Mark Leary

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Mark Richard Leary (born November 29, 1954) is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina). [1] His research has made significant contributions to the fields of social psychology and personality psychology.

Contents

Background

Leary completed his undergraduate coursework at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1976. He obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Florida. He has held teaching positions at Denison University, the University of Texas at Austin, Wake Forest University, and Duke University. [1] [2] Leary is credited for publishing or editing 12 books and more than 200 articles or chapters for academic journals. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. Leary also founded the scholarly journal Self and Identity in 2001. Additionally, he has served on the editorial review boards of many other academic journals in psychology. [1] [3] In addition, he lectures for The Great Courses. [4]

Topics of research

Leary's research has spanned the topics of the self and identity (social science), self-esteem, interpersonal motivation and emotion, need to belong, and self-compassion.

Sociometer theory

He is well known for developing the sociometer theory, an interpersonal explanation for variations in self-esteem within individuals. [5] This theory suggests people have an internal measure of social acceptance (or rejection) which determines state self-esteem; unhealthy levels of state self-esteem encourage changes in affect, behavior, and/or cognition in order to regain social acceptance. [6]

The self

Much of Leary's research is centered on the notion of the human self, self-awareness, and self-reflection. While there are clear benefits to the human ability to distinguish oneself from others and reflect upon past experiences, Leary and his colleagues have revealed many disadvantages as well. Examples include the tendencies to harbor bitterness, ruminate about imaginary scenarios, and panic about remote threats to safety. Each of these negative thoughts can lead to emotional challenges unique to the human species. [7] Leary has also cited four aspects of the self which lead to interpersonal conflict: (1) self-other differentiation, (2) egocentrism, (3) self-esteem, and (4) egotism. [8]

Need to belong

Leary, along with Roy Baumeister, wrote a 1995 paper on the need to belong. In the footsteps of Maslow, they believed that belonging is a human need. [9] [10] It is in our nature, they state, to attempt to form meaningful and lasting bonds with others. The inability to do so, or the breakdown of existing bonds, can have a negative, long-term effect on an individual, including problems with their psychological and physical health, as well as overall well-being. This negative impact is what defines belongingness as a need, as opposed to a simple desire. [10] There are two aspects to the need to belong. [10] There must be frequent interaction with little to no conflict, and the relationship must be ongoing. When one of these bonds is broken, people tend to try to replace the relationship with a new bond. [10] These bonds form in a variety of relationships anyone, [10] not just between a person and a leader or authority figure, such as proposed by the attachment theory of John Bowlby. [11]

Self compassion

More recently, Leary has published research surrounding self-compassion, a topic widely covered in positive psychology. Leary and his colleagues have defined self-compassion as "an orientation to care for oneself," and have shown that individuals higher in self-compassion approach their shortcomings with significantly less criticism. [12] Leary and his colleagues have shown many mental health benefits to be related to self-compassion, including lower levels of depression, neuroticism, dissatisfaction with life, and social withdrawal. [13] In one study in which participants were asked to think of the worst event that recently happened to them and then indicate their reactions, thoughts, and emotions on the Self-Compassion scale, those with higher levels of self-compassion indicated that they tried not to be hard on themselves in the face of negative events. Self-compassionate people tended to be more accepting of flaws in their character and behavior than people low in self-compassion: people with high levels of self-compassion did not obsess or become defensive over undesirable parts of their character. The positive affects derived from self-compassion result in a decrease in negative reactions in the face of unfortunate events, including failure and rejection. Putting the situation into perspective and treating oneself with kindness diminished the need to exaggerate the negative event for the self-compassionate participants, compared to those who were not self-compassionate. [14] Furthermore, Leary and colleagues have researched the relationship between self-compassion and physical pain. One particular study examined how self-compassion affects obese patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain, and found that patients who reported higher levels of self-compassion were less likely to pain catastophize and had lower levels of negative affect and pain disability. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie define it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it ."

In social psychology, an interpersonal relation describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more persons. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which are the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences. Relations vary in degrees of intimacy, self-disclosure, duration, reciprocity, and power distribution. The main themes or trends of the interpersonal relations are: family, kinship, friendship, love, marriage, business, employment, clubs, neighborhoods, ethical values, support and solidarity. Interpersonal relations may be regulated by law, custom, or mutual agreement, and form the basis of social groups and societies. They appear when people communicate or act with each other within specific social contexts, and they thrive on equitable and reciprocal compromises.

In the psychology of self, one's self-concept is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-handicapping</span> Cognitive strategy

Self-handicapping is a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem. It was first theorized by Edward E. Jones and Steven Berglas, according to whom self-handicaps are obstacles created, or claimed, by the individual in anticipation of failing performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfectionism (psychology)</span> Personality trait

Perfectionism, in psychology, is a broad personality trait characterized by a person's concern with striving for flawlessness and perfection and is accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations. It is best conceptualized as a multidimensional and multilayered personality characteristic, and initially some psychologists thought that there were many positive and negative aspects. Maladaptive perfectionism drives people to be concerned with achieving unattainable ideals or unrealistic goals that often lead to many forms of adjustment problems such as depression, anxiety, OCD, OCPD and low self-esteem. These adjustment problems often lead to suicidal thoughts and tendencies and influence or invite other psychological, physical, social, and further achievement problems in children, adolescents, and adults. Although perfectionist sights can reduce stress, anxiety, and panic, recent data, compiled by British psychologists Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill, show that perfectionistic tendencies are on the rise among recent generations of young people.

Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others to reduce uncertainty in these domains and learn how to define the self. Comparing oneself to others socially is a form of measurement and self assessment to identify where an individual stands according to their own set of standards and emotions about themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confidence</span> State of trusting that a belief or course of action is correct

Confidence is the state of being clear-headed: either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct, or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from the Latin word fidere which means "to trust". In contrast, arrogance or hubris is a state of unmerited confidence—belief lacking evidence and/or a reason. Overconfidence or presumptuousness is excessive belief in success without regard for potential failure. Confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as those without it may fail because they lack it, and those with it may succeed because they have it rather than because of an innate ability or skill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social rejection</span> Deliberate exclusion of an individual from social relationship or social interaction

Social rejection occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. The topic includes interpersonal rejection, romantic rejection and familial estrangement. A person can be rejected or shunned by individuals or an entire group of people. Furthermore, rejection can be either active, by bullying, teasing, or ridiculing, or passive, by ignoring a person, or giving the "silent treatment". The experience of being rejected is subjective for the recipient, and it can be perceived when it is not actually present. The word "ostracism" is also commonly used to denote a process of social exclusion.

Caring in intimate relationships is the practice of providing care and support to an intimate relationship partner. Caregiving behaviours are aimed at reducing the partner's distress and supporting their coping efforts in situations of either threat or challenge. Caregiving may include emotional support and/or instrumental support. Effective caregiving behaviour enhances the care-recipient's psychological well-being, as well as the quality of the relationship between the caregiver and the care-recipient. However, certain suboptimal caregiving strategies may be either ineffective or even detrimental to coping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Baumeister</span> American social psychologist (born 1953)

Roy Frederick Baumeister is an American social psychologist who is known for his work on the self, social rejection, belongingness, sexuality and sex differences, self-control, self-esteem, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, aggression, consciousness, and free will.

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Sociometer theory is a theory of self-esteem from an evolutionary psychological perspective which proposes that self-esteem is a gauge of interpersonal relationships.

William B. Swann is a professor of social and personality psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is primarily known for his work on identity, self and self-esteem, but has also done research on relationships, social cognition, group processes, accuracy in person perception and interpersonal expectancy effects. He received his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Minnesota and undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College.

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Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Kristin Neff has defined self-compassion as being composed of three main elements – self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Duke University Website
  2. ↑ Leary, Mark (June 2017). "Mark R Leary CV" (PDF). people.duke.edu/~leary.
  3. ↑ VITA: Mark Leary Archived 2008-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Mark Leary profile at TheGreatCourses.com"
  5. ↑ Leary, M. R.; Tambor, E. S.; Terdal, S. K.; Downs, D. L. (1995). "Self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis". Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. 68. 68 (3): 518–530. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.3.518.
  6. ↑ Leary, M. R. (2003). "Commentary on self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis (1995)". Psychological Inquiry. 14 (3/4): 270–274. doi:10.1080/1047840x.2003.9682891. JSTOR   1449687. S2CID   144045334.
  7. ↑ Leary, Mark R.; Estrada, Marie-Joelle; Allen, Ashley Batts (1 April 2009). "The Analogue-I and the Analogue-Me: The Avatars of the Self". Self and Identity. 8 (2–3): 147–161. doi:10.1080/15298860802501532. S2CID   144507551.
  8. ↑ Leary, M. R. (2002). "The Self as a Source of Relational Difficulties". Self and Identity. 1 (2): 137–142. doi:10.1080/152988602317319311. S2CID   144516543.
  9. ↑ Maslow, A. H. (1943). "A theory of human motivation". Psychological Review. 50 (4): 370–396. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.334.7586 . doi:10.1037/h0054346.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Baumeister, R. F.; Leary, M. R. (1995). "The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation". Psychological Bulletin. 117 (3): 497–529. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497. PMID   7777651. S2CID   13559932.
  11. ↑ Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York:Basic Books.
  12. ↑ Leary, M. R.; Tate, EB; Adams, CE; Allen, AB; Hancock, J (May 2007). "Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: the implications of treating oneself kindly". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 92 (5): 887–904. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.5.887. PMID   17484611. S2CID   17335165.
  13. ↑ Allen, Ashley Batts; Leary, Mark R. (February 2010). "Self-Compassion, Stress, and Coping". Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 4 (2): 107–118. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00246.x. PMC   2914331 . PMID   20686629.
  14. ↑ Leary, Mark R.; E. B. Tate; C.E. Adams; A. Batts Allen; J. Hancock (2007). "Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 92 (5): 887–904. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.5.887. PMID   17484611. S2CID   17335165.
  15. ↑ Wren, Anava A.; T. J. Somers; M. A. Wright; M. C. Goetz; M. R. Leary; A. M. Fras; B. K. Huh; L. L. Rogers; F. J. Keefe (2012). "Self-compassion in patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain: Relationship of self-compassion to adjustment to persistent pain". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 43 (4): 759–770. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.04.014 . PMID   22071165.
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