Hazel Rose Markus
Encyclopedia
Hazel Markus is a prominent social psychologist
. In 1975, she received her PhD
from the University of Michigan
, and later became one of the university’s faculty members. During her time at the University of Michigan, she was a research scientist at the Institute for Social Research. Her research interests include culture, ethnicity, emotion, gender, motivation and goal setting, to name a few.
Markus' most significant contribution to social psychology
was the introduction of the concept of the "self-schema" (Markus, 1977). She described the self-schema as a cognitive representation of the self that is used to organize knowledge about the self and guide processing of self-relevant information. In Study 1 of Markus (1977), participants completed a reaction time task, where they were presented with personality traits and asked to hit a button labeled "Me" if the trait was self-descriptive and another button labeled "Not Me" if the trait was not self-descriptive. When participants classified a trait that they had previously said described themselves, they were faster to categorize the trait with the "Me" button than participants who had previously said the trait was only moderately descriptive. The faster response time of people who felt the trait was self-descriptive reflects an association of that trait with their self-schema. Self-schema and the self-concept remain among the most researched concepts in social psychology today.
Markus is a pioneering figure in cultural psychology
, a field which explores how cultural contexts both shape and reflect individuals' emotions, cognitions, motivations, and other psychological processes (Kim & Markus, 1999). Therefore, she is not primarily concerned with the evolutionary perspective on culture, which looks more at how human culture has evolved with respect to the human EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptation).
After her time at the University of Michigan, Markus moved to Stanford University
in 1994, and can currently be found on the Stanford campus. As co-director of the Stanford Research Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Dr. Markus continues her research on the influence of culture on the self. Other leadership roles Markus has attained include her former presidency of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and service on numerous editorial boards. Dr. Markus has contributed as an author to various textbooks including the 7th edition of the textbook, Social Psychology. Also, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
. In addition, Markus has earned the prestigious Donald T. Campbell
award for her numerous contributions to the Social Psychology field, and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association
and the Association for Psychological Science
. She was married to social psychologist Robert Zajonc
.
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
. In 1975, she received her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and later became one of the university’s faculty members. During her time at the University of Michigan, she was a research scientist at the Institute for Social Research. Her research interests include culture, ethnicity, emotion, gender, motivation and goal setting, to name a few.
Markus' most significant contribution to social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
was the introduction of the concept of the "self-schema" (Markus, 1977). She described the self-schema as a cognitive representation of the self that is used to organize knowledge about the self and guide processing of self-relevant information. In Study 1 of Markus (1977), participants completed a reaction time task, where they were presented with personality traits and asked to hit a button labeled "Me" if the trait was self-descriptive and another button labeled "Not Me" if the trait was not self-descriptive. When participants classified a trait that they had previously said described themselves, they were faster to categorize the trait with the "Me" button than participants who had previously said the trait was only moderately descriptive. The faster response time of people who felt the trait was self-descriptive reflects an association of that trait with their self-schema. Self-schema and the self-concept remain among the most researched concepts in social psychology today.
Markus is a pioneering figure in cultural psychology
Cultural psychology
Cultural psychology is a field of psychology which assumes the idea that culture and mind are inseparable, and that psychological theories grounded in one culture are likely to be limited in applicability when applied to a different culture...
, a field which explores how cultural contexts both shape and reflect individuals' emotions, cognitions, motivations, and other psychological processes (Kim & Markus, 1999). Therefore, she is not primarily concerned with the evolutionary perspective on culture, which looks more at how human culture has evolved with respect to the human EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptation).
After her time at the University of Michigan, Markus moved to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1994, and can currently be found on the Stanford campus. As co-director of the Stanford Research Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Dr. Markus continues her research on the influence of culture on the self. Other leadership roles Markus has attained include her former presidency of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and service on numerous editorial boards. Dr. Markus has contributed as an author to various textbooks including the 7th edition of the textbook, Social Psychology. Also, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
. In addition, Markus has earned the prestigious Donald T. Campbell
Donald T. Campbell
Donald Thomas Campbell was an American social scientist. He is noted for his work in methodology. He coined the term "evolutionary epistemology" and developed a selectionist theory of human creativity.- Biography :...
award for her numerous contributions to the Social Psychology field, and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
and the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
. She was married to social psychologist Robert Zajonc
Robert Zajonc
Robert Bolesław Zajonc was a Polish-born American social psychologist who is known for his decades of work on a wide range of social and cognitive processes.-Mere Exposure Effect:...
.