Michael Conway

My students and I are conducting research on agency (i.e., being assertive and dominant) and communion (i.e., being warm and caring) in social perception, status, social identity, autobiographical memory, and rumination. First, agency and communion are closely related to gender stereotypes and status, and we are examining how people construe agency and communion in terms of time, physical movement, and intentionality and planning. Second, we are examining the determinants and consequences of subjective social status. Third, we are examining social identity in young adults, including in terms of social class background. Fourth, we are doing research on autobiographical memory, both in terms of the factors that influence such memories, as well as how these memories influence people's views of themselves. Fifth, rumination on sadness in the context of depression is a focus in on-going research.

Selected Publications

• Wood, W., & Conway, M. (2006).  Subjective impact, meaning making, and current and recalled emotions for self-defining memories.  Journal of Personality, 74, 811-845.
• Conway, M., Alfonsi, G., Pushkar, D., & Giannopoulos, C. (2008). Rumination on sadness and dimensions of communality and agency: Comparing white and visible minority individuals in a Canadian context. Sex Roles, 58, 738-749.
• Alfonsi, G., Conway, M., & Pushkar, D. (2011). The lower subjective social status of neurotic individuals: Multiple pathways through occupational prestige, income, and illness. Journal of Personality, 79, 619-642.
• Tabri, N., & Conway, M. (in press). Negative expectations for the group's outcomes undermine normative collective action: Conflict between Christian and Muslim groups in Lebanon. British Journal of Social Psychology.