Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Jonathan E. Cook

Jonathan E. Cook

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My primary program of research focuses on social identity processes and how threat from important social categories, like race, gender, sexual orientation, or chronic illness, can affect cognitive, affective, and physiological processes over time. In particular, I take a “core needs” approach, viewing social identity threat as undermining psychological needs to belong and have control over important outcomes. This provides an explanation for how complex societal factors, such as stereotypes about groups, can “get under the skin” to affect performance, well-being, and health. My research also seeks to develop and test psychological interventions to reduce identity threat or mitigate its consequences. I also maintain a secondary program of research that investigates the psychological impact of technology and technological change, which is an area I am interested in examining more in future research.

My research is informed by social psychological theory and by my pre-academic career. I graduated college with a degree in humanities and went on to direct a social service program for homeless youth. I later pursued a masters in counseling psychology. After graduating, I conducted research at the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University on "systems of care" for youth with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. I received my Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Oregon and am currently an assistant professor at The Pennsylvania State University.

My research has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer foundation, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Gender Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Internet and Virtual Psychology
  • Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Research Methods, Assessment
  • Self and Identity
  • Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
  • Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Journal Articles:

  • Cook, J. E., Arrow, H., & Malle, B. F. (2011). The effect of feeling stereotyped on social power and inhibition. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(2), 165-180.
  • Cook, J. E., & Attari, S. Z. (2012). Paying for what was free: Lessons from the New York Times paywall. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(12), 682-687.
  • Cook, J. E., Calcagno, J., Arrow, H., & Malle, B. F. (2012). Friendship trumps ethnicity (but not sexual orientation): Comfort and discomfort in intergroup interactions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51(2), 273-289.
  • Cook, J. E., & Doyle, C. (2002). Working alliance in online therapy as compared to face-to-face therapy: Preliminary results. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5(2), 95-105.
  • Cook, J. E., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., & Cohen, G. L. (2012). Chronic threat and contingent belonging: Protective benefits of values affirmation on identity development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(3), 479-496.
  • Cook, J. E., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Meyer, I. H., & Busch, J. T. A. (2014). Intervening within and across levels: A multilevel approach to stigma and public health. Social Science & Medicine, 103, 101-109.
  • Shnabel, N., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Cook, J. E., Garcia, J., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Demystifying values-affirmation interventions: Writing about social-belonging is a key to buffering against stereotype threat. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(5), 663-676.

Other Publications:

  • Arrow, H., & Cook, J. (2007). Configuring and reconfiguring groups as complex learning systems. In V. Sessa & M. London (Eds.), Work group learning: Understanding, improving, and assessing how groups learn in organizations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

Courses Taught:

  • Analysis of Psychological Data I
  • Analysis of Psychological Data II
  • Applied Data Analysis
  • Experimental Methods and Data Analysis
  • Psychology of Gender
  • Research Methods and Statistical Analysis: Correlational Approaches
  • Research Methods and Statistical Analysis: Experimental Approaches
  • Seminar in Social Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Statistical Methods in Psychology

Jonathan E. Cook
Department of Psychology
The Pennsylvania State University
515 Moore Building
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-3106
United States of America

  • Phone: (814) 867-4837
  • Fax: (814) 863-7002
  • Skype Name: j.cook4

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