Roy F. Baumeister
I am currently interested in five different research topics:
(1) Self-control, choice, decision making. We have investigated how people regulate their emotions, resist temptation, break bad habits, and perform up to their potential -- and why they often fail to do so.
Related work shows how stressful and draining it can be to make choices.
(2) The need to belong. We have worked on how people respond to being rejected or excluded from social groups, as well as romantic heartbreak. Also, many psychological processes are based on the
desire to connect with other people.
(3) A series of studies of human sexuality has addressed questions such as how nature and culture influence people's sex drive, rape and sexual coercion, the cultural suppression of female sexuality, and how couples negotiate their sexual patterns.
(4) Consciousness, volition, emotion, and "free will." We are beginning to do studies on the role of conscious processes in how people decide their actions. Does emotion cause behavior? Is the conscious experience of free choice an illusion?
(5) Irrationality and self-destructive behavior. An enduring theme of my work is why people do stupid things. Self-defeating behavior is the essence of irrationality and thus shows the limits of human rationality.
Primary Interests:
- Aggression, Conflict, Peace
- Close Relationships
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Gender Psychology
- Helping, Prosocial Behavior
- Interpersonal Processes
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Self and Identity
- Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
- Sociology, Social Networks
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Image Gallery
Video Gallery
Willpower: Self-Control, Decision Fatigue, and Energy Depletion
Select video to watch
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Willpower: Self-Control, Decision Fatigue, and Energy Depletion
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The Science of Willpower
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What Makes Us Human? (TEDx talk)
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What Is Self-Awareness?
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Self-Control and Willpower
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Why We Focus on the Negative
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Self-Regulation and Emotion
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Overcoming Negativity and the Secrets of Self Control
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What Is Intentionality?
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Big Questions in Free Will
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Free Will and Moral Responsibility
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Thinking About the Future
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Think About the Future
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Willpower and How to Make It Work for You
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Human Mind and Society
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Free Will and Decision Making
Books:
- Baumeister, R. F. (2005). The cultural animal: Human nature, meaning, and social life. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Evil: Inside human violence and cruelty. New York: W.H. Freeman.
- Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2020). Social psychology and human nature (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
- Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., & Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
- Baumeister, R. F., & Tierney, J. (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the greatest human strength. New York: Penguin Press.
- Finkel, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F., (Eds.). (2019). Advanced Social Psychology: The State of the Science (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Journal Articles:
- Baumeister, R. F. (2001, April). Violent pride: Do people turn violent because of self-hate or self-love? Scientific American, 284, 96-101.
- Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Gender differences in erotic plasticity: The female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 347-374.
- Baumeister, R. F. (1998). The self. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (4th ed., pp. 680-740). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 1-44.
- Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
- Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., & Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5-33.
- Baumeister, R. F., Stillwell, A. M., & Heatherton, T. F. (1994). Guilt: An interpersonal approach. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 243-267.
- Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., DeWall, C. N., & Zhang, L. (2007). How emotion shapes behavior: Feedback, anticipation, and reflection, rather than direct causation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11, 167-203.
- Gailliot, M. T., Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Maner, J. K., Plant, E. A., Tice, D. M., Brewer, L. E., & Schmeichel, B. J. (2007). Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 325-336.
- Vohs, K. D., Baumeister, R. F., Schmeichel, B. J., Twenge, J. M., Nelson, N. M., & Tice, D. M. (2008). Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: A limited-resource account of decision making, self-regulation, and active initiative. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 883-898.
Courses Taught:
- Advanced Social Psychology
- Interdisciplinary Psychology
- Social Psychology
Roy F. Baumeister
Department of Psychology
Florida State University
1107 Call Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4301
United States of America
- Phone: (850) 644-4200
- Fax: (850) 644-7739