Richard Dienstbier
Office: 315 Burnett Hall
(402)472-3723
rdienstbier1@unl.edu

Dr. Dienstbier joined the department in 1969, after receiving his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Rochester. He teaches courses in motivation and emotion, human sexuality, and seminars in stress tolerance and emotion. He and his undergraduate and graduate researchers are interested in states that are relevant to major traits of personality.

"Consider anxiety. High trait anxiety means more frequently experiencing states of anxiety. But this is old hat. Should we think similarly about traits of extraversion or openness or conscientiousness? What would a state of openness be like? Will it decay quickly like a mood? Will becoming open in response to an appealing idea about butterflies make one open to others' religious values? (By the way, the answer to the last two questions is yes.) We are exploring new ways of thinking about personality."

Dr. Dienstbier's hobbies include travel, cats, photography and building almost anything.

Representative Publications:

Dienstbier, R.A. (1989). Arousal and physiological toughness: Implications for mental and physical health. Psychological Review, 96, 84-100.

Dienstbier, R.A. (1991). Behavioral correlates of sympathoadrenal reactivity: the toughness model. Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 23, 846-852.

Dienstbier, R.A. (1991). Nebraska symposium on motivation: Perspectives on motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Dienstbier, R.A. (1992). Mutual impacts of toughening on crises and losses. In L. Montada, S. Fillipp, & M.J. Lerner (eds.) Life crises and experiences of loss in adulthood (pp. 367-384). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.