Among the topics we research are:
- the benefits of finding meaning in life and the identification of
interventions and ecological factors that contribute to meaning in life
- the interaction of personality and situational factors in impacting psychological distress and well-being
- social factors in the etiology and phenomenology of depression
- interactive processes in close relationships and their impact on relationships satisfaction and intimacy
- identifying the benefits of experiencing meaningful work;
understanding the qualities of organizations and leaders that attract
or cultivate people who experience meaningful work; developing
interventions to improve people's work experience, with an eye to how
improved work benefits families
A number of methods are used in our lab, including:
- questionnaires and interviews
- daily process methodologies
- qualitative narrative analysis
- social interaction laboratory experiments
- priming and reaction-time laboratory experiments
Our Laboratory's philosophy toward scientific inquiry
requires that we each invest fully in the intellectual development of
every lab member. This requires passion and commitment, and each person
in the lab is expected to contribute fully to the advancement of
scientific knowledge through critically consuming research literature,
creating and refining research ideas, conducting and managing
experiments, learning advanced data analysis procedures, and helping
disseminate the knowledge our lab generates to the wider scientific and
social community.
These ambitions are achieved through serious and
intense investment in the scientific grounding, critical thinking
skills, autonomy, and passions of lab members. Graduate students are
considered to be colleagues, and one of the prime missions of the lab
is to foster independent-thinking, skilled, and ethical social and
clinical scientists. It is our belief that through commitment and
engagement in students' intellectual passions and interests, research
becomes rewarding, socially-relevant, and fun!