Much of my work focuses on the factors that motivate people to be unique and distinctive from others. I am especially interested in how the tendency to engage in distinctive behaviors can be triggered by threats to one's self-concept or social identity. Historically, research in social psychology has emphasized tendencies toward conformity. For example, why are people so reluctant to disagree with the majority even on seemingly inconsequential issues, and why do groups converge on judgments even in the absence of explicit social pressure? However, people are driven not only to fit in, but also to distinguish themselves from their peers. My research seeks to better understand the antecedents and consequences of various forms of distinctiveness, including adoption and expression of minority opinions, creative performance, and identification with distinctive racial/ethnic groups. In additional research projects, I examine responses to self-concept and identity threats more generally (i.e., beyond distinctiveness tendencies).

Primary Interests:

Attitudes and Beliefs
Communication, Language
Culture and Ethnicity
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Motivation, Goal Setting
Organizational Behavior
Persuasion, Social Influence
Political Psychology
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Attitudes and Beliefs
Communication, Language
Culture and Ethnicity
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Motivation, Goal Setting
Organizational Behavior

Persuasion, Social Influence
Political Psychology
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Rios Laboratory Group
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Besmann, A., & Rios, K. (2012). Pals in power armor: Attribution of human-like emotions to video game characters in an ingroup/outgroup situation. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15, 441-443.
DeMarree, K. G., Morrison, K. R., Wheeler, S. C., & Petty, R. E. (2011). Self-ambivalence and resistance to subtle self-change attempts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 674-686.
Gray, D. L., & Rios, K. (2012). Achievement motivation as a function of assimilation and differentiation needs. Zeitschrift für Psychologie (Journal of Psychology), 220, 157-163.
Matthes, J., Morrison, K. R., & Schemer, C. (2010). A spiral of silence for some: Attitude certainty and the expression of political minority opinions. Communication Research, 37, 774-800
Miller, D. T., & Morrison, K. R. (2009). Expressing deviant opinions: Believing you are in the majority helps. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 740-747.
Morrison, K. R. (2011). A license to speak up: Outgroup minorities and opinion expression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 756-766.
Morrison, K. R., & Chung, A. H. (2011). "White" or "European American"? Self-identifying labels influence majority group members' interethnic attitudes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 165-170.
Morrison, K. R., Fast, N. J., & Ybarra, O. (2009). Group status, perceptions of threat, and support for social inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 204-210.
Morrison, K. R., & Johnson, C. S. (2011). When what you have is who you are: Self-uncertainty leads individualists to see themselves in their possessions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 639-651.
Morrison,, K. R., Johnson, C. S., & Wheeler, S. C. (2012). Not all selves feel the same uncertainty: Assimilation to primes among individualists and collectivists. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 118-126.
Morrison, K. R., & Matthes, J. (2011). Socially motivated projection: Need to belong increases perceived opinion consensus on important issues. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 707-719.
Morrison, K. R., & Miller, D. T. (2008). Distinguishing between silent and vocal minorities: Not all deviants feel marginal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 871-882.
Morrison, K. R., Plaut, V. C., & Ybarra, O. (2010). Predicting whether multiculturalism positively or negatively influences White Americans' intergroup attitudes: The role of ethnic identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1648-1661.
Morrison, K. R., & Wheeler, S. C. (2010). Nonconformity defines the self: The role of minority opinion status in self-concept clarity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 297-308.
Morrison, K. R., & Ybarra, O. (2009). Symbolic threat and social dominance among liberals and conservatives: SDO reflects conformity to political values. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 1039-1052.
Morrison, K. R., & Ybarra, O. (2008). The effects of realistic threat and group identification on social dominance orientation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 156-163.
Rios, K. (2012). Minority opinions: Antecedents and benefits of expression. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 392-401.
Rios, K., Wheeler, S. C., & Miller, D. T. (2012). Compensatory nonconformity: Self-uncertainty and low implicit self-esteem increase adoption and expression of minority opinions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1300-1309.
Rios, K., Ybarra, O., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (in press). Outgroup primes induce unpredictability tendencies under conditions of distrust. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Wheeler, S. C., Morrison, K. R., DeMarree, K. G., & Petty, R. E. (2008). Does self-consciousness increase or decrease priming effects? It depends. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 882-889.

Courses Taught:

Communication and Identity
Intercultural Communication
Introduction to Organizational Communication
Psychological Research Methods
Psychology of Extremism
Statistical Applications in Communication I
The Mind

Communication and Identity
Intercultural Communication
Introduction to Organizational Communication
Psychological Research Methods

Psychology of Extremism
Statistical Applications in Communication I
The Mind

Kimberly Rios
Department of Psychology
University of Chicago
5848 S. University Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Phone: (773) 834-1331
Fax: (773) 702-0886