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

Gender Psychology
Judgment and Decision Making
Person Perception

Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Social Cognition Cologne Group
Interactive Map

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, First published on: 09 September 2010 (iFirst)
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

Gender
Negotiation
Research Methods in Psychology

Social Comparison
The Self

Katja Corcoran (née Rüter)
Department Psychologie
Sozialpsychologie
Richard-Strauss-Str. 2
50931 Köln
Germany

Phone: ++49-221-470 4708
Fax: ++49-221-470 1216