The Trope Lab
New York University
Department of Psychology
6 Washington Place, Room 768
New York, NY 10003
ph. 212-998-7834
Our lab investigates the interrelations among cognition, motivation, and self-regulation in the social context. The research focuses on three sets of issues. The first concerns how people mentally transcend the “here and now.” What is it that enables people to see themselves in the past or future, in remote locations, in hypothetical situations, and through another person’s eyes? How spatially, temporally, and socially distant are the possibilities we envision? What are the consequences of psychological distance on each of these dimensions for prediction, decision making, and action?
The second set of issues concerns self control. The question is when and how people fail to do what they want while possessing the knowledge, skill, and opportunity that are required to do what they want. How do we—individuals or groups—(sometimes) manage to act in line with our overriding goals when faced with tempting alternatives? This research investigates the conscious and unconscious mechanisms that serve to resolve conflicts between people’s local, short-term concerns and their global, long-term concerns.
The third set of issues distinguishes between analytic and associative thinking and examines the role of affective states and personal desires on social judgment and decision making. The goal of this research is to understand the mechanisms that underlie stereotyping, confirmatory hypothesis-testing, and wishful thinking about ourselves and others.