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Lowell Gaertner

I have three major areas of research: groups, the self, and violence. My research on groups examines processes involved in intergroup conflict and intragroup harmony. Relevant questions addressed by this line of research are "Why are relations between groups more competitive and abrasive than relations between individuals?" and "Why and under what circumstances do persons enact behaviors and thoughts that are beneficial to other members of their own social group?"

My research on the self explores the interplay between the individual-self (i.e., self as unique independent social agent) and the collective-self (i.e., self as interchangeable group member). My recent efforts have been addressing the question "Given that both the individual and collective selves are valid and important forms of self-definition, which form of self-definition is more primary?"

My research on violence examines processes that contribute to physical attacks against close-relationship members and violence directed toward numerous persons (e.g., school shootings at Columbine High School). My recent efforts have been examining whether a group-dynamic is involved in attacks directed toward numerous persons. In particular, are the persons who are victimized in episodes of mass violence the intended target or is the intended target the social group to which the victimized persons belong?

Primary Interests:

  • Aggression, Conflict, Peace
  • Group Processes
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Self and Identity
  • Aggression, Conflict, Peace
  • Group Processes
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Self and Identity

Research Group or Laboratory:

Journal Articles:

  • Boldry, J. G., & Gaertner, L. (2006). Separating status from power as an antecedent of intergroup perception. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 377-400.
  • Cai, H., Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., Wang, C., Carvallo, M., Xu, Y., O’Mara, E. M., & Jackson, L. E. (2011). Tactical self-enhancement in China: Is modesty at the service of self-enhancement in East-Asian culture? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 59-64.
  • Gaertner, L. & Foshee, V. (1999). Commitment and the perpetration of relationship violence. Personal Relationships, 6, 227-239.
  • Gaertner, L., & Insko, C. A. (2001). On the measurement of social orientations in the minimal group paradigm: Norms as moderators of the expression of intergroup bias. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 143-154.
  • Gaertner, L. & Insko, C. A. (2000). Intergroup discrimination in the minimal group paradigm: Categorization, reciprocation, or fear? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 77-94.
  • Gaertner, L., Iuzzini, J., Guerrero Witt, M., & Oriña, M. M. (2006). Us without them: Evidence for an intragroup origin of positive ingroup regard. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 426-439.
  • Gaertner, L., Iuzzini, J., O’Mara, E. M. (2008). When rejection by one fosters aggression against many: Multiple-victim aggression as a consequence of social rejection and perceived groupness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 958-970.
  • Gaertner, L., & Schopler, J. (1998). Perceived ingroup entitativity and intergroup bias: An interconnection of self and others. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 963-980..
  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., Cai, H., & Brown, J. D. (2010). It’s not WEIRD, it’s WRONG: When Researchers Overlook uNderlying Genotypes they will not detect universal processes. Behavioral and Brain Science, 33, 93-94.
  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Chang, K. (2008). On pancultural self-enhancement: Well-adjusted Taiwanese self-enhance on personally-valued traits. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39, 463-477.
  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Graetz, K. (1999). In search of self-definition: Motivational primacy of the individual self, motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 5-18.
  • Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., Vevea, J., & Iuzzini, J. (2002). The “I,” the “We,” and the “When”: A Meta-Analysis of Motivational Primacy in Self-Definition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 574-591.
  • Gramzow, R. H. & Gaertner, L. (2005). Self-esteem and favoritism toward novel in-groups: The self as an evaluative base. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 801-815.
  • Gramzow, R. H., Gaertner, L., & Sedikides, C. (2001). Memory for ingroup and outgroup information in a minimal group context: The self as an informational base. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 188-205..
  • Jackson, L. E., & Gaertner, L. (2010). Mechanisms of moral disengagement and their differential use by Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation in support of war. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 238-250.
  • O’Mara, E. M., Jackson, L. E., Batson, C. D., & Gaertner, L. (2011). Will moral outrage stand up? Distinguishing among emotional reactions to a moral violation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 173-179
  • Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Toguchi, Y. (2003). Pancultural self-enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 60-79.
  • Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Vevea, J. L. (2005). Pancultural self-enhancement reloaded: A meta-analytic reply to Heine. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 539-551.
  • Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Vevea, J. L. (2007). The inclusion of theory-relevant moderators yield the same conclusions as Sedikides, Gaertner, and Vevea (2005): A meta-analytic reply to Heine, Kitayama, and Hamamura (2007). Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 59-67.
  • Wildschut, T., Insko, C., A., & Gaertner, L. (2002). Intragroup social influence and intergroup competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 975 - 992.

Courses Taught:

  • Analysis of Variance for the Social Sciences
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Multiple Regression for the Social Sciences
  • Social Psychology
  • Statistical Principles of Psychological Research
  • Analysis of Variance for the Social Sciences
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Multiple Regression for the Social Sciences
  • Social Psychology
  • Statistical Principles of Psychological Research

Lowell Gaertner
Department of Psychology
Austin Peay Building
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-0900
United States

Phone: (865) 974-3348

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Last edited by profile holder: August 25, 2011
Visits since June 9, 2001: 16,278