James Y. Shah, Associate Professor of Psychology
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Associate Professor of Psychology |
Research Summary:
The last two decades have seen the increasing integration of two
formerly disparate research traditions in psychology, that of
motivation and cognition. Nowhere has the benefit of this new
synergy been more evident than in the study of the nature and
process of goal pursuit. In defining a future state of affairs to
approach or avoid, goals serve as motivational points of
reference for the fulfillment of regulatory needs. But goals are
also knowledge structures and, as such, follow many of the
same principles of acquisition, activation, change, and
organization that have been articulated in the extensive research
on knowledge representation. Our research examines goals from
both perspectives : It notes, for instance, the significance of
goals? regulatory function and accessibility for determining
emotional experience and attainment behavior as well as the
nature, determinants, and implications of goal structure. In
focusing on both the regulatory and epistemic nature of goal
pursuit, we have paid particularly close attention to the impact
of these different properties on subjective experience and
behavior.
We have recently begun to apply this "synergistic" approach to
an analysis of interpersonal phenomena, exploring how our
interactions and experiences with other individuals and groups
may often help us fulfill our own regulatory needs and to define
our social reality. Indeed, we have begun to amass compelling
evidence suggesting that how we feel about, and behave toward,
other individuals and groups may be significantly affected by our
needs for accomplishment, security and cognitive closure.
Thus, in broad sense, our approach has led us to consider the
independent and interactive effects of motivation and cognition
and to explore the implications for how we feel and act, both
with respect to our own pursuits and to the world around us.
Representative Publications: (More Publications)