Dr. William Swann

Biography

William B. Swann is a Professor of Social Personality Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds a primary appointment in the Social-Personality area of the Psychology Department and additional appointments in Clinical Psychology and the School of Business. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and completed his undergraduate degree at Gettysburg College. As a Fellow at the Princeton University Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, he has made significant contributions to the fields of self-verification theory and identity negotiation. His research explores how individuals engage in extreme behaviors for their group, focusing on phenomena such as identity fusion, the psychological processes underlying personal relationships, and group dynamics in various contexts. Noteworthy studies include the investigations into how fused individuals express willingness to make sacrifices for group membership. He also examines the implications of these processes on interpersonal relationships and societal issues, such as attitudes towards conflict and cooperation in group settings. Swann has been awarded multiple grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation, and he is an elected Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. He is actively involved in supervising undergraduate and doctoral students and teaches a range of courses on social psychology and identity.

Research Interests

Courses