mystery," now headed into its fifth edition.

Stephen West (Ph.D., University of Texas) came to ASU in 1981 after several years on the faculty of Florida State University. Steve immediately gained a reputation as a sought–after teacher of graduate level classes in advanced statistics and methodology and as a researcher of preventive interventions in the areas of health, mental health, and substance abuse. Steve also has an active interest in personality. He served as editor of the Journal of Personality, and edited special issues of this journal on, "Methodological Developments in Personality Research, Long–Term Stability and Change in Personality," and, "Consensus, Self–Other Agreement, and Accuracy in Judgments of Personality." He is editor of Psychological Methods and is coauthor of several methods and statistics chapters and texts (many with Leona Aiken, described below). In 1997, he was the recipient of ASU’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, in 2000 he received the Henry A. Murray Award for lifetime contributions to the study of lives from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and in 2006 he received the Jacob Cohen award for outstanding teaching and mentoring from the American Psychological Association, Division 5 (evaluation, methods, and statistics).

Nancy Felipe Russo (Ph.D., Cornell University) came to the Social Psychology Program in 1993 after spending nine years as director of the ASU Women's Studies Program. She is involved in a variety of research projects related to gender, health, and achievement, including examination of the mental health implications of violence against women, with special attention to implications of that information for mental health, law, and public policy. Nancy’s national reputation is reflected in her election to the presidency of APA's Division of the Psychology of Women and appointment to numerous committees and task forces, including the APA Task Forces on Women in Academe, Women in Science and Technology, and Male Violence against Women, among others. She is former editor of the Psychology of Women Quarterly and current editor of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Mental Health and Social Justice. The 1992 winner of ASU's Faculty Achievement Award, she was the 1996 recipient of APA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in the Public Interest, and in 2003 won the Distinguished International Psychologist Award from APA’s Division of International Psychology. She is active in APA’s Society for Ethnic Minority and Cross–Cultural Psychology, and is on the Board of Governors of the Arizona Arts, Sciences, and Technology Academy. In 2006, Nancy became the director of ASU’s new Center for Academic Institutional and Cultural Change, a presidential initiative aimed at improving outcomes for academic women through research, education, and leadership development.

Leona Aiken (Ph.D., Purdue University) is a member of the social psychology program and also the Ph.D. concentration in quantitative psychology in our department. She maintains a dual research program in health psychology and quantitative methods. Her current research focuses on health protective and health risk behavior in women across the lifespan, including mammography screening and postmenopausal hormone therapy in mature women, and risky sexual behavior, calcium consumption, and sun protection against skin cancer in young women. She integrates this work with her work in quantitative methods, in the application of statistical models to uncover mediational processes in health related interventions. Leona is former president of APA’s Division 5 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics) and of Western Psychological Association, and is president–elect of the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology. She is associate editor of the American Psychologist, and serves of the editorial boards of Psychological Methods and Multivariate Behavioral Research. She is co–author (with Stephen West) of, "Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions," and of the current edition of the classic text in multiple regression, "Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences" by Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken. Leona received the 1997 ASU Alumni Teaching Award, the 1999–2000 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, and the 2001 inaugural Distinguished Teaching/Mentoring Award from Division 5 of APA.

Steven Neuberg (Ph.D., Carnegie–Mellon University) integrates social–cognitive and evolutionary approaches in his research on social values and stigma, stereotyping and prejudice, motivation and cognition, religion and conflict, prosocial behavior, and romantic attraction. He has published his work in the top scientific journals of the field and his research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health. He has served on NIH/NIMH grant review panels, was associate editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and serves on multiple editorial boards. Steve’s teaching responsibilities include the honors section of the undergraduate Social Psychology course, undergraduate classes and graduate seminars on prejudice, and the proseminar in social psychology. With colleagues Doug Kenrick and Bob Cialdini, he co–authored, "Social Psychology: Unraveling the Mystery." Steve is a founding member of ASU’s interdisciplinary Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity, and an affiliate of ASU’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. Steve is a Fellow of the APA and the APS, and has received the 1996 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award, the 1999–2000 Barrett, the Honors College, Outstanding Honors Disciplinary Faculty Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Parents Association Professor of the Year. Steve is currently director of the Social Psychology Program.

Delia Saenz came to us from a faculty position at Notre Dame, where she spent three years after earning her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1987. Delia’s research focuses on tokenism, intergroup processes, acculturation, social identity and family dynamics, and incorporates both experimental and field methodology. Her work on tokenism is often cited for its innovation and contribution to the understanding of diversity in work groups. Delia is vice provost of undergraduate education at Arizona State University, and is currently the principal investigator of Diversification and the Academy–Post–Grutter, a project funded by the Ford Foundation that focuses on experiences of women of color faculty in higher education. She is also a co–PI on grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health focused on predictors of success in Mexican American family and youth ("Culture, Context, and Mexican American Mental Health; Effects and Meaning of Fathers for Adolescents"), and co–PI on a project funded by the Ford Foundation that examines 'difficult dialogues' as a pedagogical tool for teaching about religion and conflict. Delia received the inaugural Kenneth and Mamie Clark Award from the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, the Outstanding Faculty Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Association, and, more recently, the 2005 Excellence in Education Award from the Ronald McDonald House Charities National Scholarship Program. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on "Diversity in Contemporary Society" and "Research on the Mexican and Mexican American Family."  Delia is currently Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at ASU.

Craig Nagoshi (Ph.D., University of Hawaii) came to us after spending two years on the staff of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Addiction Research Center and three years before that as a post–doctoral fellow at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado. Craig's research interests focus on bases and correlates of religiosity/spirituality, and on the individual differences and social/situational factors determining alcohol use, effects, and problems. He teaches courses on statistics, personality, history of psychology, the psychology of addictions, and behavioral genetics.

David MacKinnon (Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles) joined us in 1990 after four years on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Medicine. Dave's major areas of research interest lie in quantitative methods, substance abuse, and health psychology. His quantitative and methodological strengths make him a distinguished evaluation researcher— area that fits well with the applied social psychology side of our program. He is the principal investigator on several federal grants which support his research on the effects of alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs and on the benefits of product warning labels. One of his most active funded areas of research is the investigation of mediation relations, particularly as they are applied to determine how treatment and prevention programs achieve their effects. These mediation analyses suggest that social processes such as peer norms are critical ingredients of successful treatment and prevention programming. Dave is currently director of the Quantitative concentration.

George Knight (Ph.D., University of California, Riverside) came to the ASU psychology department from a faculty position at the University of Arizona. George’s primary research interests include the acculturation and enculturation of Mexican American families and the associated mental health outcomes associated with these adaptations to the mainstream and ethnic cultures; cross–ethnic and cross–race measurement equivalence, in particular among measures of family relations, parenting, and mental health; and social development, including the acquisition of cooperative–competitive, prosocial, and aggressive behavioral styles. He is also currently co–site director of the Research on Pathways to Desistence project which is a multi–site prospective investigation of serious juvenile offenders. George’s research has consistently appeared in the leading journals. He is currently on the editorial board for the Journal of Research on Adolescence , has co–edited a special issue of the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, and has served on the editorial boards of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Review of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol.15), Child Development, and the Merrill–Palmer Quarterly. George’s teaching responsibilities include the psychology department’s honors thesis seminar, the honors section of introductory statistical methods, and graduate courses in multiple regression and meta–analysis.

Michael Saks looks for ways to use the knowledge and methods of psychology to improve the legal system. He has a joint appointment in the ASU College of Law. After receiving his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University social psychology program, he taught at Boston College. During a sabbatical, Michael earned a law degree from Yale Law School, and soon after began teaching in law schools. Before coming to ASU he held an endowed chair in law and psychology at the University of Iowa. His work has won several awards, among them APA’s award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, and has been cited in a number of judicial decisions, including some by the U.S. Supreme Court. Michael’s research currently focuses on the law's use of science, forensic science, the psychology of evidence law, and the behavior of the trial system.

Linda Demaine received her J.D. from the University of Arizona and her Ph.D. in social psychology from Arizona State University. Her primary appointment is in the ASU College of Law. Before coming to ASU, Linda was a behavioral scientist and policy analyst at RAND, where she led and participated in diverse projects, including an analysis of biotechnology patents and the strategic use of deception and other psychological principles in defense of critical computer networks. Linda has held an American Psychological Association Congressional Fellowship, through which she worked with the Senate Judiciary Committee on FBI and Department of Justice oversight, judicial nominations, and legislation. She has also held an American Psychological Association Science Policy Fellowship, working with the Central Intelligence Agency's Behavioral Sciences Unit on issues involving cross–cultural persuasion. Linda’s research interests include the empirical analysis of law, legal procedure, and legal decision making; the application of legal and psychological perspectives to social issues; ethical, legal, and social issues deriving from advances in technology; and information campaigns and persuasion. She leads ASU’s new Law and Psychology Graduate Program, a formal collaboration between the psychology department and the College of Law that offers qualified students an opportunity to pursue both the J.D. and the Ph.D. in psychology in an accelerated timeframe. The Program's website is located at: http://www.asu.edu/jointprograms/lawpsych.

Adam Cohen joined the social area in 2006. He received the Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and held post–doctoral positions at the Duke University Medical Center and the Institute of Personality and Social Research at the University of California, Berkeley. He has had faculty positions at Dickinson College and Philadelphia University. Adam’s major areas of interest are in cultural and evolutionary psychology, especially as they apply to religion. His work has focused on moral judgment, forgiveness, identity, and motivation, and has been published in top–tier journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Review, and Journal of Personality. Adam's research has been funded by the Metanexus Institute to study culture and concepts of God.

Michelle "Lani" Shiota joined the social area faculty in 2006 after completing doctoral and NIH–funded post–doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley. Lani’s research takes a multi–method approach to the study of positive emotion and emotion regulation, integrating psychophysiology, behavioral, cognitive, narrative, and self–report measures. Specific interests include exploring differentiation among multiple, distinct positive emotions; positive emotion and social bonding; the role of positive emotion in emotion regulation; and short– and long–term cardiovascular aspects of emotion regulation. In addition to recent publications in Emotion and Cognition and Emotion, Lani is the co–author with Jim Kalat of the textbook Emotion, published by Thompson Wadsworth. Lani is currently teaching graduate and undergraduate seminars in emotion at ASU, and the core graduate methods course.