Research Interests

My area of research is the psychology of attitudes. In the domain of communication and persuasion, I have conducted research on overcoming resistance to change (e.g., subliminal priming and persuasion, self-affirmation and persuasion, and narrative persuasion). In the domain of implicit attitudes I have conducted 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). In the domain of health, I have conducted research testing a 'safer sex' intervention, evaluated Canada's new cigarette warning labels, and investigated the subtle effects of smoking in feature films on implicit cognition (e.g., implicit attitudes and implicit norms). Currently, I am investigating implicit norms (i.e., automatic associations of what society likes vs. dislikes) in several domains.

Selected Recent Publications (since 2009)

Papers

• Yoshida, E., Peach, J. M., Zanna, M. P., & Spencer, S. J. (in press). Not all automatic association are created equal: How implicit normative evaluations are distinct from implicit attitudes and uniquely predict meaningful behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
• Hall, P. A., Zehr, C., Ng, M., & Zanna, M. P. (2012). Implementation intentions for physical activity in supportive and unsupportive environmental conditions: An examination of intention-behavior consistency. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 432-436.
• Son-Hing, L. S., Bobocel, D. R., Zanna, M. P., et al. (2011). The merit of meritocracy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 433-450.
• Stinson, D. A., Logel, C., Shepherd, S., & Zanna, M. P. (2011). Re-writing the self-fulfilling prophecy of social rejection: Self-affirmation improves relational security and social behavior up to two months later. Psychological Science, 22, 1145-1149.
• Zanna, M. P. (2011). While waiting for nature to take her course: There's nothing so practical as a good…design. Journal of Social Issues, 67,653-664.
• Peach, J. M., Yoshida, E., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Steele, J. (2011). Recognizing discrimination explicitly while denying it implicitly: Implicit social identity protection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 283-292.
• Jonas, E., Graupmann, V., Niesta Kayser, D., Zanna, M. P., et al. (2009). Culture, self-construal and the emergence of reactance: Is there a "universal" freedom? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1068-1080.
• Ebel-Lam, A. P., MacDonald, T. K., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2009). An experimental investigation of the interactive effects of alcohol and sexual arousal on intentions to have unprotected sex. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 31, 226-233.
• Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Peach, J. M., Laurin, K., Friesen, J., Zanna, M. P., & Spencer, S. J. (2009). Inequality, discrimination, and the power of the status quo: Direct evidence for a motivation to see the way things are as the way they should be. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 421-434.

Chapters

• Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2012). Discrepancies between implicit and explicit attitudes, prejudices, and self-esteem: A model of simultaneous accessibility. In B. Gawronski & F. Strack (Eds.), Cognitive Consistency: A Unifying Concept in Social Psychology (pp. 202-222). New York: Guilford Press.
• Zanna, M. P. (2011). "Risky business": On the adventures of simultaneously manipulating sexual arousal and intoxication. In R. M. Arkin (Ed.), Most Underappreciated: 50 Prominent Social Psychologists Describe Their Most Unloved Work (pp. 241-244). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Spencer, S. J., Peach, J., Yoshida, E., & Zanna, M. P. (2010). Learning what most people like: How implicit attitudes and normative evaluations are shaped by motivation and culture and influence meaningful behavior. In J. Forgas, J. Cooper, & W. Crano (Eds.), The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change (pp. 95-108). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
• Son Hing, L. S., & Zanna, M. P. (2010). Individual differences. In J. F. Dovidio, M. Hewstone, P. Glick, & V. M. Esses (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination (pp. 163-178). London, UK: Sage.
• Marigold, D. C., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2010). Defensive conviction as emotion regulation: Goal mechanisms and interpersonal implications. In R. Arkin, K. Oleson, & P. Carroll (Eds.), Handbook of the Uncertain Self (pp. 232-248). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
• Kay, A. C., & Zanna, M. P. (2009). A contextual analysis of the psychological and societal consequences of the system justification motive. In J. T. Jost, A. C. Kay, & H. Thorisdottir (Eds.), Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification (pp. 158-181). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Whitfield, M. L. (2009). The heterogeneity of self-esteem: Exploring the interplay between implicit and explicit self-esteem. In R. E. Petty, R. H. Fazio, & P. Briñol (Eds.), Attitudes: Insights from the New Implicit Measures (pp. 251-281). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.

Ontario Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology

• Campbell, L., LaGuardia, J., Olson, J. M., & Zanna, M. P. (Eds.) (2012). The Science of the Couple: The Ontario Symposium. Vol. 12. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
• Bobocel, D. R., Kay, A. C., Zanna, M.P., & Olson, J. M. (2010). The Psychology of Justice and Legitimacy: The Ontario Symposium. Vol. 11. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

• Olson, J. M. & Zanna, M. P. (Eds.) (2011). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 44. San Diego: Academic Press.
• Zanna, M. P. & Olson, J. M. (Eds.) (2010). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 43. San Diego: Academic Press.
• Zanna, M. P. (Ed.) (2010). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 42. San Diego: Academic Press.
• Zanna, M. P. (Ed. (2009). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 41. San Diego: Academic Press.

Vita

More Detailed CV (PDF)
Brief Biography (PDF)