Areas of Interest: My primary area of interest is self-control. I am interested in how people set and reach goals that they set for themselves as well as the effects of reaching or not reaching these goals. I am especially interested in factors that may contribute to the breakdown of self-control. I have been working on a model of self-control that suggests self-control draws upon a limited resource or strength. People who are lower in self-control strength due to prior self-control demands tend to perform more poorly on tests of self-control than people who have more self-control strength. In addition, practicing self-control may increase this strength, resulting in a general improvement in self-control performance. Specific areas of interest follow.
- Self-Control and Self-Regulation
- Theories of Emotions -- especially the regulation of emotions and the role emotions in directing behaviorand Emotion Regulation
- Addictions -- particularly the role of self-control and emotions in moderating excessive drinking