Email Address:
foster@southalabama.edu
Phone Number:
(251) 460-6548
Location:
UCOM 1131
Office Hours:
By Appointment
CV
Personal Website

Joshua D. Foster, Ph.D.

Professor

Depatrment of Psychology

Education

Ph.D. University of Georgia, 2005
Social Psychology
M.A. Towson University, 2000
Experimental Psychology
B.S. Old Dominion University, 1996
Psychology

Research Interests

Personality and individual differences
Personality assessment
Latent variable analysis
Narcissism
Psychopathy
Philosophy of science

Research

My research focuses primarily on the study of personality and individual differences--most notably, narcissistic personality. With regard to narcissism, my research attempts to answer the following questions: What is narcissism and how should narcissism be measured? Who is more or less narcissistic? What are the costs and benefits of narcissism to the self and others? How and why do narcissists think and act like they do? I also conduct research on topics that are related to narcissism, such as psychopathy, self-esteem, and empathy. Occasionally, when I’m feeling especially brave or foolish, I conduct studies on totally unrelated topics. Finally, I maintain active collaborations with researchers who study a wide variety of topics, such as intelligence, religion and spirituality, philosophy of science (e.g., scientific replication), evolutionary psychology, parenting, and teaching and learning.

Personality and Social Psychology Lab

Highlighted Research

Book:

Hermann, A., Brunell, A.B., & Foster, J.D. (Eds.) (forthcoming). The Handbook of Trait Narcissism: Key Advances, Research Methods, and Controversies. New York: Springer.

Three Most highly cited papers (>200 cites):

Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349, 943-951.
Twenge, J.M., Konrath, S., Foster, J.D., Campbell, W.K., & Bushman, B.J. (2008). Egos inflating over time: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality, 76, 875-901.
Foster, J.D., Campbell, W.K., & Twenge, J.M. (2003). Individual differences in narcissism: Inflated self-views across the lifespan and around the world. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 469-486.

Kurian, A.G., Currier, J.M., Rojas-Flores, L., Herrera, S., & Foster, J.D. (in press). Meaning, perceived growth, and posttraumatic stress among teachers in El Salvador: Assessing the impact of daily spiritual experiences. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Foster, J.D., Shiverdecker, L.K., & Turner, I.N. (2016). What does the Narcissistic Personality Inventory measure across the total score continuum? Current Psychology, 35, 207-219.
Hill, B.D., Foster, J.D., Sofko, C., Elliott, E.M., & Shelton, J.T. (2016). The interaction of ability and motivation: Average working memory is required for Need for Cognition to positively benefit intelligence and the effect increases with ability. Personality and Individual Differences, 98, 225-228.
Leckelt, M, Back, M.D., Foster, J.D., Hutteman, R., Jaeger, G, McCain, J, Twenge, J.M., & Campbell, W.K. (2016). Entering adulthood in a recession tempers later narcissism—but only in men. Journal of Research in Personality, 60, 8-11.
Jonason, P.K., Foster, J.D., McCain, J., & Campbell, W.K. (2015). Where birds flock together: The who, what, where, and why of mate searching. Personality and Individual Differences, 80, 76-84.
Currier, J.M., Irish, J.E., Neimeyer, R.A., & Foster, J.D. (2015). Attachment, continuing bonds, and complicated grief following violent loss: Testing a moderated model. Death Studies, 39, 201-210.
Rojas-Flores, L., Herrera, S., Currier, J.M., Foster, J.D., Roland, A., Putman, K.M. & Foy, D. (2015). Exposure to violence, posttraumatic stress, and burnout among teachers in El Salvador: A research report from two samples. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 4, 98-110.
Brown, C.S., Foster, J.D., Gordon, M.S., & Yates, M. (2015). Psychology: Science and Applications. (2nd ed.) Dubuque, IA: Great River Learning.
Foster, J.D., McCain, J.L., Hibberts, M.F., Brunell, A.B., & Johnson, R.B. (2015). The Grandiose Narcissism Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 12-16.
McCain, J.L., Jonason, P.K., Foster, J.D., & Campbell, W.K. (2015). The bifactor structure and the "dark nomological network" of the State Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 72, 1-6.
Foster, J.D., Jonason, P.K., Shrira, I., Campbell, W.K., Shiverdecker, L.K., & Varner, S.C. (2014). What do you get when you make someone else’s partner your own? An analysis of relationships formed via mate poaching. Journal of Research in Personality, 52, 78-90.
Foster, J.D., & Misra, T.A. (2013). It did not mean anything (about me): Cognitive dissonance theory and the cognitive and affective consequences of romantic infidelity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30, 835-857.
Open Science Collaboration. (2013). The Reproducibility Project: A model of large-scale collaboration for empirical research on reproducibility. In V. Stodden, F. Leisch, & R. Peng (Eds.), Implementing Reproducible Computational Research (A Volume in The R Series). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Hill, B.D., Foster, J.D., Elliot, E.M., Shelton, J.T., McCain, J.L., & Gouvier, W.D. (2013). Need for cognition is related to general intelligence, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence, but not working memory. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 22-25.
Open Science Collaboration. (2012). An open, large-scale, collaborative effort to estimate the reproducibility of psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 652-655.
Foster, J.D., & Brennan, J.C. (2011). Narcissism, the agency model,and approach-avoidance motivation. In W.K. Campbell and J.D. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatment. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Foster, J.D., Reidy, D.E., Misra, T.A., & Goff, J.S. (2011). Narcissism and stock market investing: Correlates and consequences of cocksure investing, Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 816-821.
Brown, C.S., Foster, J.D., & Gordon, M.S. (2010). Psychology: A work in progress. Dubuque, IA: Great River Technologies.
Foster, J.D., & Twenge, J.M. (2010). Narcissism and relationships: From light to dark. In W.R. Cupach and B.H. Spitzberg (Eds.), The dark side of close relationships II. New York: Taylor and Francis.
Reidy, D.E., Foster, J.D., & Zeichner, A. (2010). Narcissism and unprovoked aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 414-422.
Foster, C.A., Foster, J.D., & Campbell, W.K. (2010). Are secret relationships hot, then not? Romantic secrecy as a function of relationship duration. Journal of Social Psychology, 150, 668-688.
Twenge, J.M., & Foster, J.D. (2010). Birth cohort increases in narcissistic personality traits among American college students, 1982-2009. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 99-106.
Foster, J.D., Misra, T.A., & Reidy, D.E. (2009). Narcissists are approach-oriented toward their money and their friends. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 764-769.
Foster, J.D., Shenesey, J.W., & Goff, J. (2009). Why do narcissists take more risks? Testing the roles of perceived risks and benefits on risky behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 885-889.
Reidy, D.E., Zeichner, A., & Foster, J.D. (2009). Psychopathy, aggression, and emotion-processing of violent imagery in women. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 928-932.
Foster, J.D., & Trimm IV, R.F. (2008). On being eager and uninhibited: Narcissism and approach-avoidance motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1004-1017.
Foster, J.D. (2008). Beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder: Olfactory versus visual cues of attractiveness. Journal of Social Psychology, 148, 765-773.
Foster, J.D. (2008). Incorporating personality into the investment model: Probing commitment processes across individual differences in narcissism. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 211-223.
Heppner, W.L., Kernis, M.H., Nezlek, J.B., Foster, J.D., Lakey, C. E., & Goldman, B.M. (2008). Within-person relationships between daily self-esteem, need satisfaction, and authenticity. Psychological Science, 19, 1140-1145.
Twenge, J.M., Konrath, S., Foster, J.D., Campbell, W.K., & Bushman, B.J. (2008). Further evidence of an increase in narcissism among college students. Journal of Personality, 76, 919-927.
Twenge, J.M., & Foster, J.D. (2008). Mapping the scale of the narcissism epidemic: Increases in narcissism 2002-2007 within ethnic groups. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1619-1622.
Reidy, D.E., Zeichner, A., Foster, J.D., & Martinez, M.A. (2008). Effects of narcissistic entitlement and exploitativeness on human physical aggression. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 865-876.
Foster, J.D. & Campbell, W.K. (2007). Are there such things as “narcissists” in social psychology? A taxometric analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1321-1332.
Foster, J.D., Kernis, M.H., & Goldman, B.M. (2007). Linking adult attachment to self-esteem stability. Self and Identity, 6, 64-73.
Campbell, W.K., & Foster, J.D. (2007). Narcissistic entitlement. In R.F. Baumeister & K.D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology, Vol. 2. (pp. 606-607). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Campbell, W.K. & Foster, J.D. (2007). The narcissistic self: Background, an extended agency model, and ongoing controversies. In C. Sedikides & S. Spencer (Eds.), Frontiers in social psychology: The self. (pp. 115-138). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
Foster, J.D., Shrira, I., & Campbell, W.K. (2006). Theoretical models of narcissism, sexuality, and relationship commitment. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23, 367-386.
Campbell, W. K. & Foster, J.D. (2006). Self-Esteem: Evolutionary roots and historical cultivation. In M.H. Kernis (Ed.), Self-esteem: Issues and answers. (pp. 340-346). New York: Psychology Press.
Foster, J.D. & Campbell, W.K. (2005). Narcissism and resistance to doubts about romantic partners. Journal of Research in Personality, 39, 550-557.
Campbell, W.K., Goodie, A.S., & Foster, J.D. (2004). Narcissism, confidence, and risk attitude. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 17, 297-311.
Campbell, W.K., Foster, J.D., & Brunell, A.B. (2004). Running from shame or reveling in pride? Narcissism and the regulation of self-conscious emotions. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 150-153.
Campbell, W.K., Brunell, A.B., & Foster, J.D. (2004). Sitting here in limbo: Ego-shock and post-traumatic growth. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 22-26.