Angela Duckworth | University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychology

Assistant Professor

Department:

Psychology

Education:

BA, Neurobiology, Harvard University; Ph.D., Psychology, University of Pennsylvania

Address:

Positive Psychology Center, 3701 Market St, Room 215

Phone:

215-898-1339

Email:

duckwort@psych.upenn.edu

Personal Page

Research Themes:

Developmental Psychology

Positive Psychology

Specific Research Areas:

Grit; Self-Control

Research Synopsis:

I study competencies other than general intelligence that predict academic and professional achievement. My research centers on self-control (the ability to regulate emotions, thoughts, and feelings in the service of valued goals) and grit (perseverance and sustained interest in long-term goals). I am particularly interested in the subjective experience of exerting self-control and grit – and conscious strategies which facilitate adaptive behavior in the face of temptation, frustration, and distraction.

Dr. Duckworth will be accepting new graduate students for admission in fall 2012.

Representative Courses:

Psych 364: Research Experience in Personality Psychology
MAPP 601: Research Methods

Appointments:

Psychology Graduate Group

Advisees:

Lauren Eskreis-Winkler [Psychology Graduate Student]
Peggy Kern [Post-doc]
Young Kim [Post-doc]
Eli Tsukayama [Psychology Graduate Student]

Representative Publications:

Almlund, M., Duckworth, A., Heckman, J., & Kautz, T. (in press). Personality psychology and economics. In E.A. Hanushek, S. Machin & L. Wößmann (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of education. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Kross, E., Duckworth, A.L., Ayduck, O., Tsukayama, E., & Mischel, W. (in press). Differential effects of self-distanced vs. self-immersed reflection for affect and cognition among children. Emotion.

Duckworth, A.L. & Kern, M.L. (2011). A meta-analysis of the convergent validity of self-control measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 35(3), 259-268.

Duckworth, A.L. (2011). The significance of self-control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2639-40.

Duckworth, A., Grant, H., Loew, B., Oettingen, G. & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2011). Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 31(1), 17-26.

Duckworth, A. L., Quinn, P. D., Lynam, D. R., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2011). Role of test motivation in intelligence testing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(19), 7716-20.

Duckworth, A., Kirby, T., Tsukayama, E., Berstein, H., Ericsson, K. (2010). Deliberate practice spells success: Why grittier competitors triumph at the National Spelling Bee. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 174-181.

Duckworth, A.L., Tsukayama, E. & May, H. (2010). Establishing causality using longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling: An illustration predicting achievement from self-control. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 1(4), 311-317.

Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., & Kelly, D.R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101.

Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16(12), 939-944.