Allen M. Omoto earned his BA from Kalamazoo College and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is a Professor of Psychology in the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences and the Director of the Institute for Research on Social Issues at the Claremont Graduate University.

Professor Omoto is a social psychologist whose research interests include the social and psychological aspects of volunteerism, interpersonal relationships, HIV disease, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. He has an ongoing program of research on volunteerism and helping relationships, including a multi-year study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and a project funded by the Fetzer Institute. He also has extensive public policy experience, including helping found and administer a community-based AIDS organization and working in the US Congress as the American Psychological Association's inaugural William A. Bailey AIDS Policy Congressional Fellow.

At CGU, he supervises student research and teaches courses in social psychology, including Overview to Social Psychology, Psychology and Social Policy, Interpersonal Processes, and Sexuality and Gender. He is committed to conducting research that can make a difference in people's lives and to contributing to solutions to pressing social problems.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Close Relationships
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Interpersonal Processes
Motivation, Goal Setting
Self and Identity
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation

Applied Social Psychology
Close Relationships
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Interpersonal Processes

Motivation, Goal Setting
Self and Identity
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation

Research Group or Laboratory:

Institute for Research on Social Issues
Interactive Map

Books:

Journal Articles:

Kiviniemi, M. T., Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2002). Too many of a good thing? The effects of multiple motivations on task fulfillment, satisfaction, and cost. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 732-743.
Omoto, A. M., & Snyder, M. (2002). Considerations of community: The context and process of volunteerism. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 846-867.
Omoto, A. M., Snyder, M., & Martino, S. C. (2000). Volunteerism and the life course: Investigating age-related agendas for action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 181-198.
Stuermer, S., Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2005). Prosocial emotions and helping: The moderating role of group membership. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 532-546.

Other Publications:

Berscheid, E., Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2004). Measuring closeness: The Relationship Closeness Inventory (RCI) revisited. In D. J. Mashek & A. Aron (Eds.), Handbook of closeness and intimacy (pp. 81-101). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Omoto, A. M., & Aldrich, C. A. (2007). Retirement community life: Issues, challenges, and opportunities. In J. B. James & P. Wink (Eds.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics: The crown of life: Dynamics of the early post-retirement period (Vol. 26, pp. 283-303). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Omoto, A. M., & Malsch, A. M. (2005). Psychological sense of community: Conceptual issues and connections to volunteerism-related activism. In A. M. Omoto (Ed.), Processes of community change and social action (pp. 83-103). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Omoto, A. M., & Schlehofer, M. M. (2007). Volunteerism, religiousness, spirituality, and the health outcomes of older adults. In S. G. Post (Ed.), Altruism and health: Perspectives from empirical research (pp. 394-409). New York: Oxford University Press.
Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2007). Social action. In A. W. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: A handbook of basic principles (2nd ed., pp. 940-961). New York: Guilford Press.

Courses Taught:

Current Topics in Social Psychology
Gender and Sexuality
Grant Writing
Interpersonal Processes
Overview of Social Psychology
Psychology and Social Policy

Current Topics in Social Psychology
Gender and Sexuality
Grant Writing

Interpersonal Processes
Overview of Social Psychology
Psychology and Social Policy

Allen M. Omoto
School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences
Claremont Graduate University
123 East Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711
United States

Phone: (909) 607-9004
Fax: (909) 621-8905