Research in the Morf lab explores issues at the interface of social and personality psychology. The overarching goal of the research program is to understand how people try to construct and maintain their desired self-concepts and how these efforts come to reflect their personalities. Thus, in this research personality is examined as a function of how individuals routinely select and interpret situations, and self-regulate to them. The mechanisms that unfold in this process can be both automatic and more effortful, and they take place either within the person (motivational, affective, cognitive) or in interpersonal interactions. To date, we have studied these processes primarily as they operate in individuals high in narcissism (defined here as a normal, non-pathological personality disposition). Because narcissists are overdependent on external sources for self-affirmation, their self-construction processes tend to be exaggerated and more easily observable.

This research thus makes a contribution both at the level of psychological theory, and has translational applied implications for psychological adjustment and mental health. It shows how and under which circumstances narcissistic self-regulatory attempts unravel and become harmful, potentially allowing interventions targeted at alleviating these harmful consequences. At the theoretical level, this research provides a new model for how to assess and clarify complex personality types and dispositions beyond narcissism. This research is being funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Praktikumsstellen
Für unsere laufenden Projekte sind wir stets auf der Suche nach Praktikanten und Praktikantinnen, die Einblick in die Forschung (Mitarbeit bei der Planung von Studien, Rekrutierung und Testung von Versuchspersonen, Datenauswertung) erhalten möchten. Bei Interesse an einem Forschungspraktikum in unserer Abteilung melden Sie sich bitte bei Susann Ochsenbein.