I am a social-personality psychologist and my research focuses on how status, emotions, and the self shape interpersonal life. I study these broad areas of research using a variety of methods that include controlled laboratory experiments, ethological observations, and psychophysiological assessments.

I was born and raised in Poway, California. I received my undergraduate and graduate training in social psychology from UC Berkeley. I am currently an Assistant Professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Primary Interests:

Close Relationships
Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Group Processes
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Nonverbal Behavior
Organizational Behavior
Political Psychology
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Close Relationships
Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Group Processes
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Nonverbal Behavior

Organizational Behavior
Political Psychology
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Champaign Social Interaction Laboratory
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Kraus, M. W., & Chen, S. (2009). Striving to be known by significant others: Automatic activation of self-verification goals in relationship contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 58-73.
Kraus, M. W., Chen, S, & Keltner, D. (2011). The power to be me: Power elevates self-concept consistency and authenticity, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 974-980.
Kraus, M. W., & Chen, T. D. (in press). A winning smile? Smile intensity, physical dominance, and fighter performance. Emotion.
Kraus, M. W., Côté, S., & Keltner, D. (2010). Social class, contextualism, and empathic accuracy. Psychological Science, 21, 1716-1723.
Kraus, M. W., Huang, C., & Keltner, D. (2010). Tactile communication, cooperation, and performance: An ethological study of the NBA. Emotion, 10, 745-749.
Kraus, M. W., & Keltner, D. (2009). Signs of socioeconomic status: A thin-slicing approach. Psychological Science, 20, 99-106.
Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., & Keltner, D. (2009). Social class, sense of control, and social explanation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 992-1004.
Kraus, M. W., Tan, J., & Tannenbaum, M. B. (in press). The social ladder: A rank-based perspective on social class. Psychological Inquiry.
Piff, P. K., Kraus, M. W., Côté, S., Cheng, B., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having less, giving more: The influence of social class on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 771-784.

Other Publications:

Keltner, D., Van Kleef, G. A., Chen, S., & Kraus, M. W. (2008). A reciprocal influence model of social power: Emerging principles and lines of inquiry. In M. A. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 151-192.

Courses Taught:

Personality Psychology
Power, Status, and Influence
Social Psychology

Personality Psychology
Power, Status, and Influence

Social Psychology

Michael W. Kraus
Department of Psychology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
603 East Daniel Street
Champaign, IL 61820
United States

Phone: (217) 300-0191