Home | CV | Research | Courses
	Ian McGregor: CV

Academic History

2004-present: Associate Professor, York University

1999-2004: Assistant Professor, York University

1998-1999: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Northwestern University

Research Topic: Personality, Personal Goals, and Identity

1994-1998: PhD Social Psychology, University of Waterloo

Dissertation: An Identity Consolidation View of Social Phenomena

1992-1994: MA Psychology, Carleton University

Thesis: Personal Projects, Meaning, and Well-Being

1989-1992: BA Psychology, Carleton University

1985-1986: Philosophy and Comparative Religion Electives, Carleton, Ottawa, and St. Paul’s Universities

1983-1988: BSc Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph

Research Grants and Awards

2008-2011: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($51,076)

Title: Religious Extremism: Causes and Goal Regulation Mechanisms

2004-2008: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($81,217)

Title: Defensive Uncertainty Management and Self-Esteem

2001-2008: Annual Faculty of Arts Merit Award (6 times), York University

2000-2004: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($68,000)

Title: Identity Dynamics and Inter-Group Hostility

1999: J. S. Tanaka Dissertation Award

1998-1999: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship ($61,000)

1994-1998: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship ($45,000)

Journal Articles

McGregor, I., Nash, K. A., & Prentice, M. (in press). Reactive approach motivation (RAM) for religion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Randles, D., Flett, G. L., Nash, K. A., McGregor, I., Hewitt, P. L. (in press). Dimensions of perfectionism, behavioral inhibition, and rumination. Personality and Individual Differences.

McGregor, I. Nash, K. A., & Mann, N., & Phills, C. (in press). Anxious uncertainty and reactive approach motivation (RAM). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Nash, K. A., McGregor, I., & Inzlicht, M. (in press). Line bisection as a neural marker of approach motivation. Psychophysiology.

Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., McGregor, I., & Nash, K. (2010). Religious belief as compensatory control. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 37-48.

McGregor, I., Prentice, M., & Nash, K. A. (2009). Personal uncertainty management by reactive approach motivation. Psychological Inquiry, 20, 225-229.

Inzlicht, M., McGregor, I., Hirsh, J. B., Nash, K. A. (2009). Neural markers of religious conviction. Psychological Science, 20, 385-392.

McGregor, I., Nash, K. A., & Inzlicht, M. (2009). Threat, high self-esteem, and reactive approach motivation: Electroencephalographic evidence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1003-1007.

Nail, P.R. & McGregor, I. (2009). Conservative shift among liberals and conservatives following 9/11/01. Social Justice Research, 22, 231-240.

Nail, P.R., McGregor, I., Drinkwater, A., Steele, G., & Thompson, A. (2009). Threat causes liberals to think like conservatives. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 901-907.

Schmeichel, B. J., Gailliot, M. T., Filardo, E-A., McGregor, I., Gitter, S., & Baumeister, R. F. (2009). Terror management theory and self-esteem revisited: The roles of implicit and explicit self-esteem in mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 1077-1087.

McGregor, I., Haji, R., & Kang, S-J. (2008). Can ingroup affirmation relieve outgroup derogation? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1395-1401.

McGregor, I., Haji, R., Nash, K. A., & Teper, R. (2008). Religious zeal and the uncertain self. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30, 183-188.

McGregor, I., Gailliot, M. T., Vasquez, N., Nash, K. A. (2007). Ideological and personal zeal reactions to threat among people with high self-esteem: Motivated promotion focus. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1587-1599.

McGregor, I. & Jordan, C. H. (2007). The mask of zeal: Low implicit self-esteem, and defensive extremism after self-threat. Self and Identity, 6, 223-237.

McGregor, I. (2006). Offensive defensiveness: Toward an integrative neuroscience of compensatory zeal after mortality salience, personal uncertainty, and other poignant self-threats. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 299-308.

McGregor, I., McAdams, D. P., & Little, B. R. (2006). Personal projects, life stories, and happiness: On being true to traits. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 551-572.

McGregor, I. (2006). Zeal appeal: The allure of moral extremes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 28, 343-348.

McGregor, I., Nail, P. R., Marigold, D. C., & Kang, S-J. (2005). Defensive pride and consensus: Strength in imaginary numbers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 978-996.

McGregor, I. & Marigold, D. C. (2003). Defensive zeal and the uncertain self: What makes you so sure? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 838-852.

Newby-Clark, I. R., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2002). Thinking and caring about cognitive inconsistency: When and for whom does attitudinal ambivalence feel uncomfortable? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 157-166.

McGregor, I., Zanna, M. P., Holmes, J. G., & Spencer, S. J. (2001). Compensatory conviction in the face of personal uncertainty: Going to extremes and being oneself. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 472–488.

McGregor, I. & Holmes, J.G. (1999). How storytelling shapes memory and impressions of relationship events over time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 403-419.

McGregor, I. & Little, B.R. (1998). Personal projects, happiness, and meaning: On doing well and being yourself. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 494-512.

Book Chapters

McGregor, I. (in press). Ambivalence. In I. Weiner & E. Craighead (Eds.). Corsini’s Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4^th Edition. John Wiley and Sons.

McGregor, I. (in press). Extremism. In I. Weiner & E. Craighead (Eds.). Corsini’s Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4^th Edition. John Wiley and Sons.

Marigold, D. C., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2010). Defensive conviction as emotion regulation: Goal mechanisms and relationship implications. In R. M. Arkin, K. C. Oleson, & P. J. Carroll (Eds.). The Uncertain Self: A Handbook of Perspectives from Social and Personality Psychology (pp. 232-248). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

McGregor, I. (2007). Zeal. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, Vol. 2, pp. 1017-1018. Newbury Park: Sage.

McGregor, I. (2007).  Personal projects as compensatory convictions: Passionate pursuit and the fugitive self.  In B. R. Little, K. Salmela-Aro & S. D. Phillips (Eds.), Personal project pursuit: Goals, action and human flourishing (pp. 171-195).  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Newby-Clark, I. R., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Ambivalence and accessibility: The consequences of accessible ambivalence. In S. C. Craig & M. D. Martinez (Eds.), Ambivalence and the structure of political opinion (pp. 33-54). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

McGregor, I. (2004). Zeal, identity, and meaning: Going to extremes to be one self. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology (pp. 182-199). New York: Guilford.

McGregor, I. (2003). Defensive zeal: Compensatory conviction about attitudes, values, goals, groups, and self-definition in the face of personal uncertainty. In S. Spencer, S. Fein, & M. Zanna (Eds.), Motivated social perception: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 9, pp. 73-92). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

McGregor, I., Newby-Clark, I.R., & Zanna, M.P. (1999). "Remembering" dissonance: Simultaneous accessibility of inconsistent cognitive elements moderates epistemic discomfort . In E. Harmon-Jones & J. Mills (Eds.), Cognitive dissonance: Perspectives on a pivotal theory in Social Psychology (pp. 325-353). Washington, DC: APA.

Journal Editorial Boards

European Journal of Social Psychology (Editor, Russell Spears)

Social Influence (Editor, Kip Williams)

Social Psychological and Personality Science (Editor, Vincent Yzerbyt)

Ad Hoc Journal Reviewing

Basic and Applied Social Psychology

European Journal of Social Psychology

International Review of Social Psychology

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Motivation and Emotion

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Personality and Social Psychology Review

Psychological Science

Self and Identity

Social Cognition

Social Justice Research

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Graduate Teaching

2009, 2006, Personality Processes and the Social Self, 6173

2009-2001, Social/Personality Psychology Pro-seminar, 6400 (Team-Taught)

2007, Social Research Methods, 6150 (Co-Taught)

2006, 2003, 2001, Social Psychology, 6410

2003, Personality Psychology, 6510

Undergraduate Teaching

1999-2009, Personality Psychology, 2130

2001, Personality Research Seminar, 4140

1994, 1996, Social Psychology

Recent Research Talks

McGregor, I., Nash, K. A., & Prentice, M. (2009, November). Compensatory conviction as palliative goal regulation: Aversive uncertainty, uncertainty aversion, and reactive approach-motivation. Paper presented at the Uncertainty and Extremism Conference, Los Angeles, CA

McGregor, I., (2009, October). Extreme relief: Threat and reactive approach motivation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. Portland, ME.

Inzlicht, M., McGregor, I., & Hirsh, J. B. (2009, May). Belief in God predicts lower anterior cingulate cortex activity. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA.

McGregor, I. (2009, May). Reactive approach motivation for religion: The eager chase of a transcendent tale. Keynote paper presented at the annual meeting of York University of Toronto Social Personality Area Conference. Toronto, ON.

McGregor, I. (2009, February). Neural and motivational mechanisms of extremism. Symposium chaired at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Tampa, FL.

McGregor, I. & Nash, K. A. (2009, February). Neural and motivational mechanisms of religious extremism. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Tampa, FL.

Nash, K. A. & McGregor, I. (2009, February). Uncertainty threat as goal disruption and extremism as goal regulation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Tampa, FL.

McGregor, I. (2008, November). Threat, self-esteem, and extremes: An EAGER view. Invited paper presented at the Department of Psychology, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

McGregor, I. & Jordan, C. H. (2008, October). Implicit is as implicit does: A goal regulation view of self-esteem. Invited paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Sacramento, CA.

McGregor, I. (2008, September). Ideological and religious extremism: Motivational and neural mechanisms. Invited public address sponsored by Sage Publications and the Foundation for Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Washington, DC.

McGregor, I. & Nash, K. A. (2008, June). Religious extremism: Causes and goal-regulation mechanisms. Invited paper presented at the Social Personality Pre-Conference of the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Halifax, NS.

McGregor, I. & Nash, K. A. (2008, April). Religious zeal after goal frustration. Invited paper at the Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology: Uncertainty and the Psychology of Extremism, Claremont, CA

McGregor, I. (2007, April). Ideological zeal: Why do people go to extremes? Invited paper at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Fort Worth, TX.

Jordan, C. H. & McGregor, I. (2007, January). The mask of zeal: Low implicit self-esteem and defensive extremism. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Nashville, TN

McGregor, I. (2006, November). Defensive promotion-focus: Approaching zeal to quell distress. Paper presented at the Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON.

McGregor, I. & Jordan, C. H. (2006, October). Offensive defensiveness: Approaching zeal after self-threats. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Philadelphia, PA.

McGregor, I. (2006, October). Defensive promotion-focus: Toward an integrative neuropsychology of zeal after self-threats. Invited paper presented at the Self and Identity Pre-Conference of the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Philadelphia, PA.

Filardo, E. -A., McGregor, I., & Kohn, P. M. (2006, May). Defensive self-esteem: A moderator for reactions to mortality salience? Paper presented at the 78^th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Il.

McGregor, I. (2006, January). Defensive zeal: Motivated cerebral hemisphericity for regulatory non-fit? Paper presented at the 18^th annual Social Psychology Winter Conference, Park City, Utah.

McGregor, I. (2005, September). Understanding zeal: Toward the cerebral hemisphericity of defensive approach motivation. Paper presented at the Department of Psychology, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, ON.

McGregor, I. & Nail, P. R. (2005, July). Defensive pride and zeal after various self-threats: Why do people go to extremes? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychologists, Wurzburg, Germany.

McGregor, I. (2005, June-July). Defensive pride and zeal after various self-threats? Paper presented at: a) Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands; b) Blaise Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand, France; c) INSEAD University, Fontainbleau, France, d) Rene Descartes University of Paris-V, France.

McGregor, I. (2005, January). Myopic solutions for bewildered selves: Beer, zeal, and implicit self-esteem. Invited paper presented at the Self-and Identity Pre-Conference of the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans.

McGregor, I. (2004, November). Pride and zeal myopia: Self affirmation as repression. Paper presented at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON.

McGregor, I. (2004, October). Myopic solutions for bewildered selves. Invited paper presented at the Self and Identity Pre-Conference of the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Dallas.

McGregor, I. (2004). Implicit self-esteem and zeal appeal. Paper presented at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

McGregor, I., Marigold, D. C., Kang, S. –J., Haji, R. (2004, June). Consensual zeal after self-threats: Strength in imaginary numbers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, St. John’s.

Kang, S. -J., Haji, R., & McGregor, I. (2004, June). If my group’s okay, then your group’s okay, too: Affirming personal group memberships reduces intergroup bias. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, St. John’s.

McGregor, I. & Haji, R. (2003, February). Conviction and zeal appeal: Escaping from self-threats by going to extremes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Los Angeles.

McGregor, I. & Tetlock, P. E. (2003, February). Defensive zeal and self-affirmation: Why do people go to extremes? Symposium chaired at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Los Angeles.

McGregor, I. (2002, October). Compensatory conviction as repression: Masking personal uncertainties with defensive zeal. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Columbus.

Newby-Clark, I., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2002, February). Parallels between ambivalence and cognitive dissonance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah.

McGregor, I. (2001, August). Defensive zeal and the quest for meaning: Compensatory conviction about attitudes, values, goals, groups, and self-definition in the face of personal uncertainty. Paper presented at the Experimental Existential Psychology conference, Amsterdam.

McGregor, I. (2001, June). Compensatory conviction. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the American Psychological Society, Toronto.

McGregor, I. (2001, June). Defensive closed-mindedness and self-affirmation theory. Symposium chaired at the annual meeting for the American Psychological Society, Toronto.

McGregor, I. (2001, May). Compensatory conviction and self-esteem: Who masks uncertainty with zeal? Paper presented at the annual meeting for the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago.

McGregor, I. (2001, March). Defensive zeal and self-esteem: Conviction in the face of uncertainty. Paper presented at the Department of Psychology, University of Toronto.

McGregor, I. (2000, May). Conviction in the face of uncertainty: Going to extremes and being oneself. Invited paper presented at the 9th Ontario Symposium: Motivated Social Perception, Waterloo, ON.

McGregor, I. (2000, February). Personal projects, life-stories, and well-being: The benefits of acting and being true to one's traits. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Nashville.

Newby-Clark, I. R., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2000, February). Ambivalence as an instance of cognitive dissonance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Nashville.

McGregor, I, (1999, June). An identity consolidation view of social phenomena: Theory and research. J. S. Tanaka Award invited paper presented at the annual meeting of the Nags Head Personality and Social Behavior Conference, Boca Raton, FL.