Yanine Hess
Associate Professor of Psychology
As a result of our novel and continued interactions with others, we are constantly faced with information that we need to judge and evaluate. Although we strive to be objective and accurate in the perception of this information, our desires to connect with others and avoid rejection may unconsciously motivate us to perceive and judge information, the self, and others in particular ways.
In the Interpersonal Motivations and Perceptions (IMP) Lab, my students and I examine how a) relationship beliefs, b) belonging needs, or c) social information sources influence subsequent attention to and processing of information, as well as judgments and perceptions made about the self and others.
My lab uses a combination of experimental, survey, and social-cognitive measures and techniques and is committed to developing lab standards in line with current best research practices, as well to producing research in collaboration with undergraduate students.
Representative Courses
Psychology of Belonging, Identity, & Mentorship
Social Cognition
Personal/Social Relationships
Psychological Perspectives on the Self
Research Methods I: Statistics & Design
Advanced Topics in Social Psychology
Publications
Hess, Y. D., Valdman, T. L., & Knowles, M. L. (2018). Interpersonal and intrapersonal approach and avoidance motives after social rejection. Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology, 3, 201-223. doi: 10.1080/23743603.2019.1684819
Hess, Y. D., Carnevale, J., & Rosario, M. (2018). A construal level approach to interpersonal processes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 12, e12409. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12409
Wang, Y. A., Sparks, J., Gonzalez, J., Hess, Y. D., & Ledgerwood, A. (2017). Using independent covariates in experimental designs: Quantifying the trade-off between power boost and Type I error inflation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 72, 118-124.
Pickett, C. L., & Hess, Y. D. (2016). Social exclusion and the self. In K. D. Williams & S. A. Nida (Eds.), Frontiers in Social Psychology: Ostracism, social exclusion, and rejection. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group.
Hess, Y, D., & Ledgerwood, A. (2014). Bolstering system-justifying beliefs in response to social exclusion. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 17, 494-508.
Pickett, C. L., & Hess, Y. D. (2013). Social cognition and attitudes. In E. Diener & R. Biswas-Diener (Eds.), Noba Textbook Series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF Publishers.
Leonardelli, G. J., Pickett, C. L., Joseph, J. E., & Hess, Y. D. (2011). Optimal distinctiveness in nested categorization contexts: Moving from dueling identities to a dual identity. In R. M. Kramer, G. J. Leonardelli, & R. W. Livingston (Eds.), Psychology Press Festschrift Series: Social cognition, social identity, and intergroup relations: A festschrift in honor of Marilynn Brewer (pp. 103-125). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Hess, Y. D., & Pickett, C. L. (2010). Social rejection and self- versus other-awareness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 453-456.