Roy F. Baumeister (; born May 16, 1953) is a 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.
== Education and academia == Baumeister earned his A.B. from Princeton
University and his M.A. from Duke University.
He returned to Princeton University with his mentor Edward E. Jones and earned his Ph.D.
from the university's Department of Psychology in 1978.Baumeister then taught at Case Western
Reserve University from 1979 to 2003, serving as a professor of psychology and later liberal
arts.
He later worked at Florida State University as the Francis Eppes Eminent Scholar and head
of the social psychology graduate program.
At FSU, Baumeister worked in the psychology department, teaching classes and graduate
seminars on social and evolutionary psychology.
In 2016 he moved to the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia
where he is currently teaching.He is a fellow of both the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science.
Baumeister was named an ISI highly cited researcher in 2003 and 2014.
== Topics of research == Baumeister has researched social psychology
for over four decades and made a name for himself with his laboratory research.
His research focuses on six themes: self control, decision-making, the need to belong and interpersonal
rejection, human sexuality, irrational and self-destructive behavior, and free will.
=== The self === Baumeister has conducted research on the self,
focusing on various concepts related to how people perceive, act, and relate to their
selves.
Baumeister wrote a chapter titled, "The Self" in The Handbook of Social Psychology,
and reviewed the research on self-esteem, concluding that the perceived importance of
self-esteem is overrated.
=== Irrationality and self-defeating behavior ===
In a series of journal articles and books, Baumeister inquired about the reasons for
self-defeating behavior.
His conclusions: there is no self-defeating urge (as some have thought).
Rather, self-defeating behavior is either a result of trade-offs (enjoying drugs now
at the expense of the future), backfiring strategies (eating a snack to reduce stress
only to feel more stressed), or a psychological strategy to escape the self – where various
self-defeating strategies are rather directed to relieve the burden of selfhood.
=== The Need to Belong === Baumeister wrote a paper on the need-to-belong
theory with Mark Leary in 1995.
This theory seeks to show that humans have a natural need to belong with others.
Baumeister and Leary suggest that human beings naturally push to form relationships.
This push helps to distinguish a need (rather than a desire).
In addition to the drive for attachment, people also struggle to avoid the disintegration
of these relationships.
As part of this theory, a lack of belonging would have a long-term, negative impact on
mood and health, and those who do not meet their belonging needs may suffer from behavioral
and psychological issues.
Need-to-belong theory has two necessary parts: There is frequent contact between the people
involved in the attachment that is typically conflict-free.
The notion of an ongoing and continued relationship between them is essential.This work was groundbreaking
in that it separated itself from previous theories relating to attachment such as those
of John Bowlby.
While Bowlby's theory implied the attachment needs to be applied to a group leader or authority
figure, Baumeister and Leary's need-to-belong theory posited that the relationship could
be with anyone.
To further distinguish the two theories, Baumeister and Leary theorized that if a relationship
dissolved, the bond can often be replaced with a bond to another person.Later, Baumeister
published evidence that the way people look for belongingness differs between men and
women.
Women prefer a few close and intimate relationships, whereas men prefer many but shallower connections.
Men realize more of their need to belong via a group of people, or a cause, rather than
in close interpersonal relations.
=== Self regulation === Baumeister also researched self-regulation.
He coined the term "ego depletion" to describe the evidence that humans' ability to self-regulate
is limited, and after using it there is less ability (or energy) to self-regulate.
Ego depletion has a general effect, such that exerting self-control in one area will use
up energy for further regulation in other areas of life.
Further research by Baumeister and colleagues has led to the development of the Strength
Model of self-control, which likens this ego depletion to the tiredness that comes from
physically exerting a muscle.
A corollary to this analogy, supported by his research, is that self-control can be
strengthened over time, much like a muscle.
The energy used up is more than metaphorical, however; his research has found a strong link
between ego depletion and depletion of blood-glucose levels.
Baumeister also edited two academic books on self-regulation, Losing Control and Handbook
of Self-Regulation, and has devoted numerous experiments and journal papers to the topic.
He also describes this research in a book, Willpower, authored with former New York Times
journalist John Tierney.
In 2016 a large study carried out at two-dozen labs in countries across the world that sought
to reproduce the effects described in these studies was unsuccessful.
Baumeister, however, disputed the protocol used in this replication.
Baumeister also plans to run his own pre-registered replication using a protocol that is more
in line with most ego-depletion experiments.
=== Culture and human sexuality === A series of studies of human sexuality has
addressed questions such as how nature and culture influence people's sex drive, rape
and sexual coercion, the cultural suppression of female sexuality, and how couples negotiate
their sexual patterns.
In his research, Baumeister reached four major conclusions:
The relative influence of culture and nature on sexuality varies by gender.
Female sexuality is more cultural/nurture, and male sexuality is more in-born/nature
(see erotic plasticity).
There is a gender difference with sex drive.
Men, on average, want more sex than women.
The present widespread cultural suppression of female sexuality exists in large part at
the behest of women.
Sexual interactions can be analyzed in terms of cost-benefit analysis and market dynamics
with "sexual economics."
=== Free will ===
Baumeister approaches the topic of free will from the view-point of evolutionary psychology.
He has listed the major aspects that make up free will as self-control, rational, intelligent
choice, planful behavior, and autonomous initiative.
Baumeister proposes that "the defining thrust of human psychological evolution was selection
in favor of cultural capability" and that these four psychological capabilities evolved
to help humans function in the context of culture.
In his view, free will is an advanced form of action control that allows humans to act
in pro-social ways towards their enlightened self-interest when acting in these ways would
otherwise be in conflict with the fulfillment of evolutionarily older drives or instincts.
Research by Baumeister and colleagues (principally Kathleen Vohs) has shown that disbelief in
free will can lead people to act in ways that are harmful to themselves and society, such
as cheating on a test, increased aggression, decreased helpfulness, lower achievement levels
in the workplace, and possible barriers to beating addiction.
=== Erotic plasticity === Baumeister coined the term "erotic plasticity",
which is the extent to which one's sex drive can be shaped by cultural, social and situational
factors.
He argues that women have high plasticity, meaning that their sex drive can more easily
change in response to external pressures.
On the other hand, men have low plasticity, and therefore have sex drives that are relatively
inflexible.
== Works == Baumeister has written or edited some 30 books,
over 500 publications, and has been cited nearly 180,000 times in research literature.
Additionally, he authors the column Cultural Animal for Psychology Today.
The following is a partial listing of his works.
=== Books ===
==== General audience ==== Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures
Flourish by Exploiting Men (2010).
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (2011).
==== Crossover: general audience and academic ====
Escaping the Self: Alcoholism, Spirituality, Masochism, and Other Flights from the Burden
of Selfhood (1991).
Your Own Worst Enemy: Understanding the Paradox of Self-Defeating Behavior (1993).
Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty (1997).
Identity: Cultural Change and the Struggle for Self (1986).
Masochism and the Self (1989).
Meanings of Life (1991).
Breaking Hearts: The Two Sides of Unrequited Love (1994).
Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation (1994).
The Cultural Animal: Human Nature, Meaning, and Social Life (2005).
Homo Prospectus (2016).
==== Academic books (some books as editor) ====
The Social Dimension of Sex (2000).
Public Self and Private Self (1986).
Self-Esteem: The Puzzle of Low Self-Regard (1993).
The Self in Social Psychology (1999).
Social Psychology and Human Sexuality (2001).
Human Sexuality: Meeting Your Basic Needs (2002).
Time and Decision: Economic and Psychological Perspectives on Intertemporal Choice (2003).
Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications (2004).
Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (2007).
Do Emotions Help or Hurt Decision Making?: A Hedgefoxian Perspective (2007).
Social Psychology and Human Nature (2008).
Are We Free?
Psychology and Free Will (2008).
Psychology of Self-Regulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes (2009).
Free Will and Consciousness: How Might They Work?
(2010).
Advanced Social Psychology (2010).
New Directions in Social Psychology (2012).
The Self and Identity (2014).
The Social Psychology of Living Well (2018)
=== Publications === “Role of self-control failure in immoral
and unethical actions” (2016) “Power, leadership, and self-regulation”
(2012) “Is there a downside to good self-control?”
(2009) “Why do bad moods increase self-defeating
behavior?
Emotion, risk taking, and self-regulation” (1996)
“Many concepts of the self” (1988) “Development of self-consciousness: At what
age does audience pressure disrupt performance?”
“The self-monitor looks at the ingratiator” (1976)
=== Blog Posts === “The Reality of the Male Sex Drive” (2010)
“Do the Laws of Physics Permit Any Exceptions” (2009)
“John Bargh and Some Misunderstandings About Free Will” (2009)
“Determinism Is Not Just Causality” (2009) “Should Football Penalize Celebrating and
Taunting” (2009)
== Personal == Baumeister is married to Dr. Dianne Tice,
a fellow Social Psychologist.
They have collaborated on dozens of papers.
He enjoys skiing.
== See also == Decision fatigue
Ego depletion Negativity bias
== Notes ==
== External links == Roy Baumeister's Page at the School of Psychology
- University of QueenslandRoy Baumeister's Blog "Cultural Animal" at Psychology Today
Roy Baumeister at google scholar