Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Kate Sweeny

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.

Primary Interests:

  • Communication, Language
  • Emotion, Mood, Affect
  • Health Psychology
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Self and Identity
  • Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

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.

Video Gallery

3:40 Featured SVG

Shake Off Your Anxiety

Select video to watch

  • 3:40

    Shake Off Your Anxiety

    Length: 3:40


  • 1:00

    Becoming Another Person

    Length: 1:00


  • 5:01

    On Genetic Testing

    Length: 5:01


  • 1:17

    How to Survive Waiting

    Length: 1:17


  • 1:14

    Waiting Is the Hardest Part

    Length: 1:14


  • 0:44

    30 Seconds on Waiting

    Length: 0:44


  • 3:03

    How to Fight COVID-19 Stress Through a "Flow" State

    Length: 3:03


  • 11:34

    Using Flow to Help Reduce Stress

    Length: 11:34


  • 45:09

    Audeamus Faculty Training

    Length: 45:09


  • 35:30

    Dealing With Uncertainty in the Era of COVID-19

    Length: 35:30


  • 1:24

    How to Cope With Uncertainty

    Length: 1:24


  • 27:39

    Waiting, Worrying, and Dealing With Uncertainty

    Length: 27:39



Journal Articles:

  • Carroll, P. J., Shepperd, J. A., Sweeny, K., Carlson, E., & Benigno, J. P. (2007). Disappointment for others. Cognition and Emotion, 11, 1565-1576.
  • Carroll, P., Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2006). Forsaking optimism. Review of General Psychology, 10, 56-73.
  • Cavanaugh, A. G., & Sweeny, K. (2012). Hanging in the balance: The role of self-construal abstractness in navigating self-relevant uncertainty. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
  • Shepperd, J. A., Malone, W., & Sweeny, K. (2008). Exploring causes of the self-serving bias, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 895–908.
  • Shepperd, J. A., Sweeny, K., & Cherry, L.C. (2007). Influencing audience satisfaction by manipulating expectations. Social Influence, 2, 98-111.
  • Sweeny, K. (2012). Waiting well: Tips for navigating painful uncertainty. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 258-269.
  • Sweeny, K. (2008). Crisis decision theory: Decisions in the face of negative events. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 61-76.
  • 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.
  • Sweeny, K., & Cavanaugh, A. G. (2012). Waiting is the hardest part: A model of uncertainty navigation in the context of health news. Health Psychology Review, 6, 147-164.
  • Sweeny, K., & Legg, A. M. (2011). Predictors of interest in direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Psychology & Health, 26(10), 1259-1272.
  • Sweeny, K., Melnyk, D., Miller, W., & Shepperd, J. A. (2010). Information avoidance: Who, what, when, and why. Review of General Psychology, 14, 340-353.
  • Sweeny, K., & Miller, W. (2012). Predictors of information avoidance: When does ignorance seem most blissful? Self & Identity, 11, 185-201.
  • Sweeny, K., & Shepperd, J. A. (2010). The costs of optimism and the benefits of pessimism. Emotion, 10, 750-753.
  • 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. (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.
  • Sweeny, K., Shepperd, J. A., & Carroll, P. J. (2009). Expectations for others’ outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 160-171.
  • Sweeny, K., & Vohs, K. D. (2012). On near misses and completed tasks: The nature of relief. Psychological Science, 23(5), 464-468.

Other Publications:

  • Shepperd, J. A., Carroll, P. J., & Sweeny, K. (2007). A functional approach to explaining fluctuations in future outlooks: From self-enhancement to self-criticism. In E. Chang (ed.), The complexities of self-criticism and self-enhancement: Theory, research and clinical implications, pp. 161-180. Washington, DC: APA press.
  • Shepperd, J. A., Sweeny, K., & Carroll, P. J. (2006). Abandoning optimism in predictions about the future. In L. J. Sanna & E. Chang (Eds.), Judgments over time: The interplay of thoughts, feelings and behaviors, pp.13-33. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kate Sweeny
Department of Psychology
University of California
900 University Avenue
Riverside, California 92521
United States of America

  • Phone: (951) 827-7165
  • Fax: (951) 827-3985

Send a message to Kate Sweeny

Note: You will be emailed a copy of your message.

Psychology Headlines

From Around the World

News Feed (35,797 subscribers)