Tara K. MacDonald, Queen’s University

Associate Professor Department of Psychology Kingston, Ontario tmacdon@queensu.ca Office: (613) 533-2873

Expert In

Alcohol and decision-making Health psychology Interpersonal relationships Mood interactions Self-esteem

Bio/Research

I am generally interested in studying situations in which people fail to attend to all of the relevant information in their environment, and the reasons for this neglect. In my primary area of study, I am currently assessing how the restriction of cognitive capacity associated with alcohol intoxication affects the decision to engage in risky behaviors. For example, I have been studying how alcohol affects attitudes and intentions to drink and drive or have sex without a condom. When asked about their intentions to drink and drive, or to have intercourse without a condom, university students typically report that they would not engage in these behaviours. Accordingly, one might expect that the incidence of these health-risk behaviours would be relatively low. Instead, the incidence continues to be alarmingly high. The goal of my research is to examine why people engage in these behaviours that contradict their attitudes and intentions, even when doing so can have powerful negative consequences. Other research interests include attitudinal ambivalence, and the influence of romantic relationship properties on health outcomes.

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