People

Jennifer K. Bosson

Jennifer Bosson

Professor, Associate Chair, and Graduate Program Director

CONTACT

Office: PCD 4128
Email

LINKS

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Social Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, 2000

RESEARCH

Research Interests
Self and identity; stereotypes; targets of stigma; social roles; coping; interpersonal relationships

Research Synopsis
My research addresses questions concerning the self and social functioning. In my ongoing work on identity misclassification, my students and I investigate the social-cognitive mechanisms that underlie rigid adherence to social role norms. This work demonstrates that behaviors relevant to people’s valued identities (e.g., gender, political orientation) often reflect powerful needs for interpersonal and intrapsychic harmony. In other lines of research, I study factors that promote interpersonal closeness, the links between self-esteem and interpersonal functioning, and the effects of different types of social feedback on people’s recovery from self-threats.

SPECIALTY AREA

CNS (Social Psychology)