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| I am generally interested
in studying situations in which people fail
to attend to all of the relevant information
in their environment, and the reasons for
this neglect. In my primary area of study,
I am currently assessing how the restriction
of cognitive capacity associated with alcohol
intoxication affects the decision to engage
in risky behaviors. For example, I have been
studying how alcohol affects attitudes and
intentions to drink and drive or have sex
without a condom. When asked about their
intentions to drink and drive, or to have
intercourse without a condom, university
students typically report that they would
not engage in these behaviours. Accordingly,
one might expect that the incidence of these
health-risk behaviours would be relatively
low. Instead, the incidence continues to
be alarmingly high. The goal of my research
is to examine why people engage in these
behaviours that contradict their attitudes
and intentions, even when doing so can have
powerful negative consequences. Other
research interests include attitudinal ambivalence,
and the influence of romantic relationship
properties on health outcomes. |
