People

Oscar Ybarra

Oscar Ybarra is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, and Director of the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at the University of Illinois. Oscar is also Professor Emeritus of Psychology, and Management and Organizations at the University of Michigan, and Faculty Associate at the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute for Social Research. Dr. Ybarra received his Ph.D. in social psychology from New Mexico State University.

Dr. Ybarra’s research examines the social underpinnings of cognition, motivation, and wellbeing, how people navigate their web of relations with others for better or worse, and how people create or fail to create a synergy between connecting with others and pursuing personally valued goals.

Ybarra has published in the top journals in his field. His research on the importance of social connections for staying mentally sharp, and social media use and wellbeing, has received much national and international media attention. His research on aging and cognitive decline has also been used in presentations before Congress.  

e-mail: oybarra@illinois.edu

CV: VitaOscarYbarra

Current and Past Collaborators and Topic Areas

Andrew Baron, adaptive approaches, behavioral flexibility

Eugene Burnstein, mental exercising, social cognition, adaptive approaches

Emily Chan, social cognition, goals, fundamental dimensions, attitudes, unpredictability in people

Todd Chan, social rejection, social media & cognitive function

Serena Chen, social cognition, power, evaluation

Chongzhen Bi, neuroscientific approaches, self-judgment, fundamental dimensions

Hiroko Dodge, mental exercising, social skills, cognitive aging & training

Peter Dorfman, global leadership and social-emotional intelligence

Barbara Fredrickson, affect, weather & cognition, adaptive approaches

Stephen Garcia, behavioral decision making, behavioral flexibility, entrepreneur cognition

Richard Gonzalez, social processes, decision-making, problem solving

Jeffrey Hutsler, evolution of intelligence, comparative approaches

John Jonides, social networking and wellbeing

Liam Kavanagh, mental exercising through socializing

Matthew Keller, adaptive approaches, behavioral flexibility, weather & cognition

Amy Kiefer, automatic social cognition, gender, power

Shirli Kopelman, conflict, negotiation, culture

Ethan Kross, social networking, emotion regulation, social-emotional intelligence, big data

Jason Lawrence, intergroup relations, social cognition

David Seungjae Lee, social basis of striving, when social support hurts or helps, social networking and wellbeing, cognitive biases in decision making, fundamental dimensions, negotiation

Fiona Lee, culture, training

Mel Manis, mental exercising, social cognition

Scott Moeller, interpersonal processes, negotiation

Benoit Monin, fundamental dimensions, culture, morality

Eric Neuman, culture, conflict, work and organizational life

Dick Nisbett, culture, conflict, social cognition, training

Denise Park, cognitive aging, social cognition, fundamental dimensions

Hyekyung Park, culture, social cognition,  fundamental dimensions

Vicky Plaut, intergroup relations, multicultural vs. color-blind philosophies

Rick Price, innovation, entrepreneurship,

Christina Ramón, conflict, negotiation, intergroup relations

Kimberly Rios, automatic social cognition, intergroup relations, social threats, behavioral flexibility

Joel Rodriguez, mental exercising, social cognition

Diana Sanchez, automatic social cognition, gender, power

Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, culture & conflict, work and organizational life, behavioral flexibility, social-emotional intelligence

Lynne Schaberg, social cognition, social vigilance, fundamental dimensions

Norbert Schwarz, affect, automatic social cognition, attitudes

Joan Severson, cognitive assessment, lifestyle effects on cognitive dysfunction

Hyunjin Song, affect, social cognition

Christine Stanik, culture, social cognition, fundamental dimensions

Walter Stephan, intergroup relations, social cognition, social selection

David Trafimow, behavioral decision making, goals, attitudes, culture

Philippe Verduyn, social networking and wellbeing, depression, big data

Piotr Winkielman, mental exercising, social networking, mind-reading, social factors in decision- making

Irene Yeh, mental exercising, mixed-motives

Yufang Zhao, neuroscientific approaches, creativity and breaking mental sets, emotion regulation and intergroup conflict, fundamental dimensions