Faculty » Kate Sweeny

My research examines threat management: how people give news of, prepare for, and respond to negative life events. People often face the possibility or reality of undesirable outcomes in domains ranging from their health, career, and relationships to the most mundane arenas of life. The processes by which people anticipate the possibility of bad news, pass along bad news to others, and respond to the events that ultimately occur are the subjects of my diverse but interconnected research program. These lines of research incorporate the study of risk judgments, coping, decision-making, emotions, social cognition, and communication.

Although my research has many applications, I have a strong interest in theory-building and the application of these theories to predicting and improving health behavior. To this end, I currently conduct research examining the predictions and applications of several original theories and models. First, the bad news response model is a framework that predicts responses to bad news under various circumstances and can aid bad news-givers in determining the best response. In 2006 I was awarded a pre-doctoral NRSA fellowship to test questions derived from the bad news response model, and I continue to both refine and expand this line of inquiry. Second, I have developed the information avoidance model with several colleagues to predict decisions to seek or avoid potentially unwanted information. The information avoidance model describes a series of judgments people make when deciding whether to seek or avoid threatening information and hypothesizes that anticipated regret plays an important role in these decisions. Initial tests of the model in a lab setting have been encouraging, and we plan next to test the model in the context of health screening decisions. In addition, several lines of my research address the phenomenon of bracing for bad news, or lowering expectations at the "moment of truth." I am interested in the moderators of bracing as well as its consequences in terms of behavior, affect, and cognitions. As a whole, my research reflects an ongoing commitment to empirically sound, theory-driven research with clear applications to "real world" problems.

Selected Publications

Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (in press). The costs of optimism and the benefits of pessimism. Emotion.

Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2009). Responding to negative health events: A test of the Bad News Response Model. Psychology & Health, 24, 895-907.

Sweeny, K., Shepperd, J. A., & Carroll, P. J. (2009). Expectations for others outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 160-171.

Sweeny, K. (2008). Crisis decision theory: Decisions in the face of negative events. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 61-76.

Shepperd, J. A., Sweeny, K., & Cherry, L.C. (2007). Influencing audience satisfaction by manipulating expectations. Social Influence, 2, 98-111.

Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2007). Being the best bearer of bad tidings. Review of General Psychology, 11, 235-257.

Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2007). Do people brace sensibly? Risk judgments and risk prevalence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1064-1075.

Carroll, P., Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2006). Forsaking optimism. Review of General Psychology, 10, 56-73.

Sweeny, K., Carroll, P. J., & Shepperd, J. A. (2006). Thinking about the future: Is optimism always best? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 302-306.