Anita Kelly

Professor
Department of Psychology

Degrees

B.S., Northwestern University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Florida

Research Profile

Kelly explores how people construct their identities through (a) presenting either negative or positive information about themselves to others and (b) interpreting the corresponding feedback from those people. She has been studying self-presentational processes in both clinical contexts and everyday interactions. Currently, she is assessing the role of the confidant (e.g., counselors or friends) in determining whether people benefit from revealing their negative, personal secrets. In addition, she has examined how keeping secrets from oneself, or engaging in thought suppression, may lead to problems for some people but may be an effective thought-control strategy for others. She has developed a model for when people should and should not reveal their secrets to various confidants.

Contact Information

108 Haggar Hall
631-7048
kelly.79@nd.edu