Lynn Carol Miller
- SPN Mentor
I'm a Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and have a joint appointment in Psychology. Since I was an undergraduate, I have been interested in two things at the same time: How and in what ways people differ (my Ph.D. was in Personality Psychology), and how and in what ways people influence each other in close relationships. I've been very fortunate in often being able to pursue my theoretical ideas while addressing important social outcomes (e.g., health or education).
Currently, my research projects fall into three major groupings: (1) creating virtual agents with personality, (2) using interactive media to change risky behavior, and (3) evolutionary approaches to understanding mating differences and life outcomes (e.g., health, reproductive success). I have received over $8 million as Principle Investigator or Co-PI on numerous projects (most related to health outcomes), plus additional funds as a consultant on collaborative transdisciplinary projects.
Over the years my work has been recognized with several awards, including the Gerald R. Miller Early Career Award from the International Network of Personal Relationships, the Phi Kappa Phi Research Mentorship Award, and a Provost's Fellowship at the USC Center for Interdisciplinary Research.
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Close Relationships
- Communication, Language
- Culture and Ethnicity
- Evolution and Genetics
- Health Psychology
- Internet and Virtual Psychology
- Interpersonal Processes
- Person Perception
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
- Social Cognition
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Video Gallery
Socially Optimized Learning in Virtual Environments (SOLVE)
Select video to watch
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11:57 Socially Optimized Learning in Virtual Environments (SOLVE)
Length: 11:57
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11:09 Introducing Systematic Representative Design (SRD)
Length: 11:09
In this video, 9 of 11 coauthors describe what inspires them most about SRD and the future of social science. This paper was recognized as an outstanding contribution to communication science by the Communication Science and Biology Interest Group of ICA.
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2:14 Customizing an Avatar in the SOLVE Game
Length: 2:14
This is an introduction to the Socially Optimized Learning in Virtual Environments (SOLVE) game developed at the University of Southern California and funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This game effectively reduced shame and risk-taking for young men in a national study.
Books:
Journal Articles:
- Appleby, P. R., Marks, G., Ayala, A., Miller, L. C., Murphy, S., & Mansergh, G. (2005). Consideration of future consequences and unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men. Journal of Homosexuality, 50(1), 119-133.
- Collins, N., & Miller, L. C. (1994). Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 457-475.
- Kim, H. M., & Miller, L. C. (2020). Are insecure attachment styles related to risky sexual behavior? A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 39(1), 46-57.
- Miller, L. C. (1990). Intimacy and liking: Mutual influence and the role of unique relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 50-60.
- Miller, L. C., Cooke, L. L., Tsang, J., & Morgan, F. (1992). Should I brag? Nature and impact of positive and negative disclosures for women and men. Human Communication Research, 18, 364-399.
- Miller, L. C., Murphy, S. T., Clark , L. F., Hamburger, M., & Moore, J. (2004). Hierarchical messages for introducing multiple HIV prevention options: Promise and pitfalls. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16(6), 509-525.
- Miller, L. C., Pedersen, W. C., & Putcha-Bhagavala, A. (2005). Promiscuity in an evolved pair-bonding system: Mating within and outside the pleistocene box. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 290-291.
- Miller, L. C., Putcha-Bhagavatula, A. D., & Pedersen, W. C. (2002). Men’s and women’s mating preferences: Distinct evolutionary mechanisms? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 88-93.
- Miller, L. C., Shaikh, S. J., Jeong, D. C., Wang, L., Gillig, T. K., Godoy, C. G., Appleby, P. R., Corsbie-Massay, C. L., Marsella, S., Christensen, J. L., & Read, S. J. (2019). Causal inference in generalizable environments: Systematic representative design. Psychological Inquiry, 30(4), 173-202.
- Pedersen, W. C., Miller, L. C., Putcha, A. D., & Yang, Y. (2002). Evolved sex differences in the number of partners desired? The long and the short of it. Psychological Science, 13, 157-161.
- Read, S. J., & Miller, L. C. (2002). Virtual personalities: A neural network model of personality. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 357-369.
- Read, S. J., & Miller, L. C. (1993). Rapist or "regular guy": Explanatory coherence in the construction of mental models of others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 526-540.
- Read, S. J., Miller, L. C., Appleby, P. R., Nwosu, M. E., Reynaldo, S., Lauren, A., & Putcha, A. (2006). Socially optimized learning in a virtual environment: Reducing risky sexual behavior among men who have sex with men. Human Communication Research, 32(1), 1-34.
- Saul, J., Moore, J., Murphy, S. T., & Miller, L. C. (2004). Relationship violence and women’s reactions to male- and female-controlled HIV prevention methods. AIDS and Behavior, 8(2), 207-214.
Other Publications:
- Miller, L. C., & Fishkin, S. A. (1997). On the dynamics of human bonding and reproductive success: Seeking a window on the adapted-for-human-environmental interface (pp. 197-235). In J. Simpson & D. Kenrick (Eds.), Evolutionary Social Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Miller, L. C., & Read, S. J. (2006). Virtual sex: Creating environments for reducing risky sex. In S. Cohen, K. Portnoy, D. Rehberger, & C. Thorsen (Eds.), Virtual decisions: Digital simulations for teaching reasoning in the social sciences and humanities. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Courses Taught:
- Advanced Multivariate Methods and Statistics
- AIDS, Sex and Communication
- Communication and the Sexes
- Communication Methods
- Interpersonal Communication
- Introductory Research Methods
- Meta-Analysis in Health Communication
- Personality Psychology
- Social Psychology
Lynn Carol Miller
Annenberg School for Communication
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California 90089-0281
United States of America
- Phone: (310) 874-3402
