Kristin Sommer is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Baruch College, City University of New York. She also holds appointments on the doctoral faculties in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Social/Personality Psychology at the Graduate Center. Her primary research interests lie with the effects of peer and coworker rejection on individual performance motivation and interpersonal behavior. She also conducts research on self-regulation, social influence, and motivated decision-making processes in small groups.

Professor Sommer teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in research methods and social psychology, as well as a course on research design in work organizations as part of Baruch College’s Executive Master’s Program in Management of Human Resource and Global Leadership in Taipei, Taiwan and Singapore. She has received numerous internal awards as well as research and undergraduate training grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. She sits on the editorial board of Social Influence.

Primary Interests:

Ethics and Morality
Group Processes
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Interpersonal Processes
Motivation, Goal Setting
Persuasion, Social Influence

Ethics and Morality
Group Processes
Helping, Prosocial Behavior

Interpersonal Processes
Motivation, Goal Setting
Persuasion, Social Influence

Research Group or Laboratory:

Interpersonal Processes Laboratory
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Baumeister, R. F., Dale, K., & Sommer, K. L. (1998). Freudian defense mechanisms and empirical findings in modern social psychology. Journal of Personality, 66, 1081-1124.
Baumeister, R. F., & Sommer, K. L. (1997). What do men want? Gender differences and two spheres of belongingness. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 38-44.
Bourgeois, M. J., Sommer, K. L., & Bruno, S. (2009). What do we get out of influencing others? Social Influence, 4, 1-26.
Ciarocco, N. J., Sommer, K. L., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). Ostracism and ego depletion: The strains of silence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1156-1163.
Dotan-Eliaz, O., Sommer, K. L., & Rubin, Y. (2009). Working in a multilingual context: Effects of linguistic ostracism on coworker attraction, team potency, performance, and aggressive thought. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 31, 363-375.
Sommer, K. L., & Baumeister, R. F. (2002). Self-evaluation, persistence, and performance following implicit rejection: The role of trait self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 926-938.
Sommer, K. L., & Bourgeois, M. J. (2010). Linking the perceived ability to influence others to subjective well-being: A need-based approach. Social Influence, 5, 200-244.
Sommer, K. L., Horowitz, I. A., & Bourgeois, M. J. (2001). When juries fail to comply with the law: Biased evidence processing in individual and group decision making. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 309-320.
Sommer, K. L., Kirkland, K. L., Newman, S., Estrella, P., & Andreassi, J. L. (2009). Narcissism and cardiovascular reactivity to thoughts of rejection. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 1083-1115.
Sommer, K. L., & Kulkarni, M. (in press). Does constructive performance feedback improve citizenship intentions and job satisfaction? The roles of perceived opportunities for advancement, respect, and mood. Human Resource Decision Quarterly.
Sommer, K. L., Parson, C., Bruno, S., & Bourgeois, M. J. (2011). Sex and need for power as predictors of reactions to disobedience. Social Influence, 7(1), 1-19.
Sommer, K. L., Williams, K. D., Ciarocco, N. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). When silence speaks louder than words: Explorations into the interpersonal and intrapsychic consequences of social ostracism. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23, 227-245.
Williams, K. D., & Sommer, K. L. (1997). Social ostracism by coworkers: Does rejection lead to loafing or compensation? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 693-706.

Other Publications:

Baumeister, R. F., Exline, J. J., & Sommer, K. L. (1998). The victim role, grudge theory, and two dimensions of forgiveness. In E. Worthington (Ed.), Dimensions of forgiveness: Psychological research and theological perspectives (pp. 79-104). Radnor, PA: Templeton Press.
Bratslavsky, E., Baumeister, R. F., & Sommer, K. L. (1998). To love or be loved in vain: The trials and tribulations of unrequited love. In B. H. Spitzberg & W. R. Cupach (Eds.), The dark side of relationships (pp. 307-326) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Sommer, K. L. (2001). Coping with rejection: Ego-defensive strategies, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships. In M. Leary (Ed.), Interpersonal rejection (pp. 167-188). New York: Oxford University Press.
Sommer, K. L., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Making someone feel guilty: Causes, strategies, and consequences. In R. Kowalski (Ed.), Aversive interpersonal behaviors (pp. 31-55). New York: Plenum.
Sommer, K. L., Baumeister, R. F., & Stillman, T. (2012). The construction of meaning from life events: Empirical studies of personal narratives. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), Handbook of personal meaning: Theory, research, & application (2nd ed., pp. 297-313). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Sommer, K. L., & Benkendorf, D. (2009). Looking before leaping: The role of social expectancies in attachment regulation following interpersonal rejection. In M. J. Harris (Ed.), Bullying, Rejection, and Peer Victimization: A Social Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective (pp. 225-250). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Sommer, K. L., & Rubin, Y. (2005). Role of social expectancies in cognitive and behavioral responses to social rejection. In K. D. Williams, J. P. Forgas, & W. von Hippel (Eds.), The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying (pp. 171-183). New York: Psychology Press.

Kristin Sommer
Department of Psychology
Baruch College, CUNY
55 Lexington Avenue, Box B 8-215
New York, NY 10010
United States

Phone: (646) 312-3812
Fax: (646) 312-3781