Katja Corcoran, née Rüter
The main focus of my research lies in the interplay between social cognition and social comparison. I am interested in how people decide with whom to compare to evaluate themselves, how this decision is shaped by knowledge accessibility, self-serving motivations, and efficiency concerns, and how different kinds of comparative information compete with each other. More broadly speaking I am studying the influence of social comparison processes on cognition, affect, and behavior.
Primary Interests:
- Gender Psychology
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Person Perception
- Self and Identity
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Journal Articles:
- Corcoran, K., Hundhammer, T., & Mussweiler, T. (2009). A tool for thought! When comparative thinking reduces stereotyping effects. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1008-1011.
- Corcoran, K., & Mussweiler, T. (2010). The cognitive miser's perspective: Social comparison as a heuristic in self-judgements. European Review of Social Psychology, 21(1), 78-113.
- Corcoran, K., & Mussweiler, T. (2009). Comparative thinking styles in group and person perception: One mechanism - many effects. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 244-259.
- Corcoran, K., & Mussweiler, T. (2009). The efficiency of social comparisons with routine standards. Social Cognition, 27, 939-948.
- Mussweiler, T., & Rüter, K. (2003). What friends are for! The use of routine standards in social comparison. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 467-481.
- Mussweiler, T., Rüter, K., & Epstude, K. (2004). The man who wasn’t there. Subliminal social standards influence social comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 689-696.
- Mussweiler, T., Rüter, K., & Epstude, K. (2004). The ups and downs of social comparison: Mechanisms of assimilation and contrast. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 832-844.
- Rüter, K., & Mussweiler, T. (2005). Bonds of friendship: Comparative self-evaluations evoke the use of routine standards. Social Cognition, 23, 137-160.
Other Publications:
- Mussweiler, T., Epstude, K., & Rüter, K. (2005). The knife that cuts both ways: Social comparison in social perception. In M. D. Alicke, D. Dunning, & J. I. Krueger (Eds.), The self in social judgment. New York: Psychological Press.
- Mussweiler, T., Rüter, K., & Epstude, K. (2006). The why, who and how of social comparison: A social-cognition perspective. In S. Guimond (Ed.), Social comparison processes and social psychology (pp. 33-54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Rüter, K. (2006). Priming. In H.-W. Bierhoff & D. Frey (Eds.), Handbuch der Sozialpsychologie und Kommunikationspsychologie. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Courses Taught:
- Gender
- Negotiation
- Research Methods in Psychology
- Social Comparison
- The Self
Katja Corcoran, née Rüter
Institut für Psychologie
Sozialpsychologie
Universitätsplatz 2/DG
8010 Graz
Austria
- Phone: ++43-316-380 8520