My main research interests focus on self-regulation phenomena from the perspective of motivation as cognition. I am particularly interested in how the dynamic relation between goals and means within a particular goal-system, as well as between different goal-systems set in place in specific circumstances may influence one's course of action.

One intriguing aspect of self-regulation is that people are often unaware of the real motives driving their behavior. My research seeks to understand the unconscious aspect of self-regulation in terms of goal-means and inter-goal associations and to explore its implications for both normal (e.g., self-regulation of dieting behavior, consumer decision making) and abnormal behavior (e.g., risk taking and addiction).

Primary Interests:

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Health Psychology
Motivation, Goal Setting
Social Cognition

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Health Psychology

Motivation, Goal Setting
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Center for Addictions, Personality, and Emotion Research
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Desrichard, O., & Kopetz, C. (2005). A threat in the elder: The impact of task instructions and self-efficacy on memory performance in the elderly. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35(4), 537-552.
Kopetz, C., Faber, T., Fishbach, A., & Kruglanski, A. (2011). Multifinality constraints effect: How goal multiplicity narrows the means set to a focal end. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(5), 810-826.
Kopetz, C., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2008). Effects of accessibility and instantiation on the use of piecemeal and category information in impression formation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(5), 692-705.
Kopetz, C., Kruglanski, A. W., Arens, Z., Etkin, J., & Macrea Jonhson, H. (in press). A goal-systemic approach to consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology.
Kopetz, C., Kruglanski, A. W. Chen, X., & Orehek, E. (2008). Goal systemic effects in the context of choice and social judgment. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(6), 2071-2089.
Kopetz, C., Lejuez, C. W., Wiers, R., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2011). Motivation and self-regulation mechanisms in addiction: A call for convergence. Under review at Perspectives in Psychological Science
Kopetz, C., Pickover, A., Magidson, J., Richards, R., Iwamoto, D., & Lejuez, C. (2012). Gender and social rejection as risk factors for engagement in risky sexual behavior among crack cocaine users. Under review at Prevention Science.
Kopetz, C., Reynolds, E. K, Hart, C. L, Kruglanski, A. W., & Lejuez, C. W. (2010). Social context and perceived effects of drugs on sexual behavior among individuals who use both heroin and cocaine. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 18(3), 214-220.
Kruglanski, A. W., Belanger, J., Chen, X., Kopetz, C., Pierro, A., & Mannetti, L. (2012). The energetics of motivated cognition: A force field analysis. Psychological Review, 119(1), 1-20.
Kruglanski, A. W., Kopetz, C., Belanger, J., Chun, W. Y., Orehek, E., & Fishbach, A. (2011). Features of Multifinality. Invited resubmission at Personality and Social Psychology Review.

Other Publications:

Kruglanski, A. W., & Kopetz, C. (2010). Confronting the self-control challenge: Unpacking the dilemma and its modes of resolution. In R. Hassin, K. Ochsner, & Y. Trope (Eds.), Self-control (pp 297-311). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Kopetz, C. (2009). The role of goal-systems in self-regulation. In E. Morsella, J. A. Bargh, & P. M. Gollwitzer (Eds.), The psychology of action (Vol 2): The mechanisms of human action (pp. 350-367). Oxford University Press.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Kopetz, C. (2009). What is so special (and non-special) about goals? A view from the cognitive perspective. G. B. Moskowitz and H. Grant (Eds.), Goals (pp. 27-55). New York: Guilford Press.

Courses Taught:

Applied Cognitive Psychology
Experimental Psychology: Social processes
Goals Structure and Dynamics
Introduction to Social Psychology
Social Cognition

Applied Cognitive Psychology
Experimental Psychology: Social processes
Goals Structure and Dynamics

Introduction to Social Psychology
Social Cognition

Catalina Kopetz
Center for Addiction, Personality, and Emotion Research
Department of Psychology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
United States

Phone: (301) 405-7099
Fax: (301) 405-3223