I'm very interested in the interaction between conscious and unconscious processes. In recent years, evidence has been mounting in favor of the view that most of people's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are driven by unconscious processes of which people are largely unaware. My research is aimed at addressing some of the questions that follow from this recent trend in psychological science: What is conscious thought used for? How do unconscious processes influence the way people think? How do conscious thoughts influence people's emotions and the decisions they make?
Goal pursuit, motivation, and self-regulation
When people's goals are unfulfilled, thoughts about these goals tend to seep into their conscious awareness and occupy their minds. I'm currently looking at this relationship between goal frustration/failure and the conscious activation of goals. Furthermore, I’m examining how goals (and one’s thoughts about them) affect goal pursuit, self-regulation, emotions, motivation, and decision making.
Decision-Making
I'm currently studying the effect of physiological resources on decision-making. In one line of work I am looking at the idea that effortful decision-making strategies rely on glucose as a limited resource. In addition, I am studying the relationship between hunger/satiety and the desire for monetary and material resources.
Perceptions of Free Will
My work on free will involves manipulating people's perceptions of free will and observing the effects of such manipulations on subsequent behaviors.
|
|
