MOTIVATION RESEARCHER
EMILY J. HANGEN
RESEARCH
I investigate how the social context influences college students' motivation and health.
Specifically, I examine how competing against others, handling the stress of being evaluated by others, and managing expectations from others affects students' approach-avoidance motivation & well-being.
The aim of my work is to design interventions that optimize student motivation.
TEACHING
As an award-winning educator, I continue to update my teaching with evidence-based practices.
My teaching philosophy is guided by 3 aims:
1) facilitate student autonomous and approach-oriented motivation
2) encourage mastery of material and long-term learning
3) foster a learning environment that sparks interest and is inclusive.
RESOURCES
Want to perform your best in a stressful situation?
Stress reappraisal is a method that has been shown to help. Click to access a podcast episode from The Mental Well-Being College where I explain how to use stress to perform your best.
Want to measure the different kinds of high expectations parents are believed to hold for their students?
Use our short 9-question High Expectations for Academic Performance (HEAP) scale.
SHORT BIO
Hi Everyone! I am a Visiting Assistant Professor at Fairfield University and an Instructor at the Harvard Extension School. Previously I served as a College Fellow in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. I earned my Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology at the University of Rochester in 2019 where I was a Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull University Fellow, Teaching-as-Research Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. I received my Masters degree in Social-Personality Psychology from the University of Rochester in 2016 and my B.A. in Psychology with honors from the University of Chicago in 2013. In addition to spending my time as a scholar and teacher, I keep pace with my energic toddler son, I rejuvenate through trail running, and I indulge by eating cookie dough.
