Kyle Nash

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Psychology Dept

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Psychology Dept
Email
knash@ualberta.ca

Overview

About

Previously, I held a Lecturer position (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Canterbury (2015-2017). I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bern and the University of Basel in the Social Neuroscience lab of Dr. Daria Knoch (2012-2015). I received my PhD in 2012 in Social Psychology and a Neuroscience graduate diploma at York University under the supervision of Dr. Ian McGregor. I received my BA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Manitoba in 2006.


Research

My research is grounded in the neuropsychology of motivation and goal-regulation. People feel distress when two goals or impulses come into conflict. Distress promotes disengagement from the conflicted goal and subsides when a viable goal is pursued or the conflict is actively resolved. Goals focused on moving towards positive outcomes (i.e., approach-motivated goals) are particularly effective at regulating distress. Approach-motivated goals initiate a kind of ‘tunnel-vision’ or focus that increases the salience of rewarding stimuli and decreases the salience of irrelevant, potentially obstructive stimuli. Conflict may also be resolved through self-control—the process in which thoughts, emotions, or impulses are inhibited to pursue a more focal goal.

From this perspective, I investigate the interface between basic neural, motivational, and affective mechanisms with personal convictions, social decision-making, and intergroup behaviors. I currently have four related lines of research. First, I examine individual differences in distress and conflict. Second, I examine social decision-making and self-control. Third, I examine individual differences in intergroup bias. Fourth, I examine the neuropsychology of threat and ideological convictions. 

Courses

PSYCH 241 - Social Psychology

A survey of theories and research on the individual in a social context. Prerequisite: PSYCH 105. Note: PSYCH 241 and SOC 241 may not both be taken for credit. [Faculty of Arts]


PSYCH 403 - Recent Advances in Experimental Psychology: Models and Theories

Discussion of advanced concepts and theories developed by selected fields within experimental psychology. The course will examine the relation between theory and data in these fields. Prerequisites: PSYCH 213 or STAT 151 or 161, and a 300-level PSYCH course. Note: Consult the Department of Psychology webpage for the topics for the year and any additional prerequisites (https://www.ualberta.ca/psychology/undergraduate-studies/courses/special-topics.html). [Faculty of Science]


PSYCH 505 - Conference Course in Psychology

[Faculty of Science]


Browse more courses taught by Kyle Nash

Featured Publications

Bastian Schiller, Lorena RR Gianotti, Thomas Baumgartner, Kyle Nash, Thomas Koenig, Daria Knoch

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


Kyle Nash, Thomas Baumgartner, Daria Knoch

Biological psychology.


Bastian Schiller, Lorena RR Gianotti, Kyle Nash, Daria Knoch

Cerebral Cortex.


Kyle Nash, Mike Prentice, Jacob Hirsh, Ian McGregor, Michael Inzlicht

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.


Lorena RR Gianotti, Kyle Nash, Thomas Baumgartner, Franziska M Dahinden, Daria Knoch

Scientific Reports.


Thomas Baumgartner, Kyle Nash, Christopher Hill, Daria Knoch

NeuroImage.