Julie Norem
Julie K. Norem joined the faculty at Wellesley College in 1992, and she teaches courses in personality psychology, research methods, and gender, as well as a seminar on optimism and pessimism. Her research focuses on the strategies people use to pursue their goals, with an emphasis on the strategy of defensive pessimism; and on the ways self-knowledge influences adaptation, performance, and social relationships, particularly among those who feel like impostors.
Professor Norem received her A.B. in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago in 1982, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1987. She was a professor at Northeastern University before coming to Wellesley College.
Dr. Norem has written numerous book chapters and articles for scholarly journals, including empirical papers based on her own research and theoretical review and commentary, and has presented dozens of papers at scientific conferences across the country and abroad. She has also been Associate Editor of both the Journal of Research in Personality and the Personality and Social Psychology Review. She sits on the editorial board of several scholarly journals, and has held a variety of appointed and elected positions in the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. She is currently a founding member and on the Steering Committee of the Association for Research in Personality.
Primary Interests:
- Gender Psychology
- Interpersonal Processes
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Person Perception
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Social Cognition
Note from the Network: The holder of this profile has certified having all necessary rights, licenses, and authorization to post the files listed below. Visitors are welcome to copy or use any files for noncommercial or journalistic purposes provided they credit the profile holder and cite this page as the source.
Image Gallery
Video Gallery
Self-Knowledge and Motivation
Additional Videos
Books:
- Clinchy, B. M., & Norem, J. K. (Eds.). (1998). The gender and psychology reader. New York: New York University Press.
- Norem, J. K. (2001). The positive power of negative thinking. New York: Basic Books.
Journal Articles:
- Cantor, N., Norem, J. K., Niedenthal, P. M., Langston, C. A., & Brower, A. M. (1987). Life tasks, self-concept ideals, and cognitive strategies in a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Person and Situation Interactions, 53, 1178-1191.
- Cheek, N., N., & Norem, J. K. (2020). Are big five traits and facets associated with anchoring susceptibility? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(1), 26-35.
- Cheek, N. N., & Norem, J. K. (2017). Holistic thinkers anchor less: Exploring the roles of self-construal and thinking styles in anchoring susceptibility. Personality and Individual Differences 115, 174-176.
- Norem, J. K. (1998). Why should we lower our defenses about defense mechanisms? Journal of Personality: On Current Research and Theory on Defense Mechanisms, 66, 895-917.
- Norem, J. K., & Cantor, N. (1986). Anticipatory and post hoc cushioning strategies: Optimism and defensive pessimism in "risky" situations. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 10, 347-362.
- Norem, J. K., & Cantor, N. (1986). Defensive pessimism: "Harnessing" anxiety as motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1208-1217.
- Norem, J. K., & Illingworth, K. S. S. (1993). Strategy dependent effects of reflecting on self and tasks: Some implications of optimism and defensive pessimism. Journal of Personality and Social Personality, 65, 822-835.
- Spencer, S. M., & Norem, J. K. (1996). Strategy-dependent effects of imagery and relaxation manipulations: Defensive pessimism, optimism and performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 354-365.
Other Publications:
- Norem, J. K. (2014). The right tool for the job: Functional analysis and evaluating positivity/negativity. In W. G. Parrott (Ed.), The positive side of negative emotions (pp. 247–272). Guilford Press.
- Norem, J. K. (2008). Defensive pessimism as a positive self-critical tool. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Self-criticism and self-enhancement: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 89-104). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Norem, J. K. (2000). Defensive pessimism, optimism and pessimism. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research and Practice. Washington, DC: APA Press.
- Norem, J. K. (1989). Cognitive strategies as personality: Effectiveness, specificity, flexibility and change. In D. M. Buss and N. Cantor (Eds.), Personality Psychology: Recent Trends and Emerging Issues (pp. 45-60). New York: Springer-Verlag. [Reprinted in Funder, D. C. & D. J. Ozer (1997). Pieces of the Personality Puzzle (pp. 487-497). New York: W. W. Norton & Co.]
- Norem, J. K., & Chang, E. C. (2000). A very full glass: Adding complexity to our thinking about the implications and applications of optimism and pessimism research. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research and Practice. Washington, DC: APA Press.
- Robins, R. W., Norem, J. K., & Cheek, J. M. (1999). Naturalizing the self. In L. A. Pervin and O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of Personality (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Courses Taught:
- Personality Psychology
- Psychology of Gender
- Psychology of Optimism and Pessimism
- Research Methods in Personality Psychology
Julie Norem
Department of Psychology
106 Central Street
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481
United States of America
- Phone: (781) 283-3002
- Fax: (781) 283-3730