Dr. Edward R. Hirt

Professor of Psychology

Contact Information

Office: PY 340
Office Phone: 812-855-4815
Lab: PY A220
Lab Phone:812-855-5596
E-mail:

Educational Background

1987 - Ph.D., Indiana University Bloomington
1981 - B.S., University of Dayton

Areas of Study

Social Psychology
Cognitive Science

Research Topics

Reconstructive memory
Social cognition and social judgment
Self-protective strategies, particularly self-handicapping
Hypothesis testing
Mood effects, intrinsic interest and creativity
Social identity and allegiance, particularly fanship

Research Summary:

My primary area of research focus is on the flexibility with which individuals maintain their self-conceptions. For the last several years, I have been researching the phenomena of self-handicapping, specifically looking at the ways in which people sabotage their own performance by embracing handicaps which can later serve as viable excuses for poor performance. We have been addressing some fundamental questions about the effectiveness of this strategy for the individual both in terms of maintaining favorable self-conceptions of ability (cf. McCrea & Hirt, 2001) as well as the interpersonal costs and benefits of this strategy in how others view the handicapper (Hirt, McCrea, & Boris, 2003). Clearly, the implications of this work suggest that the short term attributional and self-esteem benefits of this strategy are outweighed by considerable long term costs (both on interpersonal dimensions and also in terms of psychological well being). Our current work focuses on the social consequences of engaging in self-handicapping as well as their general awareness of how their actions are perceived by others.

In addition, I have additional lines of research examining the effects that affective state have on the processing and performance of individuals. Our focus has been on creative aspects of performance and the contributions that positive affect consistently makes in facilitating creative performance. Finally, we have been doing research on the role of that cognitive mind-sets play in judgment and decision making. Priming a mental simulation mind-set leads individuals to consider multiple alternatives, resulting in a more thorough analysis of the problem.

Representative Publications

2004 - Hirt, E. R., Kardes, F. R., & Markman, K. D.. Activating a mental simulation mindset through generation of alternatives: Implications for debiasing in related and unrelated domains. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 374-383.

2003 - Hirt, E. R., McCrea, S. M., & Boris, H. I.. “I know you self-handicapped last exam:” Gender differences in reactions to self-handicapping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 177-193.

1997 - Hirt, E. R., Levine, G. M., McDonald, H. E., Melton, R. J., & Martin, L. L. The role of mood in quantitative and qualitative aspects of performance: Single or
multiple mechanisms? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 602-629.