Daniela Niesta, Ph.D.

Research Interests

My research focuses on processes of social motivation.  I am currently working on three primary lines of research: (a) Color and motivation in the social domain; (b) Approach vs. avoidance motivation and reactance; and (c) Death-related, existential thoughts and pro- and antisocial motivation. With the first line of research, I investigate how color affects interpersonal attraction and the role of evolution and socialization in moderating these judgments. Related to the second line of research I am interested in examining the role of approach vs. avoidance goals in resistance to change. In this context, I explore how the self, based on culture and gender, interacts with approach vs. avoidance motivation in processes of reactance. In my third line of research, I am especially interested in how mortality salience, measured on a state and trait level, affects human values, norms and aspirations.

Publications/Manuscripts

Journal Articles and Working Papers

• Niesta, D., Farwell, L., & Greitemeyer (2008). A Comparison of Help Giving to Individuals Versus Humanitarian Organizations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Manuscript in press.
• Niesta, D., Fritsche I., & Jonas, E. (2008). Mortality Salience and its Effects on Peace Processes: A Review. Social Psychology, 39, 48-58.
• Niesta, D., Greitemeyer, T., Fischer, P., Frey, D. (2008). Why Mood Promotes Help-Giving but not Moral Courage: Two Types of Prosocial Behaviors. European Journal of Social Psychology. Manuscript under Review
• Elliot, A., & Niesta, D. (2008). The Effect of Red on Men's Attraction to Women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Manuscript in press.
• Fritsche, I., Jonas, E., Niesta, D., and Koranyi, N. (2008). Existential Threat and Compliance With Pro-Environmental Norms. Manuscript in preparation.
• Jonas, E., Martens, A., Niesta, D., Fritsche, I., & Greenberg, J. (2008). Focus Theory of Normative Conduct and Terror Management Theory: The Interactive Impact of Mortality Salience on Social Judgment and Behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  Accepted manuscript.
• Niesta, D., Greitemeyer, T., Niemiec C., & Elliot, A. (2007). Worldview Defense due to Individual Differences? Death-Thought Cognitions as a Trait Measure. Manuscript in Process.
• Jonas, E., Niesta, D., Zanna, M., Traut-Mattausch, E., Graupmann, V., & Frey, D. (2006). Self-Construal and the Emergence of Reactance: Is there a “Universal“ Freedom? Unpublished Manuscript.
• Niesta, D., Helleman, G., & Frey, D. (2005). Perceived Responsibility versus Perceived Fairness: A Complementary Approach of Attributional Prediction and Social Justice. Unpublished Manuscript.
• Jonas, E., & Niesta, D. (2004). Zur Bedeutung der Terror Management Theorie im philanthropischen Sektor [On the meaning of terror management theory in the philanthropic sector]. Fachzeitschrift für Nonprofit Management, 2, 14-27.

Books and Book Chapters

• Elliot, A.J., & Niesta, D. (2008). Goals in the Context of their Underlying Sources. In: G. Moskowitz and H. Grant (Eds.), Goals. (pp. xxx-xxx). NY: Guilford Press. Book chapter in press.
• Friedman, R., Moller, A.C., Fryer, J.W., Zahn, I., Law, W., Acuff, R.D., Niesta, D., Murayama, K., Meier, A.M., Jelstad, B., & Elliot, A.J. (2008). Achievement goals in the context of the hierarchical model of approach-avoidance achievement motivation. To appear in S. Karabenick & A. Kaplan (Eds.), Culture, self, and motivation: Essays in honor of Martin L. Maehr. (pp. xxx-xxx). NY: Information Age Publishers.
• Frey, D., Kaminski, S., Streicher, B., & Niesta, D. (2007). Sustainable Performance Development. In: H. Schuler und K. Sonntag (Eds.), Arbeits-und Organisationspsychologie. Handbuch der Psychologie [Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Handbook of Psychology] (pp. 633-640). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.
• Frey, D., Greitemeyer, T., Fischer, P., Niesta, D. (2005). Psychologische Theorien Hilfreichen Verhaltens. (Psychological Theories of Helpful Behavior). In K. J. Hopt, T. V. Hippel, W. Rainer Walz (Eds). Nonprofit Organisationen in Wirtschaft, Recht und Gesellschaft (Nonprofit Organisations in Their Aspects on Economy, Law, and Society). (pp. 177-196). Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck.
• Niesta, D. (2005). Prosocial Motivation and Help-Giving Behavior. Experimental Studies on Help-Giving Behavior toward Individuals and Organizations. Munich, Germany: Herbert Utz Verlag.

Presentations

• Niesta, D., Fritsche, I., & Jonas, E. (2007). The Interactive Impact of Mortality Salience and Norm Salience on Pro-environmental Attitudes and Behavior (Poster). 7th Biennial Conference on Environmental Psychology; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Bayreuth, Germany.
• Niesta, D. (2007). Justice Concerns and Moral Courage: Why Mood Promotes Help Giving, but not Moral Courage (Paper). Psychology and Social Justice Conference (PASJ), New York, USA.
• Jonas, E., Fritsche, I., Greenberg, J., Martens, A., Niesta, D. (2007). Focus theory of normative conduct and terror management theory: The interactive impact of mortality salience and norm salience on social judgment and behavior (Paper). 49th Tagung für experimentelle und angewandte Psychologie (TeaP),Trier, Germany.
• Niesta, D., Jonas, E., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2006). Self-Construal and the Emergence of Reactance: Is there a „Universal“ Freedom (Poster)? 7th Congress of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Palm Springs.
• Niesta, D. (2006). How Fairness Affects Prosocial Decision Making: Outcome, Procedure, and Trust in Allocating Resources via Intermediaries (Presentation). Social Justice Pre-Conference at the 7th Congress of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Palm Springs.
• Traut-Mattausch, E., Jonas, E., Niesta, D., & Frey, D. (2006). Sind Frauen weniger oder anders reaktant als Männer – geschlechterspezifische Selbstkonzeptunterschiede im Fokus (Are women more or less reactant than men – gender-related differences in self-construals) (Presentation). 45. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Nürnberg, Germany.
• Niesta, D. & Jonas, E. (2005). Der Zusammenhang sozial aktivierter Normen und Mortalitätssalienz (The relationship between socially primed norms and mortality salience) (Presentation). 10. Tagung der Fachgruppe Sozialpsychologie (FGSP), Jena, Germany.
• Jonas, E., & Niesta, D. (2005). Terror Management Theorie und normgeleitetes Verhalten (Terror Management Theory and normative behavior) (Presentation). 10. Tagung der Fachgruppe Sozialpsychologie (FGSP), Jena, Germany.
• Niesta, D., Fischer, P., Greitemeyer, T. (2005). Brave Social Intervention: No Fruit of the Mood in Dangerous Situations. Why Courageous Behavior is Distinct from Help-Giving (Paper). European Association of Experimental Social Psychology (EAESP), Wuerzburg, Germany.
• Fischer, P., Greitemeyer, T., Frey, D., Niesta, D. (2004). Können klassische Befunde zu Hilfeverhalten auf die Vorhersage zivilcouragierten Verhaltens übertragen werden? - Die differentielle Auswirkung von Stimmungen und der Anzahl anwesender Personen auf Zivilcourage und Hilfeverhalten (Paper). Kongreß der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGP), Göttingen, Germany.
• Niesta, D., Jonas, E., Graupmann, V. & Frey, D. (2004). Self-Construal and the Emergence of Reactance (Paper). European Social Cognition Network (ESCON), Lisbon, Portugal.
• Niesta, D., Greitemeyer, T., Fischer, P., Frey, D. (2004) No Fruit of the Mood: The Impact of Mood on High and Low Cost Prosocial Behavior (Paper). Tagung für experimentelle und angewandte Psychologie (TeaP), Giessen, Germany.
• Niesta, D., & Farwell, L. (2003) A Structural Equation Model Predicting Help-giving to Non-profits (Poster). Annual Meeting of the German Psychological Society (DGPS), Heidelberg, Germany.
• Niesta, D., & Farwell, L. (2003) A Structural Equation Model Predicting Help-giving to Non-profits (Paper). Annual Meeting of the Western Psychological Association (WPA), Vancouver, Canada.

Grants, Awards and Fellowships

• fMRI Research Grant: “The Color Red and Sexual Attraction”
  2007
  Center for Brain Imaging at the University of Rochester
• Research Grant: "The Cross-Cultural Validity of Reactance Theory”
  2006 - 2008
  German Research Foundation (DFG)
• EAESP Post-doctoral Travel Grant
  2006
  European Association of Experimental Social Psychology
• SPSP Graduate Student Summer School Award
  2005
  Social Psychology Summer School Michigan, Ann Arbor
  Society for Personality and Social Psychology
• Graduate Research Fellowship
  2002 - 2004
  Bavarian State Education Ministry
• Graduate Visiting Scholar Fellowship
  2001 - 2002
  Research Fellow at University of California, Los Angeles
  German - American Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Additional Information

Teaching Experience

University of Rochester:

• Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (Spring 2008)
• Seminar in Social Psychology (Fall 2007)
• Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (Spring 2007)

Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich:

• Experimental Practicum in Psychology of Gender (Spring 2005)
• Methods in Social Psychology (Fall 2003)
• Theories of Social Psychology (Fall 2002)

Excellence International Masters Program LMU and DAAD (German-American Exchange Service):

• Conflict Resolution
• Career Development in the Corporate World and the Higher Education
• Social Justice and Fairness

Professional Services and Affiliation

• Ad-hoc Reviewer for Social Influence
• Ad-hoc Reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation
• European Association of Experimental Social Psychology (EAESP), Member
• German Society for Social Psychology (DGSP), Member
• International Society for Justice Research (ISJR), Member
• Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Member
• Western Psychological Association (WPA), Member