The underlying theme of my research is to investigate the tools that give people control over their lives. People have a limited set of resources, such as time, effort, and money. Wisely investing these resources thereby becomes crucial for living a fulfilled life. However, when deciding on how to invest these resources, automatic biases and intuitions often suggest decisions that are not in one’s best interest, or might even run counter to important beliefs, such as the moral values people hold. Understanding such biases and intuitions enables the development of tools that allow people to control them. My research focuses on understanding both the automatic tendencies that underlie the investment of personal resources and the tools that help people to gain control over such tendencies.
Contact: a.kappes (at) ucl.ac.uk (email)
Publications
Oettingen, G., Ahn, J. N., Gollwitzer, P. M., Kappes, A., & Kawada, C. L. K. (in press). Goal projection and giving help. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Kappes, A., & Oettingen, G. (2014). The emergence of goal commitment: Mental contrasting connects future and reality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Merkt, J., Singmann, H., Bodenburg, S., Goossens-Merkt, H., Kappes, A., Wendt, M. & Gawrilow, C. (2013). Flanker performance in female college students with ADHD: a diffusion model analysis. ADHD
Kappes, A., Wendt, M., Reinelt, T. & Oettingen, G. (2013). Mental contrasting effects on the identification of obstacles. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Kappes, A. & Schikowski, A. L. (2013). Implicit theories about emotions shape responses to negative affect. Cognition and Emotion
Kappes, A. &, Oettingen, G. & Pak, H. (2012). Mental contrasting and the self- regulation of responding to negative feedback. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 38, 845-857.
Kappes, A., Singmann, H., & Oettingen, G. (2012). Mental contrasting instigates goal-pursuit by linking obstacles of reality with instrumental behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 811-818.