Marina Milyavskaya
Professor
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Clusters:
Health
Ottawa, Ontario
marina.milyavskaya@carleton.ca
Office:
(613) 520-2600 ext. 7490
Bio/Research
Why are we successful in our pursuit of certain goals, but not others? Milyavskaya's research examines this question, looking at the contextual and individual factors that promote successful goal pursuit and attainment as well as the self-regulatory mechanisms implicated in this process.
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Bio/Research
Why are we successful in our pursuit of certain goals, but not others? Milyavskaya's research examines this question, looking at the contextual and individual factors that promote successful goal pursuit and attainment as well as the self-regulatory mechanisms implicated in this process.
In one line of research, Milyavskaya looks at the role of the domains in which the goal is set, and have found that people set more autonomous goals which they are then more likely to achieve in domains where they experience satisfaction of basic psychological needs (for autonomy, competence, and relatedness).
Another line of her research looks at the mechanisms through which autonomous goals are more likely to be attained by distinguishing between automatic and controlled processes and their effects on self-regulation. For example, when someone successfully maintains a healthy diet, is it because they are good at controlling their cravings for junk food, or is it because the cravings aren’t as strong and so less control is actually needed? In this line of research she is also interested in examining the obstacles that people encounter in pursuing their goals.
Other research interests include autonomy support, health behaviors, attachment, and well-being across the lifespan. Throughout my research I use methods from both social cognition (i.e. implicit measures) and personality psychology (e.g., longitudinal designs with repeated measures), as well as advanced statistical methodologies including multilevel and structural equation modeling.
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In one line of research, Milyavskaya looks at the role of the domains in which the goal is set, and have found that people set more autonomous goals which they are then more likely to achieve in domains where they experience satisfaction of basic psychological needs (for autonomy, competence, and relatedness).
Another line of her research looks at the mechanisms through which autonomous goals are more likely to be attained by distinguishing between automatic and controlled processes and their effects on self-regulation. For example, when someone successfully maintains a healthy diet, is it because they are good at controlling their cravings for junk food, or is it because the cravings aren’t as strong and so less control is actually needed? In this line of research she is also interested in examining the obstacles that people encounter in pursuing their goals.
Other research interests include autonomy support, health behaviors, attachment, and well-being across the lifespan. Throughout my research I use methods from both social cognition (i.e. implicit measures) and personality psychology (e.g., longitudinal designs with repeated measures), as well as advanced statistical methodologies including multilevel and structural equation modeling.
Click to Shrink <<