Research Interests

My research is grounded in the personality processes of motivation and goal-regulation (Corr, 2008; Gray & McNaughton, 2000). People feel distress when two goals or impulses come into conflict. Distress promotes disengagement from the conflicted goal and subsides when a viable goal is pursued or the conflict is actively resolved. Goals focused on moving towards positive outcomes (i.e., approach-motivated goals) are particularly effective at regulating distress. Approach-motivated goals increase the salience of rewarding stimuli and decrease the salience of irrelevant, potentially obstructive stimuli. Conflict may also be resolved through self-control—the process in which thoughts, emotions, or impulses are inhibited to pursue a more focal goal.

From this perspective, I examine basic motivational and affective mechanisms of personality and self-regulatory processes. I have three related lines of research. First, I examine the nature of psychological threat and ideological convictions. Second, I examine individual differences in distress and conflict. Third, I examine social decision-making and self-control.