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My current research focuses on the broad topics of person perception, stereotype change, and social identity. One line of work looks at how people make sense of behavior that violates either category-based or target-based expectancies. I am interested identifying conditions under which violations of target- and category-based expectancies lead to differences in attributional processes. A second research program looks at how explanations for counterstereotypic behavior contribute to processes of stereotype change. A third line of research examines the role of social identities in motivation. If people's current actions or situations interfere with their valued identities (e.g., parent, student, spouse, employee) will they be motivated to change their behavior or circumstances? In one study on this topic, I found that individuals in treatment for alcohol and/or cocaine abuse who reported more interference between substance use and valued identities at the start of treatment were more likely to be abstinent over the next three months than individuals who reported less interference. A second study, conducted with my colleague Lisa Wood, looked at the role of support for social identities in friendship maintenance. Findings from our longitudinal study suggest that college students are more likely to maintain closeness and contact in friendships that provide high rather than low levels of support for valued social identities.
Carolyn Weisz
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