Higgins received a Joint Honors B.A. degree in sociology and anthropology from McGill University in 1967, an M.A. in social psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1968, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 1973. His early work included the study of priming and accessibility, through which social judgment is influenced through the unconscious activation of social categories.[5] In 1981, He was employed by New York University, where he collaborated with fellow colleagues to reconstruct the social/personality psychology program. In 1989, Higgins returned to Columbia and assumed the role of Chair of the psychology department from 1994 to 2001.
At Columbia University, Higgins conducted a research on the science of motivation and self-regulation. He further developed his previous research on self-discrepancy theory, exploring the gaps individuals perceive between their actual selves and the standards set by their "ideal" or "ought" self-guides.[6] Based on self-discrepancy theory, Higgins then developed regulatory focus theory, which posits two distinct self-regulatory systems for approaching goals: achieving gains (promotion) and avoiding losses (prevention).[7] In 2000, Higgins developed regulatory fit theory, proposing that people experience fit when using means of goal pursuit that align with their regulatory orientation: vigilant or eager.[8] Also in 2000, Higgins and Arie Kruglanski developed regulatory mode theory, which describes two complementary self-regulatory functions: assessment and locomotion.[9] These theories have also informed the development of Higgins' model of motivational effectiveness, which posits that motivation comprises distinct drives for value (achieving desired end-states), truth (understanding what's real), and control (managing what happens).[3][10] Higgins has also studied shared reality, the motivation to create shared feelings, beliefs, and concerns with others.[11]
Grant Halvorson, H., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Focus: Use different ways of seeing the world for success and influence. New York: Penguin Press.
Higgins, E. T., (2012). Beyond pleasure and pain: How motivation works. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Edited books and monographs (Representative)
Echterhoff, G., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (in press). Special issue of Current Opinion in Psychology: Shared reality. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2017). Special issue of Motivation Science: Interdisciplinary research in motivation science. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Van Lange, P., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2012), Handbook of theories of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2007). Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles, Second Edition. New York: Guilford.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.) (2004). Theory construction in social-personality psychology. Special issue of Personality and Social Psychology Review. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Higgins, E. T., & Kruglanski, A. W. (Eds.). (2000). Motivational science: Social and personality perspectives. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
Sorrentino, R. M., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.). (1996). Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context. New York: Guilford.
Levine, J. M., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.), (1995). The social context of cognition. Special issue of Social Cognition. New York: Guilford.
Journal articles and book chapters (Representative)
Webb, C. E., Coleman, P. T., Tomasulo, L. R., Rossignac-Millon, M., & Higgins, E. T. (2017). Moving on or digging deeper: Regulatory mode and interpersonal conflict resolution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 621–641.
Echterhoff, G., & Higgins, E. T. (2017). Creating shared reality in interpersonal and intergroup communication: The role of epistemic processes and their interplay. European Review of Social Psychology, 28, 175–226.
Higgins, E. T. (2016). Shared-reality development in childhood. Perspectives On Psychological Science, 11, 466–495.
Cornwell, J. F. M., Franks, B., & Higgins, E. T. (2014). Truth, control, and value motivations: The ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of approach and avoidance. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 8,194.
Higgins, E. T., Cornwell, J. F. M., & Franks, B. (2014). "Happiness" and "The Good Life" as motives working together effectively. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Advances in Motivation Science, Volume 1 (pp. 135–180). New York: Academic Press.
Echterhoff, G., Kopietz, R., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Adjusting shared reality: Communicators' memory changes as their connection with their audience changes. Social Cognition, 31, 162–186.
Eitam, B., & Higgins, E. T. (2010). Motivation in mental accessibility: Relevance of a Representation (ROAR) as a new framework. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 951–967.
Higgins, E. T., Cesario, J., Hagiwara, N., Spiegel, S., & Pittman, T. (2010). Increasing or decreasing interest in activities: The role of regulatory fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(4), 559–572.
Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., & Levine, J. M. (2009). Shared reality: Experiencing commonality with others’ inner states about the world. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 496–521.
Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., Kopietz, R., & Groll, S. (2008). How communication goals determine when audience tuning biases memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137(1), 3-21.
Higgins, E. T., Echterhoff, G., Crespillo, R. & Kopietz, R. (2007). Effects of communication on social knowledge: Sharing reality with individual vs. group audiences. Japanese Psychological Research, 49, 89–99.
Higgins, E. T. (2006). Value from hedonic experience and engagement. Psychological Review.
Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., & Groll, S. (2005). Audience-tuning effects on memory: The role of shared reality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 257–276.
Forster, J., Liberman, N., & Higgins, E. T. (2005). Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 220–239.
Higgins, E. T., Idson, C. L., Freitas, A. L., Spiegel, S., & Molden, D. C. (2003). Transfer of value from fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1140–1153.
Higgins, E. T. (2000). Making a good decision: Value from fit. American Psychologist, 55, 1217–1230.
Higgins, E. T. (2000). Social cognition: Learning about what matters in the social world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 3-39.
Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52, 1280–1300.
Hardin, C. D., & Higgins, E. T. (1996). Shared reality: How social verification makes the subjective objective. In E. T. Higgins & R. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context (Vol. III). New York: Guilford Press.
Higgins, E. T., Roney, C. J. R., Crowe, E., & Hymes, C. (1994). Ideal versus ought predilections for approach and avoidance: Distinct self-regulatory systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 276–286.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.
Higgins, E. T., Bargh, J. A., & Lombardi, W. (1985). The nature of priming effects on categorization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 11, 59–69.
Higgins, E.T., King, G. A., & Mavin, G. H. (1982). Individual construct accessibility and subjective impressions and recall. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 35–47.
Higgins, E.T., Rholes, W.S., & Jones, C.R. (1977). Category Accessibility and Impression Formation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 141–154.
^Tory Higgins, E.; Rholes, William S.; Jones, Carl R. (1977). "Category accessibility and impression formation". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 13 (2): 141–154. doi:10.1016/s0022-1031(77)80007-3. ISSN0022-1031.
^Higgins, E. Tory (1989), "Self-Discrepancy Theory: What Patterns of Self-Beliefs Cause People to Suffer?", in Berkowitz, Leonard (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 22, Elsevier, pp. 93–136, doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60306-8, ISBN9780120152223
^Kruglanski, Arie W.; Thompson, Erik P.; Higgins, E. Tory; Atash, M. Nadir; Pierro, Antonio; Shah, James Y.; Spiegel, Scott (2000). "To "do the right thing" or to "just do it": Locomotion and assessment as distinct self-regulatory imperatives". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 79 (5): 793–815. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.793. ISSN1939-1315. PMID11079242.
^Higgins, E. Tory; Cornwell, James F.M.; Franks, Becca (2014), "Happiness" and "The Good Life" as Motives Working Together Effectively, Advances in Motivation Science, vol. 1, Elsevier, pp. 135–179, doi:10.1016/bs.adms.2014.08.004, ISBN9780128005125