David Sherman

Professor

Research Area

Social Psychology

Biography

David Sherman received his BA in psychology from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He received his Ph. D. in psychology from Stanford University, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Health Psychology at UCLA. He is a professor of social psychology in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at UCSB, where he has been on the faculty since 2003. Dr. Sherman served as Editor of Personality and Social Psychology Review (2018-2021), as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2011-2017), and as president of the International Society for Self and Identity (2016-2018). His research, which is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, centers on how people respond to information and events that threaten the self.

Research

David Sherman’s research examines the role of the self in responding to threats and stressful events. In one line of research, he examines the psychology of self-defense, that is, why people often respond defensively to threats to the self, and how this defensiveness can be reduced. In particular, he examines how self-affirmation can make people less defensive and more open to threatening events (e.g., negative health information or information critical of one’s group). He also examines the circumstances in which self-affirmation can help people sustain motivation and performance when experiencing stressful and threatening events.

A second line of research examines barriers to environmental sustainability. This research examines both sociocultural moderators of the link between beliefs, norms, and environmental behavior, as well as psychological barriers to support for policy related to climate change.

Selected Publications

Feasel, S. H., & Sherman, D. K. (2025). Connecting, interviewing, writing: Fostering student engagement via the health psychology interview project. Teaching of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628325137838 <https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283251378382>

Kim, H. S., & Sherman, D. K. (2025). The most difficult thing in the world: A socio-cultural perspective on putting pro-environmental thoughts into action. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 61, 101465.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101465

Gibbs, W. C., Ortosky, L., MacLean, A., Kay, A. C., & Sherman, D. K. (2025). Structure in transition: The role of structure in facilitating workplace efficacy and belonging for military veterans and civilians. PLoS ONE 20(2): e0317575. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317575 <http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317575>

Kim, H. S., Eom, K., Panzone, L. A., & Sherman, D. K. (2024). Why do I act for the environment? Socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between climate change beliefs and sustainable actions. Motivation Science. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000343

Leong, S., Hegarty, M., & Sherman, D. K. (2024). Pluralistic ignorance and occupational choice: The impact of communicating norms on graduate students’ career aspirations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 54(5), 258-277. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.13028

Sherman, D. K., & Van Boven, L. (2023). The connections—and misconnections—between the public and politicians over climate policy: A social psychological perspective. Social Issues and Policy Review, 18(1) 31- 58. https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12104

Gibbs, W. C., Kim, H. S., Kay, A. C., & Sherman, D. K. (2023). Who’s in control? A cultural perspective on the process of compensatory control. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 17(2), e12722. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12722

Leong, S., Eom, K., Ishii, K., Aichberger, M. C., Fetz, K., Müller, T. S., Kim, H. S., & Sherman, D. K. (2022). Individual costs and community benefits: Collectivism and individuals’ compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions to combat COVID-19. PLoSONE, 17 (11): e0275388. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275388

Cole, J. C., Ehret, P. J., Sherman, D. K., & Van Boven, L. (2022). Social norms explain prioritization of climate policy. Climatic Change, 173 (10). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03396-x

McKoane, A., & Sherman, D. K. (2022). Diagnostic uncertainty in patients, parents, and physicians: A compensatory control theory perspective. Health Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2022.2086899

Flores, A. F., Cole, J. C., Dickert, S., Eom, K. Jiga-Boy, G. M., Kogut, T., Loria, R., Mayorga, M., Pedersen, E. J., Pereira, B., Rubaltelli, E., Sherman, D. K., Slovic, P., Västfjäll, D., & Van Boven, L. (2022). Politicians polarize and experts depolarize public support for COVID-19 management policies across countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(3)e2117543119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117543119

Chuang, R., Ishii, K., Kim, H. S., & Sherman, D. K. (2022). Swinging for the fences versus advancing the runner: Culture, motivation, and strategic decision making. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(1), 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550621999273

Sherman, D. K., Updegraff, J. A., Handy, M. S., Eom, K., & Kim, H. S. (2022). Beliefs and social norms as precursors of environmental support: The joint influence of collectivism and socioeconomic status. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(3), 463-477. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211007252 <https://doi.org/10.1177%2F01461672211007252>

Kim, H. S., Chuang, R., Eom, K., & Sherman, D. K. (2022). Psychology and the threat of contagion: Feeling vulnerable to a disease moderates the link between xenophobic thoughts and support for ingroup-protective actions. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(10), 1465-1482. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211037138