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Academics - Psychology Faculty & Staff

Academics - Psychology Faculty & Staff

Robert Horton

Professor of Psychology

CONTACT:

Baxter Hall 302
765-361-6476
hortonr@wabash.edu
Curriculum vitae

Picture of Horton, Robert

Bobby Horton is a social and personality psychologist whose research interests are in (a) the origins and consequences of narcissistic self-regard, with a special focus on the possible role that new media (e.g., social networking websites and reality TV) play in such, and (b) interpersonal attraction. In the past five years he has also become an active member of the college’s efforts to improve its students’ Freshman Year Experience. He helped with an assessment of that experience four years ago, served as co-chair of Freshman Tutorial for 5 years, is involved in efforts to improve Freshman Advising, and is currently co-chair of the new all-college course Enduring Questions.

In the classroom, Bobby teaches the Psychology Department’s Social Psychology courses (intermediate and advanced) with the advanced course (Psy 322) focusing on empirical investigations of the self-concept and self-esteem. He also teaches Introductory Psychology (Psy 101) and Research Methods and Statistics (Psy 201/202) every two or three years. Finally, he regularly teaches Freshman Tutorial (most recently, about Non-conscious processes and what they mean for free will) and Enduring Questions.

When not engaged in teaching, scholarship, or service to the college, Bobby spends time with his wife and three children (two boys, Marshall and Whitman, and one daughter, Maesa). Though he was once a regular runner, even going so far as running a couple of marathons in his younger days, his role as soccer coach, jungle gym, and ring-a-round-the-rosie swinger for his children have relegated him to the ranks of the non-exercising. Still, he maintains an intense love of sport, showing an unnatural affection for University of Georgia football and University of North Carolina basketball, and attending as many Wabash sporting events as possible.

EDUCATION

B.A., University of Richmond, 1995
M.A. and Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1997 and 2001 respectively.

RECENT COURSE OFFERINGS

PSY 222- Intermediate Social Psychology
PSY 322- Advanced Social Psychology
PSY 101- Introduction to Psychology
PSY 201/202- Research Methods and Statistics
Enduring Questions

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

Horton, R. S. (2010). The reality of narcissism: Does reality TV create narcissists or vice versa? Talk given at the annual meeting Society for Personality and Social Psychologists, Las Vegas, Nevada, January, 2010.

Horton, R. S. (2008). Creating Narcissus: A look at parenting as a source of narcissistic self-regard. Lecture given at the weekly “Organizational Research Group” series, UNC-Chapel Hill, March, 2008.

Horton, R. S. (2007). Creating Narcissus: A look at parenting as a source of narcissistic self-regard. Lecture given at the weekly “Social Psychology Under Discussion” series, Virginia Commonwealth University, September, 2007.

Horton, R. S. (2006). Parenting and Child narcissism: Is parental influence reality or illusion?Lecture given at the monthly social science colloquium, Wabash College, September, 2006.

Horton, R. S. (2004). Research Experiences in an Integrated Methods/Stats Course: Learning by “Oops” and “A-ha!” Talk given at the annual Finding Out About Best Practices in the Teaching of Psychology conference, Atlanta, GA, October 1, 2004.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Horton, R. S. (in press).Parenting behavior as a cause of narcissism: Empirical support for psychodynamic and social learning theories. In Campbell, W. K. & Miller, J. (Ed.)The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Findings, and Treatment. Wiley Publishing. 

Horton, R. S. (2010). On environmental sources of child narcissism: Are parents really to blame? (pp. 125-143), In Barry, C, Kerig, P. K, Stellwagen, K. K, & Barry, T. T (Eds.) Narcissism and Machiavellianism in Youth: Implications for the Development of Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior. Washington, D.C.: APA Press.

Horton, R. S., & Sedikides, C. (2009). Narcissistic responding to ego threat: When status of the evaluator matters. Journal of Personality, 77, 1493-1525.

Montoya, R. M., Horton, R. S., & Kirchner, J. (2008). Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 889-922.

Ross, S. R., Bye, K., Wrobel, T. A., & Horton, R. S. (2008). Primary and secondary psychopathic characteristics and the Schedule for Non-adaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 249-254.

Sedikides, C., Horton, R. S., & Gregg, A. (2007). The why’s the limit: Curtailing self-enhancement with explanatory introspection. Journal of Personality, 75 (4), 783-824.

Christopher, A. N., Walter, M. I., Horton, R. S., & Marek, P. (2007). Benefits and detriments of teaching an integrated research methods and statistics course. In D. S. Dunn, R. A. Smith, & B. Beins (Eds.), Best Practices in the Teaching of Statistics and Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences (pp. 187-202). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

HONORS AND AWARDS

2011 McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Excellence in Teaching Award

PODCAST

Professor Bobby Horton discusses the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program and its early successes.

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