Judy Harackiewicz

Research Area(s)
Social and Personality

Research Interest
I am interested in human motivation, specifically intrinsic motivation, interest, and achievement motivation. I study how different kinds of performance evaluation and feedback influence an individual’s intrinsic interest in an activity. For example, I study how achievement goals, rewards, competition, and cooperation influence task enjoyment and interest, and how personality variables moderate these effects. I am also interested in motivational issues in educational psychology, and I study how goals affect the development of interest in academic subjects. My graduate students and I do experimental laboratory studies as well as longitudinal studies in college classes.

Representative Publications
Rosenzweig, E.Q., Harackiewicz, J.M., Hecht, C.A., Priniski, S.J, Canning, E.A., Tibbetts, Y., Asher, M.A., & Hyde, J.S. (2021).  College students’ reasons for leaving biomedical fields: Disenchantment with biomedicine or attraction to other fields? Journal of Educational Psychology, 113, 351-369.

Rosenzweig, E.Q., Hecht, C.A., Priniski, S.J., Canning, E.A. Asher, M.W., Tibbetts,Y., Hyde, J.S. & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2021). Inside the STEM pipeline: Changes in students’ biomedical career plans across the college years.  Science Advances, 7, no 18.  DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe0985

Murphy, M.C., Mejia, A., Mejia, J., Yan, X., Cheryan, S., Dasupta, N., Destin, M., Fryberg, S.A., Garcia, J.A., Haines, E.L., Harackiewicz, J.M., Ledgerwood, A., Moss-Racusin, C.A. Park.     L.E., Perry, S.P., Ratliff, K.A., Rattan, A., Sanchez, D.T., Savani, K., Sekaquaptewa, D., Smith, J.L, Jones Taylor, V., Thoman, D.B., Wout, D.A., Mabry, P.L., Ressl, S., Diekman, A., Pestilli, F. (2020). Open science, communal culture, and women’s participation in the movement to improve science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117,  24154-24164.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921320117

Harackiewicz, J.M. & Priniski, S.J. (2018). Improving student outcomes in higher education: The science of targeted intervention.  Annual Review of Psychology, 69, 409-435. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011725

Harackiewicz, J.M., Smith, J.L., & Priniski, S.J. (2016, in press). Interest matters: The importance of promoting interest in education. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. doi:10.1177/2372732216655542

Harackiewicz, J.M., Tibbetts, Y, Canning, E.A., & Hyde, J.S. (2014). Harnessing values to promote motivation in education. In S. Karabenick and T. Urden (Eds.), Motivational Interventions, Advances in Motivation and Achievement, Vol 18 (pp 71-105), Emerald Group Publishing.

Harackiewicz, J.M., Rozek, C.S., Hulleman, C.S., & Hyde, J.S. (2012) Helping parents to motivate adolescents in mathematics and science: An experimental test of a utility-value intervention. Psychological Science, 40, DOI: 10.1177/0956797611435530

Senko, C.M., Hulleman, C.S., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2011) Achievement goal theory at the crossroads: Old controversies, current challenges, and new directions. Educational Psychologist, 46, 26-47.

Harackiewicz, J.M. & Hulleman, C.S. (2010). The importance of interest: The role of achievement goals and task values in promoting the development of interest. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 42-52.

Hulleman, C.S., Godes, O., Hendricks, B.L., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2010). Enhancing interest and performance with a utility value intervention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 880-895.

Hulleman, C.S. & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2009). Promoting interest and performance in high school science classes, Science, 326, 1410-1412.

Hidi, S., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2000). Motivating the academically unmotivated: A critical issue for the 21st century. Review of Educational Research.