Eric Wesselmann
Professor
Psychology
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Current Courses
365.001Dynamics Of Social Behavior
412.001Dynamics Of Social Behavior
499.019Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
400.019Independent Study
223.002Social Psychology
290.019Special Projects: Research Apprenticeship
291.019Special Projects:Undergraduate Teaching
599.019Doctoral Research In Psychology
499.019Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
231.001Research Methods In Psychology
231.002Research Methods In Psychology
291.019Special Projects:Undergraduate Teaching
Teaching Interests & Areas
Social Psychology;
Research Methods;
Psychology & Popular Culture (film/comics/music)
Research Interests & Areas
Social Connection and Exclusion;
Sexual Harassment;
Stigmatization;
Religion/Spirituality;
Moral Decision-Making;
Media, Fandom, & Popular Culture (film/comics/music)
Ph D Personality/Social Psychology
Purdue University
MA Industrial-Organizational/Social Psychology
Illinois State University
BA Psychology
Illinois State University
ISU College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding University Researcher in Social Sciences 2023-2024
Illinois State University
2023
Fellow of the Society of Personality & Social Psychology
Society of Personality & Social Psychology
2022
Janice Witherspoon Neuleib Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement 2021-2022
College of Arts & Sciences
2022
Outstanding College Researcher in Social Sciences 2022-2023
College of Arts & Sciences
2021
2017 Alumnus of the Year (Early Career)
ISU Department of Psychology
2017
Fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology
Society of Experimental Social Psychology
2017
Fellow of the Midwestern Psychological Association
Midwestern Psychological Association
2016
Rising Star Designation
Association for Psycholgical Science
2015
Service Initiative Award (Early Career)
Illinois State University
2015
ISU 2015 College of Arts and Sciences Excellence Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement of the Year by a Pre-tenured Faculty Member
ISU College of Arts and Sciences
2015
Book, Chapter
DeSouza, E. R., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2022). Subtle discrimination based on gender and gender identity. In I. R. Nascimento, A. L. M. Neves, & L. N. dos Reis (Eds.), Segurança e violências: Perspectivas interdisciplinares [Security and violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives]. Editora CRV Ltda, Curitiba, Brazil. DOI 10.24824/978625122.9
Wesselmann, E. D., & Dvir, M. (2021). Exploring the overlap among workplace ostracism, mistreatment, and related constructs. In C. Liu. & Y. Ma (Eds.), Workplace ostracism: Its nature, antecedents, and consequences (pp. 35-63). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wesselmann, E. D. & Parris, L. (2021). Inclusion, exclusion, and group psychotherapy: The importance of a trauma-informed approach. In C. D. Parks & G. A. Tasca (Eds.), The psychology of groups: The intersection of social psychology and psychotherapy research (pp. 31-50). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Banks, B. M., Parris, L., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2019). Words can hurt you: Discrimination through nonphysical aggression. In T. Langley & A. Simmons (Eds.), Black Panther psychology: Hidden kingdoms (pp. 157-171). New York, NY: Sterling.
Parris, L., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2019). Trauma: More than one bad day. In T. Langley (Ed.), The Joker psychology: Evil clowns and the women who love them (pp. 270-281). New York, NY: Sterling.
Encyclopedia
Pryor, J. B., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2010). Likelihood to Sexually Harass scale. In T. D. Fisher, C. M. Davis, W. L. Yarber, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of sexually-related measures (3rd ed.) (pp. 328-330). New York: Routledge.
Williams, K. D., Chen, Z., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2007). Social compensation. In R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Vol. 2, pp. 889-891.
Williams, K. D., Wesselmann, E. D., & Chen, Z. (2007). Social exclusion. In R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Vol. 2, pp. 896-897.
Journal Article
Clemens, K., Matkovic, J., & Wesselmann, E. Psychosocial Influences on Pain in Transgender Individuals. Laura Case (EDs). Frontiers in Pain Research, section Abdominal and Pelvic Pain 6 (2025)
Arellanes, J. A., Miller, K., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2024). A mixed method approach to understanding father's roles in emerging adults’ education expectations. Journal of Latinos and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2024.2388635.
Wesselmann, E. D., Kahn, J. H., Arellanes, J. A., & Thimesch, A. D. (2024). Exploring the motives for watching horror movies: A replication and extension. Psychology of Popular Media., doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000557
Wesselmann, E. D., Hesson-McInnis, M. S., Beck, J. S., Atkinson, C. D., & Arellanes, J. A. (2023). Discussing one’s fan interests with others can satisfy or threaten psychological needs. Journal of Fandom Studies. 10(2&3). 157-177. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00061_1
Barelka, A., Bobko, P., & Wesselmann, E. Enhancing the Understanding of Suspicion Development Across Time: Two Studies on Human versus Virtual Teammates, Goal Type, Impulsivity, and Contrast Effects. Behaviour & Information Technology (2022)
Newsletter
Leja, A. M., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2013). Invisible youth: Understanding Ostracism in Our Schools. Communique. 42 (4), pp. 1, 6.
Other
Wesselmann, E. D. & Langley, T. (2019). Psychosis: The insane brain. In T. Langley (Ed.), The Joker psychology: Evil clowns and the women who love them (pp. 170-171). New York, NY: Sterling.
Wesselmann, E. D. (2019). Why so telic? In T. Langley (Ed.), The Joker psychology: Evil clowns and the women who love them (pp. 111). New York, NY: Sterling.
Pryor, J. B., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2017). Stigma magic. In T. Langley & L. S. Zubernis (Eds.), Supernatural Psychology: Roads Less Traveled (pp. 295). New York, NY: Sterling.
Wesselmann, E. D. & LaBouff, J. P. (2018). Are heroes humble? In T. Langley (Ed.), Daredevil psychology: The devil you know (pp. 87). New York, NY: Sterling.
Wesselmann, E. D. & Parris, L. (2018). Trauma and survivor guilt. In T. Langley (Ed.), Daredevil psychology: The devil you know (pp. 59). New York, NY: Sterling.
Presentations
Cultivating Student Belonging and Success through a Collectivist Campus Community. University-Wide Teaching & Learning Symposium. Illinois State University. (2023)
Miscarriage, perceived ostracism, and trauma in mothers and fathers.. Midwestern Psychological Association. (2023)
Investigating Ostracism and Racial Microaggressions toward Afro-Brazilians. Midwestern Psychological Association. Midwestern Psychological Association. (2020)
*Wesselmann, E. D., DeSouza, E. R., & AuBuchon, S. (2020, May). Studying microaggressions as a form of social exclusion. Presentation at the meeting for the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL. (Conference canceled)
Jordan, J. S., Carpenter, S., Dandridge, V., Hintz, V., Kim, D. J., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2020, March). Wakanda forever! The psychology of Black Panther. Panel presentation at Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, Chicago, IL.
Jordan, J. S., Carpenter, S., Dandridge, V., Hintz, V., Kim, D. J., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2020, March). Wakanda forever! The psychology of Black Panther. Panel presentation at ConFromHome. https://confromhome.com/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBzMPUYJZC4&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2s0OZyamvVmPPVcroqRnZfN2wxwoY273STmzxvNrgUoax9hIe-5PHDGZU
Myers, J., Daluga, M., Wesselmann, E. D., Parris, L., & Swerdlik, M. (2020, April). Social support, perceived ostracism, and posttraumatic stress symptoms among veterans. Poster at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. (Conference canceled)
Pederson, T., Atkinson, C., Daluga, M., Bajaczyk, A., & Wesselmann, E. D. (2020, April). When does having one’s fan interests ignored threaten psychological needs? Poster at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. (Conference canceled)
Sparks, Z., Wesselmann, E. D., Sacco, D., & Wirth, J. H. (2020, April). The Goldilocks’ effect: Determining when eye contact is not too much or not too little. Poster at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. (Conference canceled)
Wesselmann, E. D. (2020, April). Discussing one’s fan interests can satisfy or threaten psychological needs. Presentation at the meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. (Conference canceled)
Grants & Contracts
CAS Faculty Research Award (FRA). Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2019)
ISU Summer Faculty Fellowship (SFF). Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2018)
Sage Foundation Speaker Fund. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2018)
ISU College of Arts and Sciences International Travel Grant. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2017)
The Role of Social Exclusion in Motivating Muslim Radicalism: An Experimental Investigation and a Proposed Remedy. American Psychological Association - Division 36 (Psychology of Religion and Spirituality) Research Seed Grant. Other. (2016)