Dr. Sandra Murray
Professor
Ph.D., University of Waterloo
Office: 364 Park Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0242
E-mail: smurray@buffalo.edu
Summary of Research Interests:
The research being conducted in my laboratory examines motivated cognition in the context of close relationships. Specifically, my research examines how individuals in romantic relationships interpret and construct reality in ways that protect them from potential threats to commitment, such as the perception of a partner's faults, the risks inherent in depending on another, and the potential of rejection. My research focuses on four specific issues: (1) the existence and consequences of positive illusions in romantic relationships, (2) the structure of thoughts and mental representations that dispel doubt and foster relationship resilience, (3) how personal feelings of self-esteem influence the capacity to sustain satisfying close relationships, and (4) how the activation of belongingness needs, and consequent sensitivities to rejection, influence how people interpret and then respond to threatening events in their relationships.
Representative Publications:
- Murray, S. L., & Holmes, J. G. (in press). The commitment insurance system: Self-esteem and the regulation of connection in close relationships. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press.
- Murray, S. L., Derrick, J. L., Leder, S., & Holmes, J. G. (in press). Balancing connectedness and self-protection goals in close relationships: A levels of processing perspective on risk regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Collins, N. L. (2006). Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 641-666.
- Murray, S. L., Griffin, D. W., Rose, P., & Bellavia, G. (2006). For better or worse? Self-esteem and the contingencies of acceptance in marriage. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 866-882
- Murray, S. L. (2005). Regulating the risks of closeness: A relationship-specific sense of felt security. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 74-78.
- Murray, S. L., Rose, P., Holmes, J. G., Podchaski, E., Derrick, J., Bellavia, G., & Griffin, D. (2005). Putting the partner within reach: A dyadic perspective on felt security in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 327-347.
- Murray, S.L., Griffin, D. W., Rose, P., & Bellavia, G. (2003). Calibrating the sociometer: The relational contingencies of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 63-84.
- Murray, S. L., Bellavia, G., Rose, P., & Griffin, D. (2003). Once hurt, twice hurtful: How perceived regard regulates daily marital interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 126-147.
- Murray, S. L., Rose, P., Bellavia, G., Holmes, J. G., & Kusche, A. (2002). When rejection stings: How self-esteem constrains relationship-enhancement processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 556-573.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., Griffin, D. W., Bellavia, G., & Rose, P. (2001). The mismeasure of love: How self-doubt contaminates relationship beliefs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 423-436.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., Dolderman, D., & Griffin, D. W. (2000). What the motivated mind sees: Comparing friends' perspectives to married partners' views of each other. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 600-620.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (2000). Self-esteem and the quest for felt security: How perceived regard regulates attachment processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 478-498.
- Murray, S. L. (1999). The quest for conviction: Motivated cognition in romantic relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 23-34.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., MacDonald, G., & Ellsworth, P. (1998). Through the looking glass darkly? When self-doubt turns into relationship insecurities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1459-1480.