Pew Teaching Excellence Award 2018

Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Award 2012

Social Psychology

PSY 381 - Group Dynamics
PSY 360 - Social Psychology: Psychology's View
PSY 400 - Advanced Research in Psychology
PSY 499 - Independent Study and Research in Psychology

Over the past several years I have carried out a variety of projects that explore the manner in which groups escape experimentally induced states of fixation while working on problems requiring creative insight. The central question this research addresses is "Are groups at a distinct disadvantage, compared to individuals, when attempting to escape a mental rut?" 

Additionally, I have focused upon how numerical minorities affect the cognitive process of individual group members as well as the quality of collaboratively generated products.  The central question this research addresses is "Does the presence of a minority source of influence enhance the decision making/problem solving processes and outcomes of groups?"

Smith, C. M. & Tindale, R. S. (2022). A social sharedness interpretation of the January 6^th insurrection. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 26(3), 263-273.

Smith, C. M. (2022). Task performance in groups. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology, Oxford University Press.

Smith, C. M., Dzik, P., & Fornicola, E. (2019). Threatened suicide and baiting crowd formation: A replication and extension of Mann (1981) Social Influence 14 (3-4), 92-103.  

Tindale, R. S., Smith, C. M., Dykema-Engblade, A. & Kluwe, K. (2012). Good and bad group performance: Same process-different outcomes. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 15, 603-618.

Smith, C. M., Bushouse, E., & Lord, J. (2010). Individual and group performance on insight problems: The effects of experimentally induced fixation. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 13(1), 91-99.  

If you are interested in gaining research experience in the area of social influence, please contact me.  I am always looking for excellent research assistants, that is, those who are energetic, detail-oriented, conscientious, able to work well alone and with others, and interested in the subject matter.  The social influence lab meets as a group weekly throughout the academic year.  At these meetings we plan the week’s research activities, discuss ideas for future studies and look at data analyses.