Susan Fiske
Encyclopedia
Susan Tufts Fiske is Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology at Princeton University
's Department of Psychology
. She is a social psychologist
known for her work on social cognition
, stereotypes, and prejudice
. She has authored over 250 publications and has written several books, including her 2010 work Social Beings: A Core Motives Approach to Social Psychology. Social Cognition, a graduate level text she wrote with her dissertation advisor, Shelley Taylor
, defined the now-popular subfield of social cognition; a new version was published in 2008. She also edits the Annual Review of Psychology (with Daniel Schacter
& Shelley Taylor
) and the Handbook of Social Psychology (with Daniel Gilbert
& the late Gardner Lindzey). Her most recent book is "Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us," which describes how people constantly compare themselves to others, with toxic effects on their relationships at home, at work, in school, and in the world.
Fiske received her Ph.D.
from Harvard University
in 1978 and received its centennial medal in 2004. She has honorary degrees from the University of Leiden in 2009 and the Université catholique de Louvain
in 1995. Her four most well-known contributions to the field are the Continuum Model of Impression Formation, the Power-As-Control Theory, Ambivalent Sexism Theory, and the Stereotype Content Model
. She is also known for the term cognitive miser
, coined with her graduate advisor Shelley Taylor
, referring to individuals' tendencies to use cognitive shortcuts and heuristics. She popularized the phrase 'thinking is for doing' (paraphrased from William James
, "My thinking is first and last and always for my doing").
Fiske was the first social psychologist to testify in gender discrimination cases, including the landmark Hopkins v Price Waterhouse, ultimately heard by the Supreme Court. This led to continuing interest in the use of psychological science in legal contexts.
She is a past President of the Association for Psychological Science
, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology
, and the Foundation for the Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. She was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and to the American Academy of Political and Social Science
. She has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Psychological Association
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Association for Psychological Science
William James Fellow Award, and Princeton University
Graduate School Mentoring Award. Fiske is married to sociologist Douglas Massey
.
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....
'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...
. She is a social psychologist
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
known for her work on social cognition
Social cognition
Social cognition is the encoding, storage, retrieval, and processing, in the brain, of information relating to conspecifics, or members of the same species. At one time social cognition referred specifically to an approach to social psychology in which these processes were studied according to the...
, stereotypes, and prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
. She has authored over 250 publications and has written several books, including her 2010 work Social Beings: A Core Motives Approach to Social Psychology. Social Cognition, a graduate level text she wrote with her dissertation advisor, Shelley Taylor
Shelley Taylor
Shelley Elizabeth Taylor is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, and was formerly on the faculty at Harvard University...
, defined the now-popular subfield of social cognition; a new version was published in 2008. She also edits the Annual Review of Psychology (with Daniel Schacter
Daniel Schacter
Daniel Lawrence Schacter is an American psychologist. He is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. His research has focused on psychological and biological aspects of human memory and amnesia, with a particular emphasis on the distinction between conscious and nonconscious forms of...
& Shelley Taylor
Shelley Taylor
Shelley Elizabeth Taylor is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, and was formerly on the faculty at Harvard University...
) and the Handbook of Social Psychology (with Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Todd Gilbert is Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He is a social psychologist who is known for his research on affective forecasting, with a special emphasis on cognitive biases such as the impact bias...
& the late Gardner Lindzey). Her most recent book is "Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us," which describes how people constantly compare themselves to others, with toxic effects on their relationships at home, at work, in school, and in the world.
Fiske received her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1978 and received its centennial medal in 2004. She has honorary degrees from the University of Leiden in 2009 and the Université catholique de Louvain
Université catholique de Louvain
The Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
in 1995. Her four most well-known contributions to the field are the Continuum Model of Impression Formation, the Power-As-Control Theory, Ambivalent Sexism Theory, and the Stereotype Content Model
Stereotype content model
The stereotype content model is a psychological theory that hypothesizes that stereotypes possess two dimensions: warmth and competence. Warmth being defined in this theory as how friendly, kind, and affectionate one seems. Competence being defined as how capable an individual appears to be...
. She is also known for the term cognitive miser
Cognitive miser
Cognitive miser is a term which refers to the idea that only a small amount of information is actively perceived by individuals when making decisions, and many cognitive shortcuts are used instead to attend to relevant information and arrive at a decision. The term was coined by Susan T. Fiske and...
, coined with her graduate advisor Shelley Taylor
Shelley Taylor
Shelley Elizabeth Taylor is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, and was formerly on the faculty at Harvard University...
, referring to individuals' tendencies to use cognitive shortcuts and heuristics. She popularized the phrase 'thinking is for doing' (paraphrased from William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
, "My thinking is first and last and always for my doing").
Fiske was the first social psychologist to testify in gender discrimination cases, including the landmark Hopkins v Price Waterhouse, ultimately heard by the Supreme Court. This led to continuing interest in the use of psychological science in legal contexts.
She is a past President of 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...
, 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 Foundation for the Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. She was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and to the American Academy of Political and Social Science
American Academy of Political and Social Science
The American Academy of Political and Social Science was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor Edmund J. James and drawing from members of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and Bryn Mawr College, the Academy sought to...
. She has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, 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...
William James Fellow Award, and 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....
Graduate School Mentoring Award. Fiske is married to sociologist Douglas Massey
Douglas Massey
Douglas S. Massey is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and is an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania...
.
Further reading
Brannigan, G G & Merrens, M R (1994). The Social Psychologists: Research Adventures. McGraw-Hill.- Fiske, S T (2004). Social Beings: A Core Motives Approach to Social Psychology. Wiley.
- Fiske, S T, Gilbert, D T, & Lindzey, G. (2009). Handbook of Social Psychology. (5th ed.) Wiley.
- Fiske, S T, Schacter, D L, & Sternberg, R. (2009). Annual Review of Psychology. Annual ReviewsAnnual ReviewsAnnual Reviews, located in Palo Alto California, is the non-profit publisher of a collection of 41 review series in specific disciplines in science and social science. Each review series contains 12 to 40 authoritative comprehensive review articles, covering the major journal articles on a...
. - Fiske, S T, & Taylor, S E (2008). Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture. McGraw-Hill
- Fiske, S T & Borgita, B. (2008)