The Psychology of Competition and Peak Performance

Dr. Emily Hangen is currently serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Fairfield University. Previously she taught as a post-doctoral College Fellow at Harvard University. She earned her BA in psychology from the University of Chicago in 2013 and her PhD in social-personality psychology from the University of Rochester in 2019. The overarching focus of Hangen's research is understanding how social influences can affect students' approach and avoidance motivation, mental health, and academic achievement. The aim of her work is to elucidate motivational processes in order to inform instructional practices and to develop interventions that optimize student outcomes. Hangen has multiple years of teaching college-level psychology courses and has received various teaching awards including a Commendation for Extraordinary Teaching from the Office of Undergraduate Education at Harvard University and a Certificate of Teaching Excellence from the Derek Bok Center at Harvard University.