Roy Baumeister
Encyclopedia
Roy F. Baumeister is Francis Eppes Professor of Psychology at Florida State University
in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a social psychologist who is known for his work on the self, social rejection
, belongingness, sexuality, self-control, self-esteem
, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, and aggression, but most primarily consciousness and free will
. He has authored nearly 500 publications and has written, co-written, or edited almost 30 books. He earned his A.B.
summa cum laude from Princeton University
and his M.A.
from Duke University
. He returned to Princeton University
with his mentor Edward E. Jones
and earned his Ph.D.
from the university's Department of Psychology
in 1978. He is a fellow of both the Society for Personality and Social Psychology
and the Association for Psychological Science
. Baumeister was named an ISI highly cited researcher
in 2003.
, including various concepts related to how people perceive, act, and relate to their selves. Baumeister wrote a chapter titled, "The Self" in The Handbook of Social Psychology, and reviewed the research on the self-esteem
in which he claimed that the importance of self-esteem is overrated.
Irrationality and self-defeating behavior. In a series of journal articles and books, Baumeister inquired about the reasons for self-defeating behavior. His conclusions: there is no self-defeating urge as some have thought. Rather, self-defeating behavior is either a result of trade-offs (enjoying drugs now at the expense of the future), backfiring strategies (eating a snack to reduce stress only to feel more stressed), or the psychological strategy to escape the self - where various self-defeating strategies are rather directed to relieve the burden of selfhood.
The need to belong is a highly cited work from 1995, written with Mark Leary, showing that humans have a natural need to belong with others. Later, Baumeister published evidence that the way people look for belongingness differs between men and women. Women prefer a few close and intimate relationships, whereas men prefer many but shallower connections. Men realize more of their need to belong via a group of people, or a cause, rather than in close interpersonal relations.
Self regulation (aka self control). Baumeister also researched self-regulation. He coined the term Ego depletion
about the evidence that humans' ability to self-regulate is limited, and after using it there is less ability (or energy) to self-regulate. Baumeister also edited two academic books on self-regulation: Losing Control and Handbook of Self-Regulation, along with endless experiments and journal papers.
Culture and human sexuality. A series of studies of human sexuality has addressed questions such as how nature and culture influence people's sex drive, rape and sexual coercion, the cultural suppression of female sexuality, and how couples negotiate their sexual patterns.
second or third co-editor in scientific collections:
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a social psychologist who is known for his work on the self, social rejection
Social rejection
Social rejection occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. The topic includes both interpersonal rejection and romantic rejection. A person can be rejected on an individual basis or by an entire group of people...
, belongingness, sexuality, self-control, self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, and aggression, but most primarily consciousness and free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
. He has authored nearly 500 publications and has written, co-written, or edited almost 30 books. He earned his A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
summa cum laude from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and his M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. He returned to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with his mentor Edward E. Jones
Edward E. Jones
Edward Ellsworth Jones , also known as "Ned" Jones, was an influential social psychologist who worked at Duke University for most of his career. He moved to Princeton University's Department of Psychology in 1977.-Biography:He earned his Ph.D...
and earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the university's Department of Psychology
Princeton University Department of Psychology
The Princeton University Department of Psychology, located in Green Hall, is an academic department of Princeton University on the corner of Washington St. and William St. in Princeton, New Jersey. For over a century, the department has been one of the most notable psychology departments in the...
in 1978. He is a fellow of both the Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology is an academic society for personality and social psychologists with over 4500 members worldwide. SPSP serves as Division 8 of the American Psychological Association and publishes the journals Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and...
and the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
. Baumeister was named an ISI highly cited researcher
ISI highly cited researcher
ISI Highly Cited is a database of "highly cited researchers"—scientific researchers whose publications are most often cited in academic journals over the past decade, published by the Institute for Scientific Information...
in 2003.
Topics of research
The self. Baumeister has conducted research on the selfSelf (psychology)
The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology derived from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me, the...
, including various concepts related to how people perceive, act, and relate to their selves. Baumeister wrote a chapter titled, "The Self" in The Handbook of Social Psychology, and reviewed the research on the self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
in which he claimed that the importance of self-esteem is overrated.
Irrationality and self-defeating behavior. In a series of journal articles and books, Baumeister inquired about the reasons for self-defeating behavior. His conclusions: there is no self-defeating urge as some have thought. Rather, self-defeating behavior is either a result of trade-offs (enjoying drugs now at the expense of the future), backfiring strategies (eating a snack to reduce stress only to feel more stressed), or the psychological strategy to escape the self - where various self-defeating strategies are rather directed to relieve the burden of selfhood.
The need to belong is a highly cited work from 1995, written with Mark Leary, showing that humans have a natural need to belong with others. Later, Baumeister published evidence that the way people look for belongingness differs between men and women. Women prefer a few close and intimate relationships, whereas men prefer many but shallower connections. Men realize more of their need to belong via a group of people, or a cause, rather than in close interpersonal relations.
Self regulation (aka self control). Baumeister also researched self-regulation. He coined the term Ego depletion
Ego depletion
Ego depletion refers to the idea that self-control or willpower is an exhaustible resource that can be used up. When that energy is low, mental activity that requires self-control is impaired. In other words, using one's self-control impairs the ability to control one's self later on. In this...
about the evidence that humans' ability to self-regulate is limited, and after using it there is less ability (or energy) to self-regulate. Baumeister also edited two academic books on self-regulation: Losing Control and Handbook of Self-Regulation, along with endless experiments and journal papers.
Culture and human sexuality. A series of studies of human sexuality has addressed questions such as how nature and culture influence people's sex drive, rape and sexual coercion, the cultural suppression of female sexuality, and how couples negotiate their sexual patterns.
Books
Baumeister has written or edited 20 books so far. The following is a partial listing of his works.For a general audience
- Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength with John Tierney, 2011. ISBN 978-1594203077
- Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men, 2010. ISBN 978-0195374100
academic books
(note that some books here are readable for the non academic, but the main audience in mind is academic)- Your Own Worst Enemy: Understanding the Paradox of Self-Defeating Behavior
- Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty
- Social Psychology and Human Nature
- Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation
- The Social Dimension of Sex
- Breaking Hearts: The Two Sides of Unrequited Love
- Masochism and the Self
- Identity: Cultural Change and the Struggle for Self
- Escaping the Self: Alcoholism, Spirituality, Masochism, and Other Flights from the Burden of Selfhood
- Meanings of life
- The Cultural Animal: Human Nature, Meaning, and Social Life
- Self in Social Psychology: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology)
- Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (2 Volume Set)
- Masochism and the Self
- Social Psychology and Human Sexuality: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology)
- Self-Esteem: The Puzzle of Low Self-Regard (The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology) (Hardcover)
- Public Self and Private Self (Springer Series in Social Psychology)
- Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications research first and 2nd editions (the second edition is a completely new book)
- Free Will and Consciousness: How Might They Work?
- Advanced Social Psychology: The State of the Science
second or third co-editor in scientific collections:
- Psychology of Self-Regulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes (Sydney Symposium in Social Psychology)
- Human Sexuality: Meeting Your Basic Needs
- Do Emotions Help or Hurt Decision Making?: A Hedgefoxian Perspective
- Time and Decision: Economic and Psychological Perspectives on Intertemporal Choice
- Are We Free? Psychology and Free Will