THE RELATIONAL SELF
One line of our research investigates how the relational self-construal shapes who we are. For example, we are interested in how the relational self affects the development and maintenance of close relationships. In particular, how does the relational self affect how we perceive similarity and change in relationships?
We have a paper in press at Self & Identity that concerns the interactive effects power and the relational self in roommate relationships. We are also working on manuscripts dealing with self-concept change and the relational self-construal, and the implications perceived vs. actual similarity to another individual has for relationship quality and well-being.
CULTURE AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
We are also interested in the role of culture in close relationships. Susan Cross, myself, and Tsui-feng Wu are currently examining the role culture plays in various aspects of close relationships. In particular, we are interested in how culture shapes emotion, attachment styles, ways of thinking, forgiveness, perceived similarity, self-construal, and other relationship-related constructs. We are currently working on a manuscript that examines how cultural differences - comparing relationships in the United States and in East Asia - may shape relationship processes in different ways.
FORGIVENESS
Another line of research we are pursuing examines forgiveness. Specifically, we are interested in the concept of "hollow forgiveness," which is theorized to occur when victims express forgiveness to transgressors, but do not feel forgiveness privately. To date, no study has substantiated the theoretical construct. Thus far, Susan Cross, Frank Fincham, and I have utilized several tasks to demonstrate this phenomenon. We currently have a manuscript under review at the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. We are also in the process of running follow-up studies to examine other processes, such as rumination, that may be involved in "hollow forgivers."
Nathaniel Wade, Susan Cross, and I have also completed a study of forgiveness in distressed relationships. We are taking a self-regulatory approach to this line of research, and are examining how individuals in distressed vs. non-distressed relationships perceive and frame forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS AND CULTURE
Finally, another line of research combines forgiveness and culture. Little research has focused on examining cultural and contextual variables and how they relate to forgiveness. In Western cultures such as the United States, forgiveness is more or less an individual decision, one that is a personal choice. In contrast, forgiveness may be less of a personal choice in Eastern cultures, and may even be perceived as a duty in certain social situations. Consequently, forgiveness serves to restore closeness and group harmony rather than personal benefits.
Because there has been virtually no cross-cultural validation of forgiveness measures, it is possible that current forgiveness measures are biased by defining forgiveness in primarily Western terms. Thus, the goal of this area of research is to examine how individuals in Eastern cultures define and think about forgiveness.
To this end, I was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to conduct research on forgiveness in other cultures. I spent the summer working with Dr. Ken-ichi Ohbuchi and Naomi Takada. We collected data for my Masters thesis, 2 studies at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, and 1 study at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. I successfully defended my thesis in June 2007, and we are currently working on making the necessary changes to convert it to a submittable manuscript.
I have also developed a line of research examining how thinking styles affect perceptions of forgiveness. I am currently collecting data from both Chinese and American participants on a study involving dialectical thinking and forgiveness. I want to examine whether individuals from Eastern cultures, such as China, think about forgiveness more dialectically than individuals from Western cultures.
I was recently invited to collaborate with several colleagues on an international (5 country) forgiveness study. Directed by Johan Karremans (the Netherlands), we are examining the inclinations and attitudes toward forgiveness across cultures. Other collaborators include Giorgia Paleari (Italy), Camillo Regalia (Italy), Ayse Uskul (Turkey), Naomi Takada (Japan), Frank Fincham (USA) and one of his Chinese collaborators, and Susan Cross (USA).
NARCISSISM AND SOCIAL COMPARISON
With Zlatan Krizan and Simine Vazire, I have been working on a project concerning narcissism and social comparison. Narcissism, the tendency to hold an inflated view of self-worth and ability, currently commands considerable attention from researchers in various sub-fields of psychology. At the core of the syndrome are extreme views of one's worth, ability, and entitlement, views that are nonetheless situated within insecurities that demand continuous self-affirmation (the so called "narcissistic paradox").
Although the defining features of narcissism are social comparative in nature, we know very little about social comparison dynamics among narcissists. Are they threatened by comparisons with upward targets better than themselves in some way? If so, how do they react? What types of social comparison information are narcissists likely to remember? One current project is using both correlational and experimental approaches to study the narcissistic social comparison tendencies.