Michael Johns, Ph.D.
E-Mail: mjohns1@uwyo.edu
Work Tel: 307-766-3442

PSYC 4860-01 Sem: Social Cognition
Course Material

Education and Positions

2005 - present, Assistant Professor, University of Wyoming
2005, Ph.D., Social Psychology, University of Arizona
1999, M.A., Psychology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
1995, B.A., Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz

Research Interests

My current research interests revolve around examining how various types of
self-threats influence cognitive and motivational processes. Within this general framework I am interested in examining when and how the negative affective states that accompany threats to self impact cognition and motivation, with a particular focus on situations where a particular social or group identity is at stake. The first major line of research concerns the effects of negative stereotypes on the cognitive processes of those who are stigmatized in academic situations. A second line of research examines when individuals are likely to experience shame and guilt as a result of the negative behavior of a fellow in-group member and how these emotions shape behavioral motivations in intergroup situations. I am also interested in exploring how different emotional and motivational states can both facilitate and inhibit the success of different prejudice reduction strategies.
Stereotype threat
Working memory capacity
Group-based emotions, vicarious shame and guilt
Prejudice reduction; internal motivation to respond without prejudice
Terror management theory

Current Courses

Intro to Social Psychology (PSYC 2380)
Advanced Social Psychology: Social Cognition (PSYC 5785)

Representative Publications

Johns, M., Schmader, T., & Lickel, B. (2005). Ashamed to be American? The
role of identification in predicting vicarious shame for anti-Arab prejudice after
9-11. Self and Identity, 4, 331-348.

Johns, M., Schmader, T., & Martens, A. (2005). Knowing is half the battle: Teaching
stereotype threat as a means of improving women's math performance.
Psychological Science, 16, 175-179.

Schmader, T. & Johns, M. (2003). Converging evidence that stereotype threat reduces
working memory capacity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85,
440-452.

Landau, M. J., Johns, M., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Martens, A. Goldenberg, J. &
Solomon, S. (2003). A form or function: Terror management and the structuring
of the social world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 190-210.

Michael Johns, Ph.D. E-Mail: mjohns1@uwyo.edu Work Tel: 307-766-3442