William Swann
| William B. Swann | |
|---|---|
| Born | New Jersey |
| Residence | United States |
| Fields | Social Psychology, Personality psychology |
| Institutions | University of Texas at Austin |
| Alma mater |
Gettysburg College University of Minnesota |
| Known for | Self-verification theory |
| Notable awards | Research Scientist Development Award, National Institute of Mental Health (twice) |
William B. Swann (born 1952) is a professor of social and personality psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is primarily known for his work on identity, self and self-esteem, but has also done research on relationships, social cognition, group processes, accuracy in person perception and interpersonal expectancy effects. He received his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Minnesota and undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College.
Swann devised self-verification theory, which focuses on people’s desire to be known and understood by others. Once people develop firmly held beliefs about themselves, the theory suggests that they will come to prefer that others see them as they see themselves—even if their self-views are negative. Swann and his colleagues have found this tendency in many experiments. For example, married people with negative self-views are more committed to the relationship and less likely to divorce if their spouse views them negatively. Recent research has applied this theory to understanding phenomena ranging from reactions to procedural justice in organizations, the productivity of members of work groups and teams, and extreme group behavior, such as fighting for one's group.
There is a tension between self-enhancement (the drive for a positive self-image) and self-verification, which reinforces even the negative aspects of a self-image. Swann and colleagues have found that emotional reactions favor enhancement, while more thoughtful processes favor verification. They also found that people are more likely to seek enhancement early on in a relationship, but verification as the relationship develops.
More recently Swann has contributed to identity negotiation theory. Identity negotiation refers to the processes whereby people in relationships reach agreements regarding "who is who." Once reached, these agreements govern what people expect of one another and the way they relate to one another. As such, identity negotiation processes provide the interpersonal "glue" that holds relationships together. Identity negotiation theory has been used to examine how people work or study together in groups, especially the role of diversity.
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