Current Position

Professor of Psychological Sciences

PhD (1994) in Social Psychology, The Ohio State University

Contact Information

Address:

Purdue University 
Department of Psychological Sciences
703 Third Street
Rm. PSYC 2162
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2081

Phone: (765) 494-2148

Fax: (765) 496-1264

E-mail: wegener@psych.purdue.edu

Research interests generally include the areas of attitude change and social cognition, especially factors that influence the amount and nature of information processing activity (e.g., mood states of recipients of persuasive communications--especially the role of mood-management in these settings). Much of this work focuses on the biases that can be created in peoples' thoughts and perceptions and on the steps that people sometimes make in attempts to rid their thoughts and perceptions of perceived biases. Interests also include the persistence of processing outcomes over time and resistance to these outcomes to attempts at further change.

    Wegener, D. T., & Carlston, D. E. (2005).  Cognitive processes in attitude formation and change.  In D. Albarracin, B. Johnson, & M. Zanna (Eds.), The handbook of attitudes (pp. 493-542).  Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Wegener, D. T., Clark, J. K., & Petty, R. E. (2006). Not all stereotyping is created equal: Differential consequences of thoughtful versus non-thoughtful stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 42-59. Blankenship, K. L., & Wegener, D. T. (2008).  Opening the mind to close it:  Considering a message in light of important values increases message processing and later resistance to change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 196-213.  Clark, J. K., Wegener, D. T., & Fabrigar, L. R. (2008). Attitude ambivalence and message-based persuasion: Motivated processing of proattitudinal information and avoidance of counterattitudinal information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 565-577. Wegener, D. T., & Kelly, J. R. (2008).  Social psychological dimensions of bioenergy development and public acceptance. Bioenergy Research, 1,107-117.