Department of Psychology

Research Interests

My research interests are primarily in studying people's affective reactions to their jobs and overall life, as determined by both dispositional and situational factors, and the interactions between them. I am currently exploring affective spill-over processes between work and home, the role of cognitive dissonance in satisfaction judgments, and the antecedents and outcomes of being a "different person" at work and home (e.g., a mother who is also a CEO). In my research I employ a wide variety of research methods including: diary studies, longitudinal designs, meta-analysis, as well as experimental designs. I also maintain broad basic interests in the influence of role identities on self-concept, emotion and behaviour. My research has been published in scholarly journals such as Psychological Bulletin, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Personality.

Selected Publications

• Heller, D., & Watson, D. (2005). The dynamic spillover of satisfaction between work and marriage: The role of time and mood. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1273-1279.
• Heller, D., Watson, D., & Ilies, R. (in press). The dynamic process of life satisfaction. Journal of Personality.
• Heller, D., Watson, D., & Ilies, R. (2004). The role of person vs. situation in life satisfaction: A critical examination. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 574-600.
  [PDF version | WORD version]
• Heller, D., Judge, T. A., & Watson, D. (2002). The confounding role of personality and trait affectivity in the relationship between job and life satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 815-835.
• Heller, D., Levin, I. P., & Goransson, M. (2002). Selection of strategies for narrowing choice options: Antecedents and consequences. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89, 1194-1213.
• Judge, T. A., Heller, D., & Mount, M. K. (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530-541.
• Judge, T. A., Parker, S., Colbert, A. E., Heller, D., & Illies, R. (2001). Job satisfaction: A cross cultural review. In N. Andersen, D. S. Ones, H. K. Sinangil, & C. Viswesvaran (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 25-52). London: Sage.

Honours, Awards and Grants

• 2005-2008
  Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Grant,  $82,461
• 2005
  Canadian Foundation for Innovation New Opportunities Award- $117,525 ("Mobile Behavioral Lab"; with Scott Jeffery & Natalia Kotchetova)
• 2004
  Positive Psychology Summer Institute Scholar, Italy (1 of 16 Promising Young Scholars, selected from over 130 Candidates from all over the world)
• 2003
  UW/SSHRC Seed Grant (Amount awarded $5,500)
• 2002
  SPSP Student Travel Award for the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah, Georgia
• 1999-2002
  Awarded Solomon Fellowship for international doctoral study from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
• 1999-2000
  Awarded Ponder Summer Research Grant, University of Iowa

Invited Research Presentations

• April, 2005. Michigan State University, Department of Psychology, Personality-Social Psychology Brownbag, "The dynamics of happiness and personality"
• February, 2005, University of Texas- Austin, Department of Psychology, Personality-Social Psychology Brownbag, "The Sources of Happiness: Love and Work and Personality"
• Winter, 2004. University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, Personality-Social Psychology Brownbag. "The Role of Person vs. Situation in Life Satisfaction: A Critical Examination"
• July, 2004. Positive Psychology Summer Institute, Italy. "The dynamic process of satisfaction"