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General Interests
"Much of my research to date has advanced a reactive approach motivation model of anxiety regulation. We find that people attempt to alleviate anxiety by promoting goals and ideals, which can take the form of commitment to personal projects, hardening political and religious ideologies, or even engaging in risky behaviors. This has allowed me to employ theory and method from a wide range of fields, from social and personality psychology to behavioral economics to social cognitive neuroscience.
I am also interested in exploring the personal and situational determinants of cooperative behavior, which involves applying motivation science to social dilemmas. I also explore basic questions in motivation, such as which human values provide for the satisfaction of basic psychological needs?"
Years at Knox: 2012 to present
Education
Ph.D. Student, Social/Personality Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia.
M.A., Social/Personality Psychology, 2010, York University.
B.A., Philosophy and Psychology, 2008, Knox College.
Teaching Interests
Motivation, personality, statistics.
Honors/Grants
Graduate Professional Council Travel Award, University of Missouri, 2011.
Robert S. Harper Prize for Graduate Study in Psychology, Knox College, 2008.
David R. Arnold Undergraduate Research Award, Knox College, 2008.
Psychophysiology Research Equipment Grant, Knox College Neuroscience Department, 2008.
Merritt H. Moore Prize in Philosophy, Knox College, 2007.
Richter Memorial Research Grant, Knox College, 2007.
Ford Summer Research Fellowship, Ford Foundation, 2007.
McNair Summer Research Fellowship, Ronald McNair Program, 2006.
Publications
"A Goal Regulation Account of Radicalization: Experimental Evidence and Preliminary Ideas for Policy and Strategic Intervention." Ferriday, C., Nash, K. A., Prentice, M., & McGregor, I. Technical Memorandum, Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Ontario, In press.
"Anxious Uncertainty and Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religious, Idealistic, and Lifestyle Extremes." McGregor, I., Prentice, M., & Nash, K. Journal of Social Issues, In press.
"Neural Foundations of Meaning and Threat." Tullett, A.M., Prentice, M., Teper, R., Nash, K., Inzlicht, M., & McGregor, I. In K. Markman, T. Proulx, & M. Lindberg (Eds.) The Psychology of Meaning. American Psychological Association (2013).
"Approaching Relief: Compensatory Ideals Relieve Threat-Induced Anxiety by Sustaining Approach Motivated States." McGregor, I., Prentice, M., & Nash, K. Journal of Social Cognition 30 (2012): 689-714.
"Religious Zeal after Goal Frustration." McGregor, I., Nash, K., & Prentice, M. In M.A. Hogg & D.L. Blaylock (Eds.) Extremism and the Psychology of Uncertainty. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
"Threat and Defense as Goal Regulation: From Implicit Goal Conflict to Anxious Uncertainty, Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM,) and Ideological Extremism." Nash, K., McGregor, I., & Prentice, M. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101 (2011): 1291-1301.
"Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religion. McGregor, I., Nash, K., & Prentice, M. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 99 (2010): 148-161.
"Personal Uncertainty Management by Reactive Approach Motivation." McGregor, I., Prentice, M., & Nash, K. A. Psychological Inquiry 20 (2009): 225-229.
Presentations
"Insecurity and Reactive Approach Motivation for Superstition and Religion." Prentice, M., Nash, K., Ferriday, C., & McGregor, I. 24th Annual Convention for the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, Illinois, 2012.
"Examining the Links Between Human Values and the Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs Around the Globe." Social and Personality Area Meeting, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 2012.
"Behavioral Priming Effects are Moderated by Matching Motivational Orientations: Values, Goal-Priming, and Cooperative Behavior." Prentice, M., & Sheldon, K. 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, California, 2012.
"Meaningful Relief from Anxiety: Neural Evidence that God Works Better than Chocolate." McGregor, I., Nash, K., & Prentice, M., Hirsh, J.B., & Inzlicht, M. 13th Annual Meeting of the Society For Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, California, 2012.
"Securely Attached People are Buffered from Threat-Caused Distress: Neural Evidence." Nash, K., Inzlicht, M., Hirsh, J., Prentice, M., & McGregor, I. 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, California, 2012.
"Motives and Behavioral Primes in the Prediction of Successful Resource Dilemma Behavior." Social and Personality Area Meeting, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, 2011.
"Understanding Competitive and Cooperative Problem Solving in Meta-team Situations." Filardo, E., Prentice, M., Febbraro, A., Blais, A-R., Fraser, B., Spiece, R. Technology Investment Fund Meeting, Defense Research and Development Canada, Toronto, Ontario, 2010.
"Hope for Dialogue? Can Empowered Personal Goals Relieve Idealistic Inflexibility?" McGregor, I., Nash, K.A., Prentice, M., & Ferriday, C. Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Justice Research, Banff, AB, 2010.
"Priming an Alternative to a Threatened Goal Prevents Defensiveness." Prentice, M., Nash, K.A., & McGregor, I. Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2010.
Campus & Community Involvement
Associate Member, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2008-present.
Associate Member, Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology, 2006-present.
Volunteer, Grass Roots Organizing (GRO), Columbia, Missouri, 2012.
Student Member, Scholarly Communications and Web Committee, Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 2011-2012.
Student Coordinator, York University Social/Personality Psychology Weekly Colloquium, 2009-2010.
Volunteer Instructor, Knox County Jail, Galesburg, Illinois, 2008.
Associate Member, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, 2006-2008.
President/Associate Member, Mortar Board College Senior Honor Society, Knox College Adelphi-Gnouthautii Chapter, 2006-2008.
Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity, Forestbrook, South Carolina and Galesburg, Illinois, 2006-2007.
Contact
309-341-7334
mprentic@knox.edu
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