Edward Orehek, Ph.D.

Edward Orehek, Ph.D. is a behavioral scientist and quantitative researcher with 15+ years experience leading research teams.  He has authored more than 60 scholarly publications in scientific psychology journals. His research has examined motivation, goal pursuit, and social relationships. He has used this expertise in corporate settings to develop a new behavioral engagement model, craft theories of behavior change, conduct creative and rigorous research, create behavioral interventions, deliver internal and external presentations, and develop training programs. Links to his published research are available below.

Dr. Orehek can be reached by email: edward.orehek@gmail.com

  1. Leckfor, C. M., Wood, N. R., Kwiatek, S. M., & Orehek, E. (in press). Expectations and experiences of screen time, social interaction, and solitude. Journal of Social Psychology.
  2. Inagaki, T. K., Alvarez, G. A., Orehek, E., Ferrer, R. A., Manuck, S. B., Abaya, N., & Muscatell, K. A. (in press). Support-giving is associated with lower systemic inflammation. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
  3. Chandler, K. R., Krueger, K. L., Forest, A. L., & Orehek, E. (2023). Interested and Instrumental: An Examination of Instrumentality Regulation With Potential Romantic Partners. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49, 197-214.
  4. Ferrer, R. A., Ellis, E. M., Orehek, E., & Klein, W. M. (2022). Fear increases likelihood of seeking decisional support from others when making decisions involving ambiguity. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 35(3), e2266
  5. Klussman, K., Nichols, A. L., Curtin, N., Langer, J., & Orehek, E. (2022). Self-connection and Well-being: Development and validation of a Self-connection scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 18-45.
  6. Orehek, E., Human, L. J., Sayette, M. A., Sher, K., Dimoff, J. D., & Winograd, R. P. (2020). Self expression while drinking alcohol: Does alcohol influence accuracy and positivity of personality expression? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46, 109-123.
  7. Walsh, R. M., Forest, A. L., & Orehek, E. (2020). Self-disclosure on social media: The role of perceived network responsiveness. Computers in Human Behavior, 104, 106162.
  8. Orehek, E. & Ferrer, R. (2019). Parent instrumentality for adolescent eating and activity. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53, 652-684. 
  9. Ellis, E. M., Orehek, E., & Ferrer, R. A. (2019). Patient-provider care goal concordance: implications for palliative care decisions. Psychology & Health, 34, 983-998.
  10. Schumann, K., & Orehek, E. (2019). Avoidant and defensive: Adult attachment and quality of apologies. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 809-833.
  11. Ellis, E., Klein, W. M. P., Orehek, E., & Ferrer, R. (2018). Effects of emotion on medical decisions involving tradeoffs. Medical Decision Making, 38, 1027-1039.
  12. Orehek, E., Forest, A. L., & Wingrove, S. (2018). People as means to multiple goals: Implications for interpersonal relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44, 1487-1501.
  13. Orehek, E., Forest, A. L., & Barbaro, N. (2018). A people-as-means approach to interpersonal relationships. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13, 373-383.
  14. Orehek, E., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2018). Personal failure makes society seem fonder: An inquiry into the roots of social interdependence. PloS one, 13(8), e0201361.
  15. Ferrer, R. A., Orehek, E., & Padgett, L. S. (2018). Goal conflict when making decisions for others. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 78, 93-103.
  16. Ferrer, R. A., Orehek, E., Scheier, M.F., & O’Connell, M. (2018). Cigarette tax rates, behavioral disengagement, and quit ratios among daily smokers. Journal of Economic Psychology, 66, 13-21.
  17. Orehek, E. (2018). Goal pursuit and close relationships: A people as means perspective. In C. Kopetz & A. Fishbach (Eds.) The Motivation-Cognition Interface: From the Lab to the Real World (pp. 131-151) New York: Routledge.
  18. Orehek, E. & Weaverling, C. G. (2017). On the nature of objectification: Implications of considering people as means to goals. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 719-730. 
  19. Inagaki, T. & Orehek, E. (2017). On the benefits of giving social support: When, why, and how support providers gain by caring for others. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26, 109-113.
  20. Orehek, E., Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A., Quick, E., & Weaverling, G. C. (2017). Attachment and self-regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43, 365-380.
  21. Orehek, E., & Human, L. J. (2017). Self-expression on social media: Do tweets present accurate and positive portraits of impulsivity, self-esteem, and attachment style? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43, 60-70.
  22. Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A., Orehek, E., & Scheier, M. F. (2017). The meaning of action:  Do self-regulatory processes contribute to a purposeful life? Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 115-122.
  23. Orehek, E. & Forest, A. L. (2016). When people serve as means to goals: Implications of a motivational account of close relationships. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25, 79-84.
  24. Orehek, E. & Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A. (2016). On the obesity problem: Policy implications of a motivational account of (un)healthy eating. Social Issues and Policy Review, 10, 151-180. 
  25. Kopetz, C. E. & Orehek, E. (2015). When the end justifies the means: Self-defeating behaviors as “rational” and “successful” self-regulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24, 386-391.
  26. Bélanger, J.J., Kruglanski, A. W., Chen, X., Orehek, E., & Johnson, D. J. (2015). When Mona Lisa smiled and love was in the air: On the cognitive energetics of motivated Judgments. Social Cognition, 33, 104-119.
  27. Belanger, J.J., Kruglanski, A.W., Chen, x., Orehek, E. (2014). Bending perception to desire: Effects of task demands, motivation and cognitive resources. Motivation and Emotion, 38, 802-814.
  28. Orehek, E. & Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A. (2014). Understanding the terrorist threat:  Policy implications of a motivational account of terrorism. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1, 248-255.
  29. Orehek, E., Sasota, J., Kruglanski, A. W., Dechesne, M., & Ridgeway, L. (2014). Interdependent self-construals mitigate the fear of death and augment the willingness to become a martyr. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107, 265-275.
  30. Hamstra, M. R. W., Orehek, E., & Holleman, M. (2014). Subordinate regulatory mode and leader power: interpersonal regulatory complementarity predicts task performance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 1-6.
  31. Orehek, E. & Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A. (2013). Sequential and concurrent strategies of multiple goal pursuit. Review of General Psychology, 17, 339-349.
  32. Kruglanski, A. W., Belanger, J. J., Gelfand, M., Gunaratna, R., Hettiarachchi, M., Reinares, F., Orehek, E., Sasota, J., Sharvit, K. (2013). Terrorism, a (self) love story: Re-directing the significance quest can end violence. American Psychologist, 68, 559-575.
  33. Van Yperen, N.W. & Orehek, E. (2013). Achievement goals in the workplace: Conceptualization, prevalence, profiles, and outcomes. Journal of Economic Psychology, 38, 71-79.
  34. Kruglanski, A. W., Kopetz, C., Belanger, J. J., Chun, W. Y., Orehek, E., & Fishbach, A. (2013). Features of multifinality. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17, 22-39.
  35. Golec de Zalva, A., Cichocka, A., Orehek, E., & Abdolhossein, A. (2012). Intrinsic religiosity reduces intergroup hostility under mortality salience. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 451-461.
  36. Orehek, E., Mauro, R., Kruglanski, A. W., & van der Bles, A. M. (2012). Prioritizing association strength versus value: Regulatory mode and means evaluation in single and multi-goal contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102,22-31.
  37. Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., Kruglanski, A. W., Klein, K., & Orehek, E. (2012). Persistence of attitude change, and behavior-attitude correspondence based on extensive processing of source information. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 103-111.
  38. Orehek, E. (2012). Terrorism as intergroup communication. In H. Giles (Ed.). The Handbook of Intergroup Communication (pp. 141-152). New York: Routledge.
  39. Kruglanski, A. W. & Orehek, E. (2012). Need for certainty as a psychological nexus for individuals and society. In M. A. Hogg & D. Blaylock (Eds.), Extremism and the Psychology of Uncertainty(pp. 3-18). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  40. Veenstra, A., Lakey, B., Cohen, J., Neely, L., Orehek, E., Barry, R., & Abeare, C. (2011). Forecasting the specific providers that recipients will perceive as unusually supportive. Personal Relationships, 18,677-696.
  41. Lakey, B. & Orehek, E. (2011). Relational regulation theory: A new approach to explain perceived social support’s link to mental health. Psychological Review, 118,482-495.
  42. Orehek, E., Bessarabova, E., Chen, X., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2011). Positive affect as informational feedback in goal pursuit. Motivation and Emotion, 35, 44-51.
  43. Kruglanski, A. W. & Orehek, E. (2011). The role of quest for significance in motivating terrorism. In J. Forgas, A. Kruglanski, & K. Williams (Eds.), Social Conflict and Aggression (pp. 153-164). New York: Psychology Press.
  44. Orehek, E., Dechesne, M., Fishbach, A., Kruglanski, A, & Chun, W. (2010). On the inferential epistemics of trait centrality in impression formation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40,1120-1135.
  45. Orehek, E., Fishman, S., Dechesne, M., Kruglanski, A. W., Cole, A. P., Saddler, B., & Jackson, T. (2010). Need for closure and the social response to terrorism. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 32, 279-290.
  46. Kruglanski, A. W., Orehek, E., Dechesne, M., & Pierro, A. (2010). Lay epistemic theory: Motivational, cognitive, and social aspects of knowledge formation.Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 939-950.
  47. Lakey, B., Orehek, E., Hain, K., & Van Vleet, M. (2010). Enacted support’s links to negative affect and perceived support are more consistent with theory when social influences are isolated from trait Influences. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 132-142.
  48. Kruglanski, A. W., Orehek, E., Higgins, E. T., Pierro, A. & Shalev, I. (2010). Modes of self-regulation: Assessment and locomotion as independent determinants in goal-pursuit. In R. Hoyle (Ed.) Handbook of Personality and Self-Regulation (pp.374-402).
  49. Kossowska, M., Orehek, E., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2010). Motivation towards closure and cognitive resources: An individual differences approach. In A. Gruszka, G. Matthews & B. Szymura (Eds.) Handbook of Individual Differences in Cognition: Attention, Memory and Executive Control(pp. 369-382). New York: Springer.
  50. Kruglanski, A. W. & Orehek, E. (2009). Toward a relativity theory of rationality. Social Cognition, 27,639-660.
  51. Pierro, A., Orehek, E., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2009). Let there be no mistake! On assessment mode and the transference effect. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 879-883.
  52. Kruglanski, A. W., Dechesne, M., Orehek, E., & Pierro, A. (2009). Three decades of lay epistemics: The why, how and who of knowledge formation. European Review of Social Psychology, 20, 146-191.
  53. Kruglanski, A. W., Chen, X., Dechesne, M., Fishman, S., & Orehek, E. (2009). Fully Committed: Suicide Bombers’ Motivation and the Quest for Personal Significance. Political Psychology, 30, 331-557.
  54. Kruglanski, A. W., Chen, X., Dechesne, M., Fishman, S., & Orehek, E. (2009). Yes, no and maybe in the world of terrorism research: Reflections on the commentaries. Political Psychology, 30, 401-417.
  55. Gross, J., Lakey, B., Edinger, K., Orehek, E, & Heffron, D. (2009). Person perception in the college classroom: Accounting for taste in students’ evaluations of teaching effectiveness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 1609-1638.
  56. Fitzsimons, G. M., Friesen, J., Orehek, E. & Kruglanski, A. W. (2009). Progress-induced goal shifting. In J. Forgas, R. Baumeister, & D. Tice (Eds.), Psychology of Self-Regulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes (pp. 183-197). New York: Psychology Press.
  57. Kopetz, C. E., Kruglanski, A. W., Chen, X., & Orehek, E. (2008). Goal systemic effects in the context of choice and social judgment. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 2071-2089.
  58. Barry, R., Lakey, B., & Orehek, E. (2007). Links among attachment dimensions, affect, the self, and perceived support for broadly generalized attachment styles and specific bonds. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 340-353.
  59. Kruglanski, A. W. & Orehek, E. (2007). Partitioning the domain of social inference: Dual mode and systems models and their alternatives. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 291-316.
  60. Neely, L. C., Lakey, B., Cohen, J. L., Barry, R., Orehek, E., Abeare, C. A., & Mayer, W. (2006). Trait and social processes in the link between social support and affect: An experimental, laboratory investigation. Journal of Personality, 74, 1015-1046.