Ashley B Allen, Graduate Student    Edit

Research Summary:
I am broadly interested in self-processes, particularly self-presentation and self-compassion. In particular, I am studying whether or not people have different self-presentation composites that they reserve for specific situations and people. For instance, the self-presentation profile that I show my mother will be different from the profile I display when socializing with my best friend. I am also interested in how people's self-compassionate responses can assist them in weathering the daily struggles of life. I would like to pursue some research testing whether or not training people to be more self-compassionate may be more effective and more plausible than training them to have higher self-esteem. A newer concept that we have been exploring in the lab is the topic of egoic overreactions. Egoic overreactions are simply the extent to which people overreact to situations that have little or no practical implication. Why are these reactions equal to and sometimes greater than those where a practical implication really is involed? How do you control egoic overreactions? What are its short-term and long-term effects? These are just some of the questions we are attempting to answer. While I love designing studies and running experiments, the most exciting and fulfilling aspect of the research process is certainly data analysis. One of my primary goals is to learn the many different techniques that exist for analyzing data.

Representative Publications:   (search)

1. Leary, M. R., Tate, E. B., Adams, C. E., Allen, A. B., & Hancock, J (in press). Self-compassion, self-esteem, and reactions to negative events: The implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.