Joanne Wood

Distinguished Professor Emerita
Dr Joanne Wood's Image

BA (Wisconsin), MA, PhD (California, Los Angeles)

Contact information

Listen to my , while viewing the slides (PDF)

Wood et al. Nature Reviews paper on self-esteem and romantic relationships: ǰ

Awards and honours

  • Recipient, 2024, International Society for Self and Identity Distinguished Lifetime Career Award
  • Recipient, 2023, Distinguished Professor Emerita
  • Recipient, 2017, University Professor (a title bestowed by the university to recognize “exceptional scholarly achievement and international pre-eminence,” held by 16 faculty members out of 1200)
  • Recipient, 2015 Outstanding Performance Award
  • Recipient, 2015 Excellence in Research Award, Faculty of Arts
  • Recipient, 2007 Outstanding Performance Award

Research interests

My current research focuses on interpersonal interactions and close relationships—in particular, how personality shapes relationship processes. For example, my collaborators and I have examined questions such as these:

  • How do self-esteem, neuroticism, and agreeableness affect relationship happiness?
  • How do people with low vs. high self-esteem differ in their self-disclosures to others?
  • How do kind people show affection to their partners?

Selected publications

  • Wood, J. V. (in press). Personality influences in relationships: How self-esteem, neuroticism, and agreeableness affect hurt feelings. In A. Vangelisti, D. Perlman, & S. Sprecher (Eds). Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships (3rd Ed). Cambridge University Press.
  • Wood, J. V., Forest, A. L., Friesen, J. P., Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & McNulty, J. K. (2023). Self-esteem and romantic relationship quality. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(1), 27–41.
  • Forest, A. L., Sigler, K. N., Bain, K. S., O’Brien, E. R., & Wood, J. V. (2023). Self-esteem’s impacts on intimacy-building: Pathways through self-disclosure and responsiveness. Current Opinion in Psychology,52, 101596. 
  • Fisher, A.N., Stinson, D.A., Wood, J.V., Holmes, J.G., & Cameron, J.J. (2021). Singlehood and attunement of self-esteem to friendships. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
  • Cortes, K. & Wood, J. V. (2019). How was your day? Conveying care, but under the radar, for people lower in trust. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 83, 11-22.
  • McCarthy, M. H., Wood, J.V., & Holmes, J.G.  (2017). Dispositional pathways to trust: Self-esteem and agreeableness interact to predict trust and negative emotional disclosure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113, 95-116.
  • Wood, J. V. & Forest, A. L. (2016). Self-protective yet self-defeating: The paradox of low self-esteem people's self-disclosures. In J. M. Olson & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 53, 131-181. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.
  • Forest, A.L., Kille, D.R., Wood, J.V., & Holmes, J.G. (2014). Discount and disengage: How chronic negative expressivity undermines partner responsiveness to negative disclosures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 107, 1013-1032.
  • Forest, A.L., & Wood, J. V. (2012). When social networking is not working: Individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosing on Facebook. Psychological Science, 23, 295–302.

Some oldies but goodies

  • Wood, J. V., Perunovic, W. Q. E., & Lee, J.  (2009). Positive self-statements: Power for some, peril for others. Psychological Science, 20, 860-866.
  • Stinson, D.A., Logel, C., Zanna, M.P., Holmes, J.G., Cameron, J.J., Wood, J.V., & Spencer, S.J. (2008). The cost of lower self-esteem: Testing a self-and-social-bonds model of health.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 412-428.
  • Wood, J. V., Heimpel, S. A., Newby-Clark, I., & Ross, M.  (2005).  Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory:  Self-esteem differences in the experience and anticipation of success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 764-780.
  • Wood, J. V., Heimpel, S. A., & Michela, J. L.  (2003).  Savoring versus dampening:  Self-esteem differences in regulating positive affect.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,85, 566-580.  
  • Heimpel, S. A., Wood, J. V., Marshall, M., & Brown, J.  (2002).  Do people with low self-esteem really want to feel better?:  Self-esteem differences in motivation to repair negative moods.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 128 - 147. 
  • Wood, J. V.  (1989).  Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes.  Psychological Bulletin, 106, 231-248.