Primary Interests:
- Interpersonal Processes
- Person Perception
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Self and Identity
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Kathryn Oleson
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My research focuses on interpersonal relations, in particular exploring the intersection of interpersonal perception, social cognition, and social behavior. I am interested in the complex interplay of perception and behavior as everyday relations unfold--on the part of both persons or groups in social interaction.
From the vantage point of the self, I am interested in how individuals make sense of their own identity and ability. I am focusing on appraisals of one's competence, self-presentation, self-concept change and stability, self-stereotyping, and social identity. My primary research on the self examines overachievers, individuals who are doubtful of their abilities yet are also quite concerned about their performance. Collaborators and I have developed a two-factor scale to identify overachievers; overachievers differ from non-overachievers in terms of their affect, cognitions, and behavior. In current work I am examining overachievers' achievement goals, their motivations for achievement (external vs internal), and the bases of their self-worth.
From the vantage point of the perceiver, I am examining perceptions of other individuals and groups; I am studying appraisals of others' competence (particularly self-handicappers) and stereotype change. My primary research on group perception examines the conditions under which exposure to stereotype-disconfirming individuals leads perceivers to change their stereotypes. My research suggests that when perceivers can provide a good reason why the atypical group member should be subtyped or when the atypical group member is extremely different from the group stereotype, the deviant group member is more likely to be subtyped. In current work, I am expanding this work to examine stereotypes as causal theories. In collaboration with Carolyn Weisz, I am examining how stereotype change is facilitated by exposure to counterstereotypic individuals who challenge aspects of the causal beliefs that underlie the stereotype.
Books:
Journal Articles:
- Batson, C. D., Oleson, K. C., Weeks, J. L., Healy, S. P., Reeves, P. J., Jennings, P., & Brown, T. (1989). Religious prosocial motivation: Is it altruistic or egoistic? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 873-884.
- Kunda, Z., & Oleson, K. C. (1997). When exceptions prove the rule: How extremity of deviance determines deviants' impact on stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 965-979.
- Kunda, Z., & Oleson, K. C. (1995). Maintaining stereotypes in the face of disconfirmation: Constructing grounds for subtyping deviants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 565-579.
- Oleson, K. C., & Darley, J. M. (1999). Community perceptions of allowable counterforce in self defense and defense of property. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 629-651.
- Oleson, K. C., Poehlmann, K. M., Yost, J. H., Lynch, M. E., & Arkin, R. M. (2000). Subjective overachievement: Individual differences in self doubt and concern with performance. Journal of Personality, 68, 3, 491-524.
Other Publications:
- Arkin, R. M., & Oleson, K. C. (1998). Self-handicapping. In J. M. Darley & J. Cooper (Eds.), Attribution and social interaction: The legacy of Edward E. Jones (pp. 313 - 347). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Batson, C. D., & Oleson, K. C. (1997). Altruism. In Renato Dulbecco (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Biology, 2nd Edition. New York: Academic Press.
- Batson, C. D., & Oleson, K. C. (1991). Current status of the empathy-altruism hypothesis. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Review of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 12, pp. 62-85). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Batson, C. D., Shaw, L. L., & Oleson, K. C. (1992). Distinguishing affect, mood, and emotion: Toward functionally based conceptual distinctions. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Review of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 294-326). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Darley, J. M., & Oleson, K. C. (1993). Introduction to research on interpersonal expectations. In P. D. Blanck (Ed.), Interpersonal expectations: Theory, research, and application (pp. 45 - 63). London: Cambridge University Press.
- Oleson, K. C., & Arkin, R. M. (1996). Reviewing and evaluating a research article. In F.T. L. Leong & J. T. Austin (Eds.), The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research assistants (pp. 40 - 55). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Oleson, K. C., & Steckler, M. T. (2010). The phenotypic expressions of self-doubt about ability in academic contexts: Strategies of self-handicapping and subjective overachievement. In R. M. Arkin, K. C. Oleson, & P. J. Carroll (Eds.), Handbook of the uncertain self. New York: Taylor and Francis.
Courses Taught:
- Interpersonal Perception
- Research Design and Data Analysis
- Social Psychology
- Stereotyping and Prejudice
- The Social Self
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Kathryn Oleson
Department of Psychology
Reed College
Portland, OR 97202
United States
Phone: (503) 517-7498
Fax: (503) 777-7785