Sara Hodges
Biography
Dr. Hodges studies how people form an understanding of other people. She's interested in the role that the self, context, and other sources of information play in forming that understanding. One of her primary research interests is in people’s attempts to construct someone else’s perspective—when they are motivated to do this, how accurate they are, how strategies such as social comparison and projection are used in the process, and what consequences result from taking someone else's perspective. In another line of work, Dr. Hodges investigates social comparisons, with a focus on how people use information about themselves in making these comparisons. In her work, Dr. Hodges seeks to acknowledge both the cleverness and shortcomings of human cognitive strategies.
Dr. Hodges will be considering applications this year for new graduate students enrolling in Fall 2027.
Selected Publications:
Davis, M. H., Konrath, S., Breithaupt, F., Cameron, D., Decety, J., de Waal, F., Eisenberg, N., Hall, J., Hodges, S.D., Keen, S., Koopman-Holm, B., Maibom, H., Preston, S., Vorauer, J., Zaki, J. (in press). What we talk about when we talk about empathy: Toward a common lexicon of empathy-related constructs. Perspectives in Psychological Science.
Hoorens, V., Belletier, C., & Hodges, S.D. (2026). Hiking the hypothetical trail in two directions: How reversing the direction of comparisons can advance psychology. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 21, 383-409.
Vorauer, J.D., Hodges, S.D., & Hall, J.A. (2025). Empathic accuracy in person perception and metaperception: An integrative perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 76, 413-441.
Hodges, S. D., Kezer, M., Hall, J.A., & Vorauer, J. D. (2024). Exploring actual and presumed links between accurately inferring others’ minds and prosocial outcomes. Journal of Intelligence, 12 (2): Article 13.
Berlamont, L., Hodges, S. D., Sels, L., Ceulemans, E., Ickes, W., Hinnekens, C., & Verhofstadt, L. (2023). Motivation and empathic accuracy during conflict interactions in couples: It’s complicated! Motivation and Emotion, 47, 208-228.
Denning, K.R., & Hodges, S.D. (2022). When polarization triggers out-group "counter-projection" across the political divide. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48, 638-656.
Hodges, S.D., Denning, K.R., & Lieber, S. (2018). Perspective taking: Motivation and impediment to shared reality. Current Opinion in Psychology, 23, 405-410.
DesJardins, N. M. L., & Hodges, S. D. (2015). Reading between the lies: Empathic accuracy and deception detection. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6, 781-787. DOI: 10.1177/1948550615585829
Hodges, S.D., Lewis, K.L., & Ickes, W. (2015). The matter of other minds: Empathic accuracy and the factors that influence it. In P. Shaver, M. Mikulincer (Eds.), J.A. Simpson, & J. Dovidio (Assoc. Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology: Vol 2. Interpersonal relations and group processes (pp.319-348). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Christian, C., Lee, I., & Hodges, S.D. (2014). From East to West: Accessibility and bias in self-other comparative judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 1391-1405.
Lewis, K.L., Hodges, S.D., Laurent, S.M., Srivastava, S., & Biancarosa, G. (2012). Reading between the minds: The use of stereotypes in empathic accuracy. Psychological Science, 23, 1040-1046.
Hodges, S. D., Kiel, K. J., Kramer, A. D. I. K., Veach, D., & Villanueva, R. (2010). Giving birth to empathy: The effects of similar experience on empathic accuracy, empathic concern, and perceived empathy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 398-409.