Ethan Zell
My research examines self and social perception. Specifically, I am interested in the effect of social comparison information on self-evaluation, and whether some comparisons have a greater influence than others. I am also interested in the accuracy of self-evaluation. I have a variety of other interests including meta-analysis, self-talk, and the influence of age, culture, and gender on the self.
Primary Interests:
- Group Processes
- Interpersonal Processes
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Person Perception
- Self and Identity
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Journal Articles:
- Alicke, M. D., Zell, E., & Bloom, D. L. (2010). Mere categorization and the frog-pond effect. Psychological Science, 21, 174-177.
- Alicke, M. D., Zell, E., & Guenther, C. L. (2013). Social self-analysis: Constructing, protecting, and enhancing the self. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 173-234.
- Stockus, C. A., & Zell, E. (2023). The regional big-fish-little-pond effect: Evidence from national and subnational comparisons. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62, 1158-1176.
- Stockus, C. A., & Zell, E. (2024). Empathic forecasting of the big-fish-little-pond effect. Cognition and Emotion, 38(1), 44-58.
- Strickhouser, J. E., & Zell, E. (2015). Self-evaluative effects of dimensional and social comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 59, 60-66.
- Zell, E., & Alicke, M. D. (2009). Contextual neglect, self-evaluation, and the frog-pond effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 467-482.
- Zell, E., & Alicke, M. D. (2009). Self-evaluative effects of temporal and social comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 223-227.
- Zell, E., & Alicke, M. D. (2010). The local dominance effect in self-evaluation: Evidence and explanations. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 368-384.
- Zell, E., & Bernstein, M. J. (2014). You may think you’re right…Young adults are more liberal than they realize. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 326-333.
- Zell, E., & Krizan, Z. (2014). Do people have insight into their abilities? A metasynthesis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 111-125.
- Zell, E., & Lesick, T. L. (2022). Big five personality traits and performance: A quantitative synthesis of 50+ meta-analyses. Journal of Personality, 90, 559-573.
- Zell, E., & Lesick, T. L. (2021). Taking social comparison to the extremes: The huge-fish-tiny-pond effect in self-evaluations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 1030-1038.
- Zell, E., & Lesick, T. L. (2022). Ignorance of history and political differences in perception of racism in the United States. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13, 1022-1031.
- Zell, E., & Stockus, C. A. (2024). Social support and psychological adjustment: A quantitative synthesis of 60 meta-analyses. American Psychologist. Advance online publication.
- Zell, E., & Strickhouser, J. E. (2020). Comparisons across dimensions, people, and time: On the primacy of social comparison in self-evaluations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11, 791-800.
- Zell, E., Alicke, M. D., & Strickhouser, J. E. (2015). Referent status neglect: Winners evaluate themselves favorably even when the competitor is incompetent. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 56, 18-23.
- Zell, E., Krizan, Z., & Teeter, S. R. (2015). Evaluating gender similarities and differences using metasynthesis. American Psychologist, 70, 10-20.
- Zell, E., Stockus, C. A., & Bernstein, M. J. (2022). It’s their fault: Partisan attribution bias and its association with voting intentions. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 25(4), 1139-1156.
- Zell, E., Stockus, C. A., Lesick, T. L., & Sedikides, C. (2023). Self-enhancement and physical health: A meta-analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62, 583-599.
- Zell, E., Su, R., ... Albarracín, D. (2013). Cultural differences in attitudes toward action and inaction: The role of dialecticism. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 521-528.
- Zell, E., Warriner, A. B., & Albarracín, D. (2012). Splitting of the mind: When the You I talk to is me and needs commands. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 549-555.
Other Publications:
- Alicke, M. D., Zhang, Y., Stephenson, N. B., & Zell, E. (2024). Self-evaluation in competition pools. In S. M. Garcia, A. Tor, & A. Elliot (Eds.), Oxford handbook of the psychology of competition (pp. 332-349). Oxford University Press.
- Zell, E., & Sedikides, C. (2024). Self-enhancement and counterproductive COVID-19 behavior. In M. K. Miller (Ed.), The social science of the COVID-19 pandemic: A call to action for researchers (pp. 94-106). Oxford University Press.
Courses Taught:
- Social Cognition
- Social Psychology
Ethan Zell
Greensboro, North Carolina 27402
United States of America
