E. Tory Higgins Explained

E. Tory Higgins
Birth Name:	Edward Tory Higgins
Birth Date:	12 March 1946
Field:	Social psychology, personality psychology, developmental psychology, social cognition, judgment and decision making, motivation science
Work Institutions:	Columbia University (1989-present) Columbia Business School (2002-present) New York University (1981–1989) University of Western Ontario (1977–1981) Princeton University (1972–1977)
Alma Mater:	McGill University Columbia University

Edward Tory Higgins (born March 12, 1946) is the Stanley Schachter Professor of Psychology and Business,^[1] and Director of the Motivation Science Center^[2] at Columbia University. Higgins' research areas include motivation and cognition, judgment and decision-making, and social cognition. Most of his works focus on priming, self-discrepancy theory, and regulatory focus theory. He is also the author of Beyond Pleasure and Pain: How Motivation Works,^[3] and Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence (with Heidi Grant Halverson).^[4]

Career

Higgins received a Joint Honors B.A. degree in sociology and anthropology from McGill University in 1967, an M.A. in social psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1968, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 1973. His early work included the study of priming and accessibility, through which social judgment is influenced through the unconscious activation of social categories.^[5] In 1981, He was employed by New York University, where he collaborated with fellow colleagues to reconstruct the social/personality psychology program. In 1989, Higgins returned to Columbia and assumed the role of Chair of the psychology department from 1994 to 2001.

At Columbia University, Higgins conducted a research on the science of motivation and self-regulation. He further developed his previous research on self-discrepancy theory, exploring the gaps individuals perceive between their actual selves and the standards set by their "ideal" or "ought" self-guides. Based on self-discrepancy theory, Higgins then developed regulatory focus theory, which posits two distinct self-regulatory systems for approaching goals: achieving gains (promotion) and avoiding losses (prevention).^[6] In 2000, Higgins developed regulatory fit theory, proposing that people experience fit when using means of goal pursuit that align with their regulatory orientation: vigilant or eager.^[7] Also in 2000, Higgins and Arie Kruglanski developed regulatory mode theory, which describes two complementary self-regulatory functions: assessment and locomotion.^[8] These theories have also informed the development of Higgins' model of motivational effectiveness, which posits that motivation comprises distinct drives for value (achieving desired end-states), truth (understanding what's real), and control (managing what happens). Higgins has also studied shared reality, the motivation to create shared feelings, beliefs, and concerns with others.^[9]

Selected awards

Higgins is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[10] He gave the University Lecture at Columbia University and received Columbia's Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching.^[11] He is a member of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Wall of Fame^[12] and was recently awarded the Ambady Award for Mentoring Excellence (Society for Personality and Social Psychology).^[13] Selected additional awards include:

• Lifetime Contribution Award (2005) from the International Society for Self & Identity^[14]
• Distinguished Scientist Award (2005) from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology^[15]
• Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions (2000) from the American Psychological Association^[16]
• William James Fellow Award (2000) from the Association for Psychological Science for distinguished achievements in psychological science^[17]
• Thomas M. Ostrom Award (1999) from the Person Memory Interest Group for outstanding contributions to social cognition^[18]
• Donald T. Campbell Award (1996) from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology for outstanding contributions to social psychology^[19]

Selected publications

Books

• Grant Halvorson, H., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Focus: Use different ways of seeing the world for success and influence. New York: Penguin Press.
• Higgins, E. T., (2012). Beyond pleasure and pain: How motivation works. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Edited books and monographs (Representative)

• Echterhoff, G., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (in press). Special issue of Current Opinion in Psychology: Shared reality. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2017). Special issue of Motivation Science: Interdisciplinary research in motivation science. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Van Lange, P., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2012), Handbook of theories of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2007). Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles, Second Edition. New York: Guilford.
• Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2004). Theory construction in social-personality psychology. Special issue of Personality and Social Psychology Review. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Higgins, E. T., & Kruglanski, A. W. (Eds.). (2000). Motivational science: Social and personality perspectives. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
• Sorrentino, R. M., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.). (1996). Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context. New York: Guilford.
• Levine, J. M., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.), (1995). The social context of cognition. Special issue of Social Cognition. New York: Guilford.

Journal articles and book chapters (Representative)

• Webb, C. E., Coleman, P. T., Tomasulo, L. R., Rossignac-Millon, M., & Higgins, E. T. (2017). Moving on or digging deeper: Regulatory mode and interpersonal conflict resolution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 621–641.
• Echterhoff, G., & Higgins, E. T. (2017). Creating shared reality in interpersonal and intergroup communication: The role of epistemic processes and their interplay. European Review of Social Psychology, 28, 175–226.
• Higgins, E. T. (2016). Shared-reality development in childhood. Perspectives On Psychological Science, 11, 466–495.
• Cornwell, J. F. M., Franks, B., & Higgins, E. T. (2014). Truth, control, and value motivations: The ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of approach and avoidance. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 8,194.
• Higgins, E. T., Cornwell, J. F. M., & Franks, B. (2014). "Happiness" and "The Good Life" as motives working together effectively. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Advances in Motivation Science, Volume 1 (pp. 135–180). New York: Academic Press.
• Echterhoff, G., Kopietz, R., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Adjusting shared reality: Communicators' memory changes as their connection with their audience changes. Social Cognition, 31, 162–186.
• Eitam, B., & Higgins, E. T. (2010). Motivation in mental accessibility: Relevance of a Representation (ROAR) as a new framework. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 951–967.
• Higgins, E. T., Cesario, J., Hagiwara, N., Spiegel, S., & Pittman, T. (2010). Increasing or decreasing interest in activities: The role of regulatory fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(4), 559–572.
• Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., & Levine, J. M. (2009). Shared reality: Experiencing commonality with others’ inner states about the world. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 496–521.
• Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., Kopietz, R., & Groll, S. (2008). How communication goals determine when audience tuning biases memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137(1), 3-21.
• Higgins, E. T., Echterhoff, G., Crespillo, R. & Kopietz, R. (2007). Effects of communication on social knowledge: Sharing reality with individual vs. group audiences. Japanese Psychological Research, 49, 89–99.
• Higgins, E. T. (2006). Value from hedonic experience and engagement. Psychological Review.
• Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., & Groll, S. (2005). Audience-tuning effects on memory: The role of shared reality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 257–276.
• Forster, J., Liberman, N., & Higgins, E. T. (2005). Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 220–239.
• Higgins, E. T., Idson, C. L., Freitas, A. L., Spiegel, S., & Molden, D. C. (2003). Transfer of value from fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1140–1153.
• Higgins, E. T. (2000). Making a good decision: Value from fit. American Psychologist, 55, 1217–1230.
• Higgins, E. T. (2000). Social cognition: Learning about what matters in the social world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 3-39.
• Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52, 1280–1300.
• Hardin, C. D., & Higgins, E. T. (1996). Shared reality: How social verification makes the subjective objective. In E. T. Higgins & R. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context (Vol. III). New York: Guilford Press.
• Higgins, E. T., Roney, C. J. R., Crowe, E., & Hymes, C. (1994). Ideal versus ought predilections for approach and avoidance: Distinct self-regulatory systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 276–286.
• Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.
• Higgins, E. T., Bargh, J. A., & Lombardi, W. (1985). The nature of priming effects on categorization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 11, 59–69.
• Higgins, E.T., King, G. A., & Mavin,G. H. (1982). Individual construct accessibility and subjective impressions and recall. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 35–47.
• Higgins, E.T., Rholes, W.S., & Jones, C.R. (1977). Category Accessibility and Impression Formation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 141–154.

See also

• Self-discrepancy theory
• Regulatory focus theory
• Regulatory mode theory

External links

• Columbia faculty page
• Higgins Lab website
• Motivation Science Center website
• Professional profile

Notes and References

1. Web site: E. Tory Higgins Department of Psychology. Columbia University. 2018-06-24.
2. Web site: Motivation Science Center Faculty & Staff. Columbia Business School. November 2013. 2018-06-24.
3. Book: Higgins, E. Tory. Beyond Pleasure and Pain: How Motivation Works. Oxford University Press. 2012. 9780199765829. New York.
4. Book: Focus by Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins. Penguin Press. 2013. New York.
5. Tory Higgins. E.. Rholes. William S.. Jones. Carl R.. 1977. Category accessibility and impression formation . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 13. 2. 141–154. 10.1016/s0022-1031(77)80007-3. 0022-1031.
6. Higgins. E. Tory. Shah. James. Friedman. Ronald. 1997. Emotional responses to goal attainment: Strength of regulatory focus as moderator . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. en. 72. 3. 515–525. 10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.515. 9120782. 1939-1315. 10.1.1.335.8458.
7. Higgins. E. Tory. 2000. Making a good decision: Value from fit . American Psychologist. 55. 11. 1217–1230. 10.1037/0003-066x.55.11.1217. 11280936 . 1935-990X.
8. Kruglanski. Arie W.. Thompson. Erik P.. Higgins. E. Tory. Atash. M. Nadir. Pierro. Antonio. Shah. James Y.. Spiegel. Scott. 2000. To "do the right thing" or to "just do it": Locomotion and assessment as distinct self-regulatory imperatives . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 79. 5. 793–815. 10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.793. 11079242. 1939-1315.
9. Web site: Shared reality: How social verification makes the subjective objective . 1996. APA PsycNET.
10. News: Professor Tory Higgins Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2007-09-13. Columbia Business School. 2018-06-24. en.
11. Web site: Professor Tory Higgins Wins Presidential Teaching Award. May 19, 2004. Columbia University.
12. Web site: Heritage Fund Initiative. www.foundationpsp.org. 2018-06-24.
13. Web site: Dr. E. Tory Higgins is the winner of the 2017 SPSP Ambady Award for Mentoring Excellence. Department of Psychology. psychology.columbia.edu. en. 2018-06-24.
14. Web site: Society of Self and Identity – Awards. www.issiweb.org. en. 2018-06-24.
15. Web site: Distinguished Scientists Award Recipients. SESP. en. 2018-06-24.
16. Web site: Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. American Psychological Association.
17. News: 2000 William James Fellow Award. Association for Psychological Science. 2018-06-24. en-US.
18. Web site: Thomas M. Ostrom Award. Person Memory Interest Group. 2018-06-24.
19. Web site: Donald T. Campbell Award. APA. 2018-06-24.