Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

James M. Tyler

James M. Tyler

From the broadest perspective, my research interests lie in social psychology, centering on the interpersonal aspects of the self as embedded in social relationships. Specifically, how do the behavioral, motivational, and emotional components of the self influence interpersonal functioning? To this end, I have conducted over 40 research studies widely examining the psychological processes involved in the self-regulation and self-presentation of people’s interpersonal behavior. Underscoring all is the central tenet that people’s behaviors and emotions are influenced by their concerns about others’ impression and social acceptance of them.

Although my research can be broadly described as relating to the self and interpersonal behavior, the areas I have specifically focused on can be incorporated under three generalized categories. The first category concerns the processes (automatic and controlled), motivations, and strategies involved in people’s self-presentation efforts. The second category involves self-regulation, sectioned into (a) conserving and replenishing self-regulation resources, and (b) interpersonal functioning and availability of the self’s regulatory resources. The last category focuses on developing relational dependency models to analyze relational information/processes (i.e., peer effects) in social systems to improve our understanding of how individual and peer characteristics interact (i.e., complex interdependencies) to influence subsequent behavior.

Primary Interests:

  • Causal Attribution
  • Communication, Language
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Self and Identity
  • Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
  • Social Cognition

Journal Articles:

  • Fedesco, H., & Tyler, J. M. (2011). The communication of sexual identity-images in a self-presentational context. Social Influence, 6, 57-67.
  • Isbell, L., Tyler, J. M., & DeLorenzo, A. (2007). Guilty or innocent? Women's reliance on inadmissible evidence in a simulated rape case. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 717-739.
  • Tyler, J. M. (in press). Triggering self-presentation efforts outside of people’s conscious awareness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
  • Tyler, J. M. (2009). Compensatory self-presentation in upward comparison situations. Human Communication Research, 35, 511-539.
  • Tyler, J. M. (2008). In the eyes of others: Monitoring for relational value cues. Human Communication Research, 34, 521-549.
  • Tyler, J. M., & Burns, K. C. (2008). After depletion: The replenishment of the self’s regulatory resources. Self and Identity, 7, 305-321.
  • Tyler, J. M., Burns, K. C., & Fedesco, H. N. (2011). Preemptively adjusting self-presentations to create desired images for future identity goals. Social Influence, 6, 259-273.
  • Tyler, J. M., & Feldman, R. S. (2007). The double-edged sword of excuses: When do they help, when do they hurt? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26, 659-688.
  • Tyler, J. M., & Feldman, R. S. (2005). Deflecting threat to one’s image: Dissembling personal information as a self-presentation strategy. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 27, 71-78.
  • Tyler, J. M., & Gill-Rossier, J. (2009). Examining self-presentation as a motivational explanation for comparative optimism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 716-727.
  • Tyler, J. M., Reichert, A., & Feldman, R. S. (2006). The price of deceptive behavior: Disliking and lying to people who lie to us. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 69-77.

Courses Taught:

  • Foundations of Impression Management: Theory and Research
  • Introduction to Statistics in Psychology
  • Self-Presentation and Social Image
  • Social Cognition

James M. Tyler
Department of Psychological Sciences
703 Third Street, Room 2148
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
United States of America

  • Phone: (765) 494-3313
  • Fax: (765) 496-1264

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