I study the development of self-regulatory actions across the life span, and how to best translate this research into programs that promote positive development. My research explores how people produce their development through striving for dynamic, unpredictable goals. For example, I study the actions people use to maximize gains from unexpected, positive events (which I term serendipitous actions) and the actions people use to minimize losses from expected shortcomings (which I term backup plans). You can download many of my publications here.

I was trained at Tufts University's Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development by Richard M. Lerner. At Tufts, I worked on the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development and Project GPS, a mentoring-based intervention to promote adolescent self-regulation. I am now an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology (Developmental Sciences and Counseling Psychology divisions) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am also a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Zurich, working with Alexandra M. Freund in the Developmental Psychology: Adulthood lab.

Photo: George Simian