ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú

Allen McConnell

Education

• Ph.D. Psychology, Indiana University (1995)
• B.A. Psychology, University of Cincinnati (1990)

Teaching Interests

I teach courses in social psychology, the self, positive emotions and well-being, prejudice and minority experience, psychology of conservation, attitudes, and intergroup relations at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Research Interests

My research explores (1) the health and well-being benefits of socially constructed relationships with family and pets, (2) how people decode others' nonverbal displays, and (3) how self-nature representations encourage pro-environmental behavior, with this work supported over the years by National Institutes of Heath (NICHD and NIMH) and National Science Foundation grants. In addition to conducting basic research, my expertise in these areas has been applied to conservation efforts, consumer behavior, medical behavior, and legal consulting, and my scholarship has been presented in many legal venues, including briefs argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. My service to the field includes being President of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, President of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Editor in Chief of Social Psychological and Personality Science, Associate Editor of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Associate Editor of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 

Professional Recognition

• Distinguished Alumni Award, Indiana University (2020)
• President, Society of Experimental Social Psychology (2018)
• University Distinguished Professor (2017)
• President, Midwestern Psychological Association (2016-17)
• Editor in Chief, Social Psychological and Personality Science (2012-15)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2011-12)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (2003-06, 2010)
• The Inaugural James and Beth Lewis Endowed Professor (2008-14)
• Professor of the Year in Psychology (2002-04)
• University Distinguished Scholar (2002)

Selected Publications

• Jacobs, T. P., & McConnell, A. R. (2022). Self-transcendent emotion dispositions: Greater connections with nature and more sustainable behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 81, 101797.
• Lloyd, E. P., Lloyd, A. R., McConnell, A. R., & Hugenberg, K. (2022). Race deficits in pain detection: Medical providers and laypeople fail to accurately perceive pain authenticity among Black people. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13, 895-905.
• Jacobs, T. P., Gottschalk, L. L., Dandignac, M., & McConnell, A. R. (2021). Making pledges more powerful: Effects on pro-environmental beliefs and conservation behavior. Sustainability, 13, 9894.
• McConnell, A. R., & Jacobs, T. P. (2020). Self-nature representations: On the unique consequences of nature-self size on pro-environmental action. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 71, 101471.
• McConnell, A. R., Lloyd, E. P., & Humphrey, B. T. (2019). We are family: Viewing pets as family members improves well-being. Anthrozoös, 32, 459-470.
• Lloyd, E. P., Deska, J. C., Hugenberg, K., McConnell, A. R., Humphrey, B. T., & Kunstman, J. W. (2019). ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University Deception Detection Database. Behavior Research Methods, 51, 429-439.
• Lloyd, E. P., Hugenberg, K., McConnell, A. R., Kunstman, J. W., & Deska, J. C. (2017). Black and White lies: Race-based biases in deception detection. Psychological Science, 28, 1125-1136.
• McConnell, A. R., Lloyd, E. P., & Buchanan, T. M. (2017). Animals as friends: Social psychological implications of human-pet relationships. In M. Hojjat & A. Moyer (Eds.), Psychology of friendship (pp. 157-174). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• McConnell, A. R., Brown, C. M., Shoda, T. M., Stayton, L. E., & Martin, C. E. (2011). Friends with benefits: On the positive consequences of pet ownership. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1239-1252.
• McConnell, A. R. (2011). The Multiple Self-aspects Framework: Self-concept representation and its implications. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 3-27.