Affiliated with the Quantitative and Social-Personality Divisions

I research altruism and aggression from both social and evolutionary psychological perspectives. My altruism research examines within-family resource allocation as a function of both the ultimate (e.g., genetic relatedness) and proximate (e.g., cohabitation, emotional closeness) variables, and the extent to which inclusive fitness in kin groups is mediated and moderated by emotional closeness. My aggression research examines the relationships between the self and aggressive attitudes and behaviors using a variety of methods (e.g., questionnaire, diary, and laboratory experiments). Specifically, my colleagues and I have found that self-esteem is negatively related to aggression, whereas narcissism is positively related to aggression. We have found evidence that domain-specific measures of self-esteem are more diagnostic in predicting aggression than a single, global measure of self-esteem. We have also examined the extent to which the self-esteem/aggression relationship is moderated by self-esteem instability and gender. I have secondary research interests in several areas, including (a) psychology of science, (b) intuitive judgment and decision making, (c) daily diary studies and methods, (d) integrating social and evolutionary psychological theory, (e) optimal research design and data analysis, (f) relationship satisfaction in couples, (g) music and emotion, and (h) the health psychologies of exercise and organ donation.

Representative Publications:

• Webster, G. D. (in press). The kinship, acceptance, and rejection model of altruism and aggression (KARMAA): Implications for interpersonal and intergroup aggression. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice.
• Webster, G. D. (in press). An emerging psychology of science: A quantitative review of publication trends in the meta-sciences. Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology.
• Webster, G. D. (2007). The demise of the increasingly protracted APA journal article? American Psychologist, 62, 255-257.
• Webster, G. D. (2003). Prosocial behavior in families: Moderators of resource sharing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 644-652.
• Kirkpatrick, L. A., Waugh, C. E., Valencia, A., & Webster, G. D. (2002). The functional domain-specificity of self-esteem and the differential prediction of aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 756-767.