After completing my PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Kent, I continued to work there as a Post-doc in the Enterprise. In 2010 I joined the Project S:ELF as a Post-doc at the University of Edinburgh. I started my present role as Lecturer in Social Psychology at the Middlesex University in June 2013.
BSc (Iasi, Romania), MSc (Iasi, Romania), PGCertHE (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK), PhD (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK)
Social Psychology
Social Cognition
Research Methods and Statistics
I have a pedagogic interest in helping students improve their employability skills (Nov 2009 - The Higher Education Academy Psychology Network miniproject scheme awarded me funding for the Project: 'Try your career on for size': Web-based tool to enhance students' work placement experience.).
My research interests revolve around trying to understand the effects of social power on goal pursuit and the content and precursors of state authenticity. In addition to this, I am also intrigued by how personal values fit self-chosen life transitions.
I. Social Power
In one line of work, I have investigated how social power impacts behaviour and goal pursuit. In particular, I have explored three cognitive mechanisms that underlie this superiority of powerful people: accessibility of goal-related constructs, attention orienting and perceptual readiness. In addition to investigating the effects of power on cognition, I have also examined whether powerful people, compared to powerless people, can flexibly use creative thinking, depending on the goals in the situation.
Recent publications:
Slabu, L., Guinote, A., & Wilkinson, D. (2013). How quickly can you detect it? Power facilitates attentional orienting. Social Psychology, 44, 37-41. doi: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000096
Gervais, S. J., Guinote, A., Allen, J., & Slabu, L. (2012). Power increases situated creativity. Social Influence. Accepted manuscript online: 19 NOV 2012 | doi: 10.1080/15534510.2012.742457
Slabu, L., & Guinote, A. (2010). Power and the Accessibility of Goal Constructs. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 344-349. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.10.013
II. State Authenticity
In a second line of work, I have contributed to the development of a theoretical framework of state authenticity. This research challenges a long-held assumption that authenticity is a stable individual trait, as it confirms that authenticity can also be regarded as a state. Currently, I am investigating why and when people feel authentic (or feel like the 'real self'). To get more updates on this project, please check our website: Project S:ELF.
Recent publications:
Lenton, A., Slabu, L., Sedikides, C., & Power, K. (2013). I feel good, therefore I am real: Testing the causal influence of mood on state authenticity. Cognition & Emotion. Accepted manuscript online: 10 APR 2013 | doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.778818
Lenton, A. P., Bruder, M., Slabu, L., & Sedikides, C. (2013). How does "being real" feel? The experience of state authenticity. Journal of Personality, 81, 276-289. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2012.00805.x
III. Personal Values
My research interests also expand into the field of personal values. More specifically, I am drawn towards understanding the role that values play when one enters a life transition (e.g., embarking on a particular career, moving to a particular country). That is, do people adjust their values to fit their life transitions or do they choose to enter a life transition with which their values are already compatible?
Research Supervision:
I welcome students enrolled in one of our psychology programmes wishing to undertake research that overlaps with one of my lines of interest.
Sedikides, Constantine and Lenton, Alison P. and Slabu, Letitia and Thomaes, Sander (2019) Sketching the contours of state authenticity. Review of General Psychology , 23 (1). pp. 73-88. ISSN 1089-2680
Sedikides, Constantine and Slabu, Letitia and Lenton, Alison P. and Thomaes, Sander (2017) State authenticity. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 26 (6). pp. 521-525. ISSN 0963-7214
Lenton, Alison P. and Slabu, Letitia and Sedikides, Constantine (2016) State authenticity in everyday life. European Journal of Personality , 30 (1). pp. 64-82. ISSN 0890-2070
Slabu, Letitia and Lenton, Alison P. and Sedikides, Constantine and Bruder, Martin (2014) Trait and state authenticity across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 45 (9). pp. 1347-1373. ISSN 0022-0221
Lenton, Alison P. and Slabu, Letitia and Bruder, Martin and Sedikides, Constantine (2014) Identifying differences in the experience of (in)authenticity: a latent class analysis approach. Frontiers in Psychology , 5 . pp. 1-9. ISSN 1664-1078
