Welcome!

You’ve arrived at the website for the Mindfulness and Self-Regulation Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. The lab is housed within the Department of Health and Human Development in the School of Education and the Learning Research and Development Center.

Our lab examines two personal qualities that support positive development during adolescence and emerging adulthood: mindfulness and self-control. Mindfulness refers to a sustained and nonreactive awareness of current subjective experience. Self-control refers to the voluntary regulation of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors when momentary temptations and impulses conflict with enduringly valued goals.

We conduct correlational studies and randomized experiments to understand how mindfulness and self-control operate and can be changed. The goal of our research is to use the tools of psychological science to help young people flourish.

We also develop and test new measures of mindfulness and self-regulation. Our measures are freely available and we invite others to use them in their research.

While you’re here, take a look around to see who we are, our current research areas, what we’ve learned so far, our latest news, and how to get involved. Thanks for stopping by!

Our research has been generously funded by: