Welcome to the Self-Attitudes Lab!

Our lab uses diverse methods to study theoretical models that help to explain the variation in well-being and psychopathology we see both across people and within a given person based on context. The theory behind compassion-focused therapy (see Gilbert, 2005) has inspired a great deal of our research. We have examined shame and self-criticism as contributors to psychopathology, particularly eating disorders, and the role self-compassion and associated interventions play in preventing and alleviating psychopathology. Given the established benefits of self-compassion, our lab is currently interested in identifying the factors that influence self-compassion in daily life, e.g., the characteristics of the people we interact with, the behaviours we engage in, and so on. We are interested in testing our ideas in a range of populations who experience psychological distress (e.g., people with mental illness or other marginalized identities, people working in emotionally demanding professions, people navigating a profound loss). Through our research, we aim to inspire novel, implementable interventions and strategies that can support the self-compassion of individuals, groups, and organizations. Our greatest current interrelated research interests include:

• Social factors that support versus undermine self-compassion, and that heighten versus soften self-criticism;
• Behaviours in daily life that support versus undermine self-compassion, and that heighten versus soften self-criticism;
• Accessible interventions to support self-compassion in daily life;
• Ways of promoting self-compassion in individuals who are highly self-critical and fearful of self-compassion.

Funded by: