I received my Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1979, and have served on the faculties of Northwestern University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the University of Michigan prior to joining the faculty at Ohio State in 2010. My main research interest is in self-esteem and social motivation. I'm particularly interested in what happens when people put the goal of protecting and defending their self-esteem or public image ahead of other goals, particularly learning and contribution goals. What are the consequences of pursuing self-esteem and desired self-images for learning, relationships, self-regulation, and mental and physical health?
My current research, conducted in collaboration with Amy Canevello and others, investigates the consequences of two motivational frameworks for the self—egosystem motivation focused on constructing desired self-images, and ecosystem motivation focused on contributing and supporting others. Amy and I have proposed that through their interpersonal goal--self-image goals and compassionate goals--people create their subjective experience, shape their relationships, and create evidence that shapes their beliefs.
Bushman, B. J., Moeller, S. J., Konrath, S., & Crocker, J. (in press). Investigating the link between liking versus wanting self-esteem and depression in a nationally representative sample of American adults. Journal of Personality.
Burson, A., Crocker, J., Canevello, A., & Mischkowski, D. (in press). Two types of value affirmation: Implications for self-control following social exclusion. Social and Personality Psychology Science.
Crocker, J., & Canevello, A. (in press). Consequences of self-image and compassionate goals. In P. G. Devine & A. Plant (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. New York: Elsevier.
Crocker, J. (2011). Safety in numbers: Shifting from egosystem to ecosystem. Psychological Inquiry, 22, 259-264.
Crocker, J. (2011). Presidential Address: Self-image and compassionate goals and construction of the social self: Implications for social and personality psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 394-407.
Canevello, A., & Crocker, J. (2011). Changing relationship growth belief: Intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of compassionate goals. Personal Relationships, 18, 370-391.
Sanchez, D. T., Moss-Racusin, C. A., Phelan, J. E., & Crocker, J. (2011). Relationship contingency and sexual motivation in women: Implications for sexual satisfaction. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 99-110.
Canevello, A., & Crocker, J. (2011). Interpersonal goals, others’ regard for the self, and self-esteem: The paradoxical consequences of self-image and compassionate goals. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 422-434.
Abelson, J. L., Erickson, T., Mayer, S., Briggs, H., Crocker, J., & Liberzon, I. (2011). Compassionate goal orientation can modulate cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test. Biological Psychiatry, 69, 87S-87S.
Canevello, A., & Crocker, J. (2011). Interpersonal goals and close relationship processes: Potential links to health. Compass: Health, 5, 346-358.
Lawrence, J. S. L. & Crocker, J. (2011). Stigmatized and dominant cultural groups differentially interpret positive feedback. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 165-169.
Crocker, J. (2011). The paradoxical consequences of interpersonal goals: Relationships, distress, and the self. Psychological Studies.
Bushman, B. J., Moeller, S. J., & Crocker, J. (2011). Sweets, sex, or self-esteem? Comparing the value of self-esteem boosts with other pleasant rewards. Journal of Personality, 79, 993-1012. PMID: 21204844.
Niiya, Y., Brook, A. T., & Crocker, J. (2010). Contingent self-worth and self-handicapping: Do contingent incremental theorists protect self-esteem? Self and Identity, 9, 276-297.
Canevello, A., & Crocker, J. (2010). Creating good relationships: Responsiveness, relationship quality, and interpersonal goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 78-106.
Crocker, J., Canevello, A., Breines, J. G., & Flynn, H. (2010). Interpersonal goals and change in anxiety and dysphoria: Effects of compassionate and self-image goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 1009-1024.
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