This week I’m thrilled to welcome Mark Leary, Ph.D. to The Psychology Podcast! Dr. Leary is the Garonzik Family Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and author of The Curse of the Self. His research interests focus on social motivation and emotion, and on processes involving self-reflection and self-relevant thought. He has written or edited 12 books and over 200 scholarly articles and chapters. He was the 2010 recipient of the Lifetime Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity and a 2015 co-recipient of the Scientific Impact Award from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. During our chat we covered a number of mutual research interests including: - Self-esteem, identity and their relationships to behavior - The distinction between “instrumental social value” and “relational social value” - The human need for belonging - The concept of “self-presentation strategies” and their variations: Imposter syndrome Self-promotion Exemplificaiton Ingratiation - The difference between egoism and egotism