The Wolfe Pack Research Lab

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General Information

In addition to working with students on class-related research projects and supervising honors theses and independent studies, I also have my own on-going program of research. My research lab focuses on three areas.

Ssmile/frownelf-Esteem:  My student collaborators and I are working on finding out how people maintain a positive sense of self-worth.  In particular, we are interested in what people base their self-esteem on (i.e., contingencies of worth). This work stems from a theory developed by Dr. Jennifer Crocker at the University of Michigan (my graduate school advisor). According to Crocker & Wolfe,  it is important to understand not only whether a person's self-esteem is high or low - but also to understand where that judgment came from. Some people may base self-worth on being competent, others on being liked, others on being virtuous, and so on.  I am especially interested in understanding how multiple contingencies of worth operate together, and how a person "recovers" from negative feedback in an area related to a contingency of worth.

Attitudes toward Diversity Topics in Education: Along with Dr. Janine Chi and my student collaborators, I am currently working on a project about student attitudes toward "diversity" themed courses, the "D" requirement in the major, and attitudes about the need to focus on diversity at a societal level. We are interested in the ways in which levels of prejudice influence a person's desire to learn about diverse social identities; how does the desire to be "color-blind" interact with the desire to learn about other people and cultures? We are also interested in students' definition of diversity (e.g., racial, religious, national, international). 

Stereotype Threat (Women & Math): Stereotype threat theory argues that the mere existence of the stereotype which says men are better at math than women is causally related to women underperforming on math tests relative to men (Steele, Spencer, Quinn). The stereotype adds a situational threat, creating a "double burden" for women in a math-relevant evaluative situation. Zeke Strober ('07) completed an honors thesis exploring the internal states that are affected by the threat and how those internal states result in underperformance. In particular, he examined physiological arousal and the cognitive construal of that arousal. His work is being continued by members of my lab.

The current members of the Research Lab group are listed below, and I hope to maintain membership in the group such that it is composed of students from freshmen to seniors.  Students in my lab help design studies, evaluate existing designs, run subjects, enter and analyze data, and work on ideas for future research. Students may volunteer or receive PSY 270 credit; advanced students may receive PSY 970 credit if they wish to do independent work related to relevant topics. We typically meet as a lab group once per week at a time that works for everyone, and the typical PSY 270 (1/2 credit) student can expect a workload of about 4 hours per week.

Work conducted with student collaborators has culminated in several presentations at national and regional psychological conventions, and I am currently working with several students to publish articles in psychological journals. Several students from my lab have also spent a summer doing research at other institutions. For example, Zeke Strober ('07) and Wendy Eichler ('05) both spent the summer before their senior year working with Dr. Andy Karpinski at Temple University. Tom Prevete ('07) and Kati Knight ('03, Hanover) were both awarded prestigious NSF “REU” summer internships which they completed the summer before their senior year.  Additionally, several of the lab's former students are now in graduate programs. For example, David Buck ('04 Hanover) has chosen to continue his work in social psychology at Florida State University, and  Kati Knight ('03 Hanover) has gone on to study social psychology at the University of Michigan. Jess Kay ('06) is in the MSW program at NYU, and Ben Solomon ('05) is in the Ph.D. program at the University of Massachusetts. (For more updates on previous lab members, see below.) 

Let me know if you are interested in becoming part of the Research Lab.  I recruit new students for the lab each semester, but most students start in the Fall term and continue through Spring. Therefore I would be especially interested hearing from you in late Spring in order to plan for the upcoming school year. The number of students in the lab changes each semester and year as a function of the projects that need to be done.

Aside from the topics mentioned above, my other research interests include the experience of being a member of a stigmatized group, and the causes and consequences of stereotyping and prejudice.  I welcome students interested in pursuing research in these (or other social psych/personality psych) areas. For more information, feel free to contact me at wolfe@muhlenberg.edu.

Wolfe Pack Lab Members (Spring 2008)

Elisa Vicari ('08) - Senior Thesis

A.J. Barnold ('09) - Dana Independent Study 

Additional Collaborators

Click here for updates on former lab members

Recent Research

Wolfe, C., Buck, D., Davenport, M.*, Lytle, J., Krantz, J. & Liwski, N. (2007, May). Approaching intelligence and avoiding stupidity: Self-determination, BIS/BAS and contingencies of worth. Poster presented at the Third International Conference on Self-Determination Theory, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [*Muhlenberg student co-author] Click here to see a copy of the poster.

Strober, Zeke (2007, April). Arousal as a Mediator of Stereotype Threat in Women's Math Performance. Presented at the 22nd Annual LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Allentown, PA.

Buck, D. & Wolfe, C. (2006, May). Contingencies of worth and contingent motivation orientation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.

Eichler, W. (2005, April).  Appearance as a contingency of worth: A lab manipulation. Presented at the 20th Annual LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Allentown, PA. Click here to see a copy of the PowerPoint presentation.

Davenport, M. (2005, April).  What motivates contingencies of worth? Presented at the 20th Annual LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Allentown, PA. Click here to see a copy of the PowerPoint presentation.

Wolfe, C. (2004, November). Exploring intellectual competency as a contingency of worth. Invited talk for the Emotional, Social, Cognition & Decision Making Colloquium Series, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.  Click here to see a copy of the PowerPoint presentation.

Buck, D., Wolfe, C., Liwski, N. & Krantz, J. (April-May, 2004). Staking your worth on grades versus knowledge: Intellectual competency as a contingency of self-worth. Presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.

Wolfe, C. , Knight, K.,  Buck, D.,  Liwski, N. & Somers, M. (2003, February). Dispositional rumination as a mediator of the negative relationship between trait self-esteem and contingencies of worth dependent on external, interpersonal feedback. Poster presented at the 4th annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists, L.A., California. Click here to read excerpts from the poster.

Buck, D., Wolfe, C., Crocker, J., Liwski, N., Somers, M., Knight, K. (2003, February).  Performance oriented classroom goals and school competency as a contingency of worth.  Poster presented at the 4th annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists, L.A., California.  Click here to read excerpts from the poster.

Past Lab Members & Updates  (email me!)