Dominic J. Packer , Assistant Professor  
338 Chandler Hall, 610.758.6779
djp208@lehigh.edu

Academic History
University of Toronto, Ph.D., 2007
University of Toronto, M.A., 2003
McGill University, B.A., 2001

Lab Website
Group Processes Laboratory

Research Interests
My research investigates the sometimes discordant, sometimes harmonious intersection of personal and collective identities.  Under what circumstances do individuals put aside concerns about personal gains and losses, and instead act to maximize collective interests?  When will members express dissenting opinions to their groups, even at the risk of ridicule or rejection?  What motivates people to contribute to groups, and how do these motives affect the types of contributions they make?

Recent empirical research has focused on testing the Normative Conflict Model of Dissent (Packer, 2008), which predicts conditions under which strongly rather than weakly identified members decide to deviate from the norms of a group.  Our studies to date indicate that strongly identified group members are willing to express dissenting opinions when (and perhaps only when) they perceive a group norm as harmful to the interests of the collective.

In collaboration with colleagues, I also investigate cognitive and neural processes that underlie abilities to shift identities, goals and evaluative standards.  Considering multiple levels of analysis (from the neurological to the sociological) helps us develop conceptions of social psychological processes that are consistent with evolutionary and neurobiological models, and likewise reveals how navigating complex social worlds influences cognition and brain function.

Teaching Interests
Self & Identity
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Social Cognition
Introductory Psychology

Selected Publications
Packer, D.J. & Chasteen, A.L. (in press). Loyal deviance: Testing the normative conflict model of dissent
    in social groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Packer, D. J.& Cunningham, W.A. (in press). Neural correlates of reflection on goal states: The role of
    regulatory focus and temporal distance. Social Neuroscience .
    
Remedios, J., Chasteen, A.L., & Packer, D.J. (in press). Sunny side up: The reliance on positive age
    stereotypes in descriptions of future older selves. Self and Identity .

Packer, D. J. (2009). Avoiding groupthink: Whereas weak identifier remain silent, strong identifiers dissent
    about collective problems. Psychological Science, 20, 546-548.       

Van Bavel, J.J., Packer, D. J., & Cunningham, W. A. (2008). The neural substrates of ingroup bias: An
    An fMRI investigation. Psychological Science, 19, 1131-1139.
    
Packer, D. J. (2008). On being both with us and against us: A normative conflict model of dissent in social
    group. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 50-72.
    
Packer, D. J. (2008). Identifying systematic disobedience in Milgram's obedience experiments: A
    meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 301-304.

Cunningham, W.A., Zelazo, P.D., Packer, D. J., & Van Bavel, J.J. (2007).The iterative reprocessing model:.
    A multi-level framework for attitudes and evaluation. Social Cognition, 25, 736-760.

Packer, D. J., & Chasteen, A.L. (2006). Looking to the future: How possible aged selves influence
    prejudice toward older adults. Social Cognition, 24, 218-247.

 Baccus, J.R., Baldwin, M. W., & Packer, D. J. (2004). Increasing implicit self-esteem through classical
    conditioning. Psychological Science, 15, 498-502.