EMCOR Research Program

In collaboration with colleagues in Canada, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, and Australia, the Emotion, Motivation, and Control Research (EMCOR) laboratory studies how causal thinking shapes states-of-mind and psychological resilience throughout the lifespan. Our research focuses on agentic (control) beliefs and causal (explanatory) reasoning processes that regulate psychosocial mindsets and motivational mechanisms. This approach transects basic and applied research paradigms and embodies a disciplinary mix of psychology, gerontology, health, and the learning science. Within this metacognitive framework, our studies examine youth hindered by adverse learning conditions, older adults suffering physical and mental impairment, and marginalized groups stigmatized for their “differentness”.

This perspective rests on the premise that, in trying to make sense of life events and outcomes, people use causal reasoning to explain their life circumstances (causes, attributions, reasons). Grounded within a metacognitive framework, causal reasoning regulates cognitive, affective, motivational, and behavioral processes over the lifespan. Setbacks ascribed to controllable causes engender psychologically resilient mindsets; uncontrollable causes attributed to those same setbacks trigger helplessness mindsets. Taking this approach, we study how people account for hardships arising from psychosocial, health, and achievement challenges and the role such psychological mindsets have in life course adaptation.

For example, we examine youth struggling with personal challenges, adults dealing with psychological and physical disabilities, and people stigmatized for being ‘different’. Thus, despite psychological distress and repeated failure, our studies show that young adults who exhibit adaptive (controllable) mindsets persist in the face of adversity. Other studies show that older adults who ascribe health challenges to ‘old age’ (uncontrollable causes) have shorter lifespans than those who attribute the same problems to controllable causes such as poor diet and lack of exercise. Beyond this, our research addresses how prejudice and discrimination arise from people ascribing controllable (vs. uncontrollable) causes to stigmas such as obesity, poverty, or substance abuse.

Within this context, we designed cognitive-reframing interventions (Perry & Hamm, 2017; Perry et al., 2014) to change psychological mindsets associated with maladaptive causal reasoning that can be delineated by Causal Attribution Mapping (CAM) protocols (Dryden et al., 2023). These Attributional Retraining (AR) interventions target the cognitive structure of maladaptive reasoning by replacing self-defeating, dysfunctional (uncontrollable) causal attributions with adaptive (controllable) attributions. In turn, these controllable attributions ameliorate debilitating cognitive, affective, motivational, and behavioral outcomes. In failure-prone youth, for example, AR fosters positive changes in causal thinking and emotional well-being that in turn strengthen motivation, goal striving, and performance. These mindset-reframing interventions and causal-mapping protocols have spearheaded theoretical and methodological advances in emotional resilience, psychological well-being, and the stigmatizing of vulnerable populations.

Research evidence demonstrates AR interventions benefit young adults in their academic development several years post AR treatment as reflected in emotional well-being, goal-striving, course withdrawals, GPA, and years-to-graduation, among others. Similarly, people suffering the vicissitudes of old age adjust better to onerous life circumstances following an AR treatment. Thus, AR helps youth coping with failure, older adults encountering age-related cognitive and physical deficits, and the denigration of others for being different.

International Research Collaboration

The Emotion, Motivation and Control Research (EMCOR) laboratory (J. Chipperfield; R Perry) focuses on the interplay between human cognition, emotion, motivation, and adaptation, guided by the premise that causal reasoning is integral to people making sense of their life experiences. Controllable (vs uncontrollable) explanations of life events trigger diverse psychological developments that govern goal-striving, health, aging, and stigmatizing of others. EMCOR has been funded by the Royal Society of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Max Planck Foundation, and German Academic Exchange Program, among others. It collaborates in research networks with the following universities in Canada, USA, Great Britain, and Germany to study human diversity, adaptation, and lifespan development.

Human Motivation and Psychological Resilience Network Partners
USA (UCLA, Idaho State University, North Dakota State University); Germany (University of Augsburg, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Greifswald, University of Konstanz, Ulm University); Great Britain (University of Essex, University of Reading, University of Stirling); Austria (University of Vienna); Canada (McGill University, University of Alberta).

Health and Lifespan Development Network Partners
USA (University of California-Irvine, University of North Dakota); Germany (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Nuremberg); Canada (University of British Columbia, University of Victoria).

Prominent theorists among network partners afford cutting-edge research opportunities for the advancement of young scholars. The EMCOR networks give students a “window on the world” in professional contacts and career development, providing them with prospects to develop into skilled researchers and “next-generation” scientists. For example, Bernard Weiner (UCLA) is a leading social cognition theorist in motivation science; Jutta Heckhausen (University of California Irvine) is acclaimed for her motivation theory of lifespan development; and Reinhard Pekrun (Munich) is acknowledged for his theory of learning emotions.

In pursuing these opportunities, EMCOR students have secured 20 postdoctoral awards from national and international agencies that include the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Manitoba Health Research Council, the Killam Foundation, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Fellowship placements include UCLA (2), University of California-Irvine (2), Yale University, University of Alberta, Concordia University, Laval University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2), University of Nürnberg, and University of Manitoba (4).

Students’ employment following postdoctoral training have included University of Alberta, University of Manitoba (4), McGill University (3), University of Toronto, York University, Idaho State University, North Dakota State University, University of Maryland, and University of North Dakota (2), among others. Career awards comprise the President’s New Researcher Award (Canadian Psychological Association), Tier II Canada Research Chair (Social Science and Humanities Council of Canada), Rising Star Award (Association for Psychological Science), and New Researcher Award (American Educational Research Association), among others.

EMCOR research partners have been honored with international career awards during their network collaborations that include a University of Manitoba Honorary Doctorate to Bernard Weiner (2010, UCLA); a Canada Institutes of Health Career Investigator Award and a Mid-Career Research Award to Judith G. Chipperfield (2000, 2005; University of Manitoba); the Royal Society of Canada Konrad Adenauer and Alexander von Humboldt Scientist Awards to Raymond P. Perry (2013, 2014; University of Manitoba); and the Canada Council John G. Diefenbaker Award to Reinhard Pekrun (2015; Ludwig Maximilian University-University of Munich).

EMCOR Research Funding and Collaborations

EMCOR has been supported by grants from agencies in Canada, that include the Royal Society of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, National Health Research and Development Program, Manitoba Health Research Council, and Canada Council for the Arts. In Germany, research funding has been provided by the Max Planck Society, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German-American Academic Council Foundation Transcoop Program, and German-American Academic Council Foundation. Beyond agencies funding basic research, support has been received from organizations focused on societal issues and practical applications of basic research, including Employment and Immigration Canada, Secretary of State Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, and the Winnipeg Foundation, among others.