Katie Greenaway

About Me

I am a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow based at the University of Melbourne, Australia. My research focuses on social functioning in three main domains: identity processes, emotion regulation, and human agency.

I completed my PhD at the University of Queensland before taking up a position as Global Scholar with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Global Fellow Academy. The Academy brings together elite early career researchers in all areas of science to build research and leadership capacity in young scholars. I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland before beginning an Australian Research Council DECRA fellowship in 2016. I moved to the University of Melbourne in 2017 and began an ARC Future Fellowship in 2020.

You can download my CV here.

45
Publications
1487
Citations
6321
Flat white coffees

Featured Publications

Group identification enhances perceived personal control with consequences for health and well-being, JPSP

People can derive a sense of personal control from the groups to which they belong, which helps to explain why groups can make people happier and healthier

Loss of control stimulates approach motivation, JESP

Conventional wisdom holds that people become helpless and withdrawn when they lack control, but this research suggests otherwise

Belief in precognition increases perceived control and loss of control increases belief in precognition, PLOS ONE

Belief in the existence of psychic abilities can serve a purpose of boosting perceived control in times of uncertainty.

Shared identity is key to effective communication, PSPB

People communicate more effectively when they believe their partner belongs to the same social group as themselves

Reappraisal but not suppression down-regulates the experience of positive and negative emotion, Emotion

Resolving an inconsistency in the field, we find that expressive suppression does not reduce the experience of positive emotion

The path to glory is paved with hierarchy: When hierarchical differentiation increases group effectiveness, Psychological Science

Too many leaders in a group and interactions can get too hot. Too few leaders and interactions can get too cold. We show that hierarchy is the key to getting it just right.

My Research

Identity

Feeling socially connected is one of the most important ingredients to a happy, healthy, and productive life. My research demonstrates the functional benefits of group identification for  health, well-being, communication, and productivity. Read more.

Emotion

Positive emotion is good, but can you have too much of a good thing? My research shows the personal and social costs of experiencing and expressing certain positive emotions, and the occasional social benefits of suppressing positive emotion. Read more.

Head

Agency

Humans have a fundamental need to feel in control of their lives. My research reveals the psychological lengths to which people will go to maintain perceived control by altering perception, motivation, and behaviour. Read more.

Presentations

All Identity
Social identities satisfy psychological needs

Social identities satisfy psychological needs

Identity View Project
Shared identity promotes effective communication

Shared identity promotes effective communication

Identity View Project
Why do social networks make us healthy?

Why do social networks make us healthy?

Identity View Project

Latest Grants

Rethinking Positive Emotion Regulation

Rethinking Positive Emotion Regulation

DECRA Fellowship, Australian Research Council

This grant investigates whether the positive emotions we think bring us closer can actually worsen social relations, with implications for development of shared identity and personal well-being.

The Emotional Body

The Emotional Body

Early Career Researcher Grant, University of Queensland

This grant investigates the impact of bodily awareness on  emotion regulation, identifying conditions under which being aware of bodily sensations can make or break regulation efforts.

Women in Science

Women in Science

Creativity Grant, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

This interdisciplinary grant unites researchers from the social and natural sciences to explore challenges that women face in early career (postdoctoral) research positions.

Dashed Hopes in Eduction

Dashed Hopes in Eduction

Creativity Grant, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

This grant unites research perspectives from social psychology and sociology to investigate how students cope with failing to achieve their academic goals. Co-investiged by Margaret Frye.

Latest news from Katie

News

Winners are Grinners
Emotion research

Winners are Grinners

I had a great time chatting with Hilary Harper on Life Matters today about the costs and benefits of expressing positive emotions in victory! You can listen to our discussion here or read more about the research that inspired it here.

March 14, 2019
The Cost of Keeping Secrets
Emotion research

The Cost of Keeping Secrets

I’m delighted to announce a new line of work funded by an ARC Discovery Project with Dr Elise Kalokerinos of the University of Newcastle, and Dr Michael Slepian and Professor Adam Galinsky of Columbia University. The project will investigate the psychological impact of keeping secrets in everyday life. You can hear more about this project…

February 18, 2019
SESP Symposium in Seattle
Uncategorized

SESP Symposium in Seattle

I’m excited for our symposium on Psychology in Everyday Life at SESP in Seattle this week. Four excellent presenters will talk about how experience sampling can be used to inform psychological science in multiple domains. We’ll be presenting in Princessa II from 4:50-6pm on Friday 5 October. Psychology in Everyday Life The richness of human…

October 2, 2018
APS Rising Star Award
Uncategorized

APS Rising Star Award

I was honoured to be named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, an award presented to outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their research careers. I was particularly proud and grateful to be named alongside my peers and friends, including my colleague at the University of Melbourne Pete Koval. This…

January 26, 2018
SESP Symposium
Identity research / Travel

SESP Symposium

I really enjoyed taking part in a symposium organised by Serena Does and Margaret Shih on the 2016 US Presidential Election.   Michael Slepian presented data on why and how people kept their votes secret, and the implications of this for emotional well-being. I presented data showing that political group identification – usually a source…

October 16, 2017
SASP Symposium and Award
Emotion research / Travel

SASP Symposium and Award

I’m excited to be presenting my research in a symposium organised by Pete Koval at the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists in April. The symposium covers recent advancements in the study of emotion regulation, and features a great line-up of speakers, including Luke Smillie, Cindy Harmon-Jones, Sean Murphy, Carolyn MacCann, Pete Koval, and Brock Bastian.…

April 5, 2017
EASP Symposium on Putting Emotions in Context
Emotion research

EASP Symposium on Putting Emotions in Context

I will present in a symposium at the upcoming European Association for Social Psychology conference in Granada, Spain in July 2017. Abstract Context both produces emotion and shapes emotion: how it is expressed, regulated, and perceived. However, in practice, research often examines emotion processes without considering the important contextual factors that shape them, missing nuance that is vital to…

February 7, 2017
EASP Symposium on Applying the Social Cure
Identity research

EASP Symposium on Applying the Social Cure

I will chair a symposium at the upcoming European Association for Social Psychology conference in Granada, Spain in July 2017. Abstract An impressive body of work now shows that strong social connections—and the social identities they afford—have significant health and well-being benefits. Yet practitioners and policy makers are often at a loss for how to translate this research…

February 7, 2017

I'm currently researching from

Melbourne