Primary Interests:
- Close Relationships
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Gender Psychology
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Self and Identity
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Dara Greenwood
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Dara Greenwood earned her B.A. from Wesleyan University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Before joining the Vassar faculty in 2010, she was on faculty in the interdisciplinary Communication Studies Department at the University of Michigan. She teaches courses in social psychology and media psychology.
Greenwood's research program explores how various indicators of individuals' emotional well being (e.g., attachment style, body image, emotion regulation tendencies) predict the nature and degree of their involvement with entertainment media programs and characters. She is also interested in how representations of gender in the mass media interact with and affect individuals’ perceptions of themselves and each other. Finally, she studies the social psychological function of humor -- as a coping mechanism (for anxiety, social exclusion), and as a vehicle for prejudice and discrimination (e.g., sexist, racist humor). Methodologically, Professor Greenwood relies on large-scale surveys as well as laboratory experiments.
Journal Articles:
- Greenwood, D. (2010). Of sad men and dark comedies: Mood and gender effects on entertainment media preferences. Mass Communication and Society, 13, 232-249.
- Greenwood, D. (2007). Are female action heroes risky role models? Character identification, idealization, and viewer aggression. Sex Roles, 57, 725-732.
- Greenwood, D., & Isbell, L. (2002). Ambivalent sexism and the dumb blonde: Men’s and women’s reactions to sexist jokes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 340-349.
- Greenwood, D., & Long, C. (2009). Mood specific media use and emotion regulation: Patterns and individual differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 616-621.
- Greenwood, D. N. (2009). Idealized TV friends and young women’s body concerns. Body Image, 6, 97-104.
- Greenwood, D. N. (2008). Television as escape from self: Psychological predictors of media involvement. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 414-424.
- Greenwood, D. N., & Long, C. R. (2011). Attachment style, the need to belong and relationship status predict imagined intimacy with media figures. Communication Research.
- Greenwood, D. N., & Long, C. R. (2009). Psychological predictors of media involvement: Solitude experiences and the need to belong. Communication Research, 36, 637-654.
- Greenwood, D., Pietromonaco, P. R., & Long, C. R. (2008).Young women’s attachment style and interpersonal engagement with female TV stars. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 387-407.
Other Publications:
- Dubow, E., Huesmann, R., & Greenwood, D. (2006). Media and youth socialization: Underlying processes and moderators of effects. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of Socialization (pp. 404-430). New York: Guilford.
- Greenwood, D. (2010, June 22). Grand Theft Auto is good for you? Not so fast... Most evidence suggests ill effects from violent video games. Scientific American: Mind Matters [online].
- Greenwood, D. N., & Lippman, J. R. (2010). Gender, media use and impact. In J. Chrisler, & D. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology: Vol. 2 (pp. 643-669). New York, Springer.
- Greenwood, D. N., & Pietromonaco, P. (2004). The interplay among attachment orientation, idealized images of women, and body dissatisfaction: A social psychological analysis. In L. J. Shrum (Ed.), The psychology of entertainment media: Blurring the lines between entertainment and persuasion (pp. 291-308). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Courses Taught:
- Introduction to Psychology
- Mass Media and the Individual: Uses and Impact
- Mass Media and the Social Self
- Media and Gender Roles
- Principle of Social Psychology
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Dara Greenwood
Department of Psychology
Vassar College
124 Raymond Avenue, Box 49
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
United States
Phone: (845) 437-7377