I joined the faculty in 2006 as an Assistant Professor of Psychology.  I conduct basic research on motivation, social cognition, and judgment and decision-making.  I am interested in the psychological processes that underlie successful self-regulation and goal pursuit.  Specifically, I focus on addressing the question of why people knowingly make decisions that undermine their values and goals.  For example, why do dieters persist in eating high-calorie foods?  Why do consumers spend more than they know they can afford?  My research examines both individual and situational factors that influence such decisions, such as how abstractly or concretely people represent or construe a particular event.  The goal of my work is to help create diagnostic tools for identifying those most likely to struggle with these decisions, and to improve existing interventions.