Catherine A. Sanderson
Department of Psychology
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
U.S.A.
Home Page
Phone: (413) 542-2438
Fax: (413) 542-2145

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My research is based in social-personality psychology and specifically on issues within close relationships and health-related behaviors. First, I study the interaction of individuals in close relationships (e.g., friendships, dating relationships, marriages), and how the actual and perceived goals of both partners influence patterns of interaction, strategies of conflict resolution, and relationship satisfaction. Second, I look at individuals’ accuracy in perceiving others’ attitudes and behaviors (e.g., in terms of eating and exercise, alcohol use, condom use), as well as how such perceptions (and misperceptions) influence one’s own attitudes and behaviors. For example, women see other women as thinner and as exercising more than they themselves do, and women who feel more discrepant from others show higher rates of eating disorders. Third, my research examines why individuals learn more when they receive personally-relevant or “matching” messages (e.g., videos, brochures, advertisements) about health related topics (e.g., eating disorders, condom use).
 Journal Articles:
- Mutterperl, J. A., & Sanderson, C. A. (2002). Mind over matter: Internalization of the thinness norm as a moderator of responsiveness to norm misperception information. Health Psychology, 21.
- Sanderson, C. A. (1999). Role of relationship context in influencing college students? Responsiveness to HIV prevention videos. Health Psychology, 18, 295-300.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Cantor, N. (2001). The association of intimacy goals and marital satisfaction: A test of four mediational hypotheses. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1567-1577.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Cantor, N. (1997). Creating satisfaction in steady dating relationships: The role of personal goals and situational affordances. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1424-1433.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Cantor, N. (1995). Social dating goals in late adolescence: Implications for safer sexual activity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 1121-1134.
- Sanderson, C. A., Darley, J. M., & Messinger, C. S. (2001). "I'm not as thin as you think I am": The development and consequences of feeling discrepant from the thinness norm. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 461-471.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Evans, S. M. (2001). Seeing one's partner through intimacy-colored glasses: The role of intimacy goals in predicting relationship satisfaction in college women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 461-471.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Holloway, R. M. (2003). Who benefits from what?: Drive for thinness as a moderator of responsiveness to different eating disorders prevention messages. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 1837-1861.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Jemmott, J. B., III. (1996). Moderation and mediation of HIV prevention interventions: Relationship status, intentions, and condom use among college students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 2076-2099.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Karetsky, K. H. (2002). Intimacy goals and strategies of conflict resolution in dating relationships: A mediational analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 323-343.
- Sanderson, C. A., & Maibach, E. W. (1996). Predicting condom use in African-American STD patients: The role of two types of outcome expectancies. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 1495-1509.
- Sanderson, C. A., Maibach, E. W., DiIorio, C., & Cantor, N. (1999). Personal strategies for HIV prevention: The development and validation of a strategy coding instrument. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1534-1551.
- Sanderson, C.A., Rahm, K.B., & Beigbeder, S.A. (2005). The pursuit of intimacy goals in close friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 75-98.
- Sanderson, C. A., Zanna, A. S., & Darley, J. M. (2000). Making the punishment fit the crime and the criminal: Attributions of dangerousness as a mediator of liability. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1149-1171.
Other Publications:
- Sanderson, C. A., & Cantor, N. (1999). A life task perspective on personality coherence: Stability versus change in tasks, goals, strategies, and outcomes. In D. Cervone & Y. Shoda (Eds.), The coherence of personality: Social-cognitive bases of consistency, variability, and organization (pp. 372-392). New York: Guilford Press.
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