Welcome to Jennifer Crocker’s Self and Social Motivation Lab website!
Dr. Jennifer Crocker, Ph.D.
In the Self and Social Motivation Lab at OSU, we study interpersonal goals that reflect egosystem and ecosystem motivation, and their correlates, antecedents, and consequences for learning, self-regulation, relationships, and mental and physical health. We focus on self-image goals, which aim to manage how others view the self; and compassionate goals, which take into consideration the needs and well-being of other people in addition to the self. We examine how these goals shape intrapersonal processes such as cognition, emotions, beliefs, and physiology, and interpersonal processes such as support, responsiveness, and relationship quality. The laboratory is directed by Jennifer Crocker, Ph.D., and located in Lazenby Hall at the Ohio State University.
We study these processes using a variety of research methods, including laboratory experiments, longitudinal studies that investigate the dynamic processes through which goals shape what people experience and how they behave, dyadic studies exploring how these goals affect other people, and survey studies examining the relation of compassionate and self-image goals to other constructs.
This site is intended to provide useful information to students, researchers, and anyone interested in how interpersonal goals can foster or undermine well-being. If you would like information beyond what the website provides, feel free to contact Jennifer Crocker, Ph.D. at crocker.37@osu.edu