Department of Psychology

Research Interests

My area of research is the psychology of attitudes. Currently, in the domain of communication and persuasion, I am conducting research on overcoming resistance to change (e.g., subliminal priming and persuasion, self-affirmation and persuasion, hypocrisy and persuasion, and narrative persuasion). In the domain of implicit attitudes I am conducting research on aversive racists (i.e., those low in explicit prejudice, but high in implicit prejudice) and on individuals with defensive self-esteem (i.e., those high in explicit self-esteem, but low in implicit self-esteem). Finally, in the domain of health, I am conducting research testing a 'safer sex' intervention, evaluating Canada's new cigarette warning labels, and investigating the subtle effects of smoking in feature films on implicit cognition (e.g., implicit attitudes and implicit norms).

Recent Publications (since 2005)

Papers

• Son Hing, L. S., Bobocel, D. R., Zanna, M. P., & McBride, M. V. (in press). Authoritarian dynamics and unethical decision making: High SDO leaders and high RWA followers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Hammond, D., Fong, G. T., Zanna, M. P., Thrasher, J. F., & Borland, R. (2006). Tobacco denormalization and industry beliefs among smokers from four countries. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 31, 225-232.
• Dixon, M. J., Smilek, D., Duffy, P. L., Zanna, M. P., & Merikle, P. M. (2006). The role of meaning in grapheme-colour synaesthesia. Cortex, 42, 243-252.
• Dal Cin, S., MacDonald, T. K., Fong, G. T., Zanna, M. P., & Elton-Marshall, T. E. (2006). Remembering the message: Using a reminder cue to increase condom use following a safer sex intervention. Health Psychology, 25, 438-443.
• Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2005). Establishing a causal chain: Why experiments are often more effective in examining psychological process than mediational analyses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 845-851.
• Hoshino-Browne, E., Zanna, A. S., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., Kitayama, S., & Lackenbauer, S. (2005). On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: The case of Easterners and Westerners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 294-310.
• Jordan, C. H., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Types of high self-esteem and prejudice: How implicit self-esteem relates to racial discrimination among high explicit self-esteem individuals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 693-702.

Chapters

• Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Whitfield, M. L. (in press). The heterogeneity of self-esteem: Exploring the interplay between implicit and explicit self-esteem. In R. E. Petty, R. H. Fazio, & P. Briņol (Eds.), Attitudes: Insights from the New Implicit Measures. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Jordan, C. H., & Zanna, M. P. (in press). Not all experiments are created equal: On conducting and reporting persuasive experiments. In R. J. Sternberg, D. Halpern, & H. L. Roediger, III (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (in press). Nonconscious self-esteem: Is there something you’re not telling yourself? In M. Kernis (Ed.), Self-esteem Issues and Answers: A Sourcebook of Current Perspectives. London: Psychology Press.
• Fong, G. T., Hammond, D., & Zanna, M. P. (2006). Bridging to evidence-based public health policy. In P. A. M. Van Lange (Ed.), Bridging Social Psychology: Benefits of Transdisciplinary Approaches (pp. 333-338). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Albarracín, D., Johnson, B. T., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Attitudes: Introduction and scope. In D. Albarracín, B. T. Johnson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Handbook of Attitudes (pp. 3-19). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Strahan, E. J., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Subliminal priming and persuasion: How motivation affects the activation of goals and persuasiveness of messages. In F. R. Kardes, P. M. Herr, & J. Nantel (Eds.), Applying Social Cognition to Consumer-Focused Strategy (pp. 267-280). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Newby-Clark, I. R., McGregor, I, & Zanna, M. P. (2005). The consequences of accessible ambivalence. In S. C. Craig & M. D. Martinez (Eds.), Ambivalence and the Structure of Political Opinion (pp. 33-53). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Spencer, S. J., Jordan, C. H., Logel, C. E. R., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Nagging doubts and a glimmer of hope: The role of implicit self-esteem in self-image maintenance. In A. Tesser, J. V. Wood, & D. A. Stapel (Eds.), On Building, Defending, and Regulating the Self: A Psychological Perspectives (pp. 153-170). New York: Psychology Press.
• Son Hing, L. S., Chung-Yan, G. A., Grunfeld, R., Robichaud, L., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Exploring the discrepancy between explicit and implicit prejudice: A test of aversive racism theory. In J. Forgas, K. Williams, & S. M. Laham (Eds.), Social Motivation: Explicit and Implicit Processes (pp. 274-293). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Spencer, S. J., Fein, S., Strahan, E. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). The role of motivation in the unconscious: How our motives control the activation of our thoughts and shape our actions. In J. Forgas, K. Williams, & S. M. Lahaml (Eds.), Social Motivation: Explicit and Implicit Processes (pp. 113-129). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Book

• Albarracín, D., Johnson, B. T., & Zanna, M. P. (Eds.) (2005). Handbook of Attitudes. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ontario Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology

• Sorrentino, R., Cohen, D., Olson, J. M., & Zanna, M. P. (Eds.) (2005). Culture and Social Behavior: The Ontario Symposium. Vol. 10. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

• Zanna, M. P. (Ed.) (2006). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 38. San Diego: Academic Press.
• Zanna, M. P. (Ed.) (2005). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 37. San Diego: Academic Press.

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