Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Camille Johnson

Camille Johnson

  • Media Contact
  • SPN Mentor

Early in my career, I studied behavior changes in response to more successful others: Do they encourage us to follow in their footsteps or forge our own paths? When do we integrate the success of others into our own self-concepts? How does this integration change our behavior? When do more successful others lead us to more successful in our own endeavors? Early work, focusing on social comparisons and performance, demonstrated that comparisons to more successful others that lead to uncomfortable or aversive feelings also lead to better performance outcomes, whereas comparisons that lead to feelings of inspiration or admiration do not.

Since then, I have expanded my work into other areas that are more directly applicable to real-world social situations. One line of research examines the preferences for content in interracial interactions. With my colleagues Michael Olson and Kevin Zabel, I have shown that African-American and White American interaction partners have different preferences for conversation topics, have different evaluations of topics as controversial and intimate, and, when preferences are violated, experience cognitive depletion.

My most recent research with Pam Smith examines when and how women are underrepresented on academic panels. Congruent with this research, I participate in symposia and conferences focused on women in work, as well as conduct workshops for young scholars and serve on the SPSP Professional Development committee.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Emotion, Mood, Affect
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Self and Identity
  • Social Cognition

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Journal Articles:

Other Publications:

  • Johnson, S. K., & Johnson, C. S. (2009). The secret life of mood: Unconscious mood in work contexts. Research on Emotions in Organizations, 5.

Courses Taught:

  • Applied Organizational Behavior
  • Fundamentals of Management and Organizational Behavior
  • Leadership
  • Statistics for the Social Sciences

Camille Johnson
College of Business
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, California 95192-0070
United States of America

  • Phone: (408) 924-3416

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