Episode
Emily Balcetis, New York University - What Motivates Runners?
- Podcast
- The Academic Minute
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 150
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Summary
What motivates runners? Emily Balcetis , associate professor of psychology at New York University , examines this question. Faculty Bio: Dr. Emily Balcetis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University and author of Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World. She is an award-winning behavioral scientist and author. She directs a research lab that pioneers the scientific investigation of motivation, uncovering previously unknown strategies that sustain people’s efforts to meet their goals. Dr. Balcetis focuses on issues including diversity in leadership, disparities in health, bias in the legal system, polarization in public opinion, and safety in cyber behavior, among others. She has appeared as a host for National Geographic and has served as a consultant for General Electric, Nestle, Nike, Pixar, the New York Times, Prudential Financial, Sandoz Pharmaceutical, and other industry leaders. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. She has delivered two TEDx talks on motivation science and polarization in public opinion and earned her PhD from Cornell University. Transcript: Physical training shapes running over months and years. But what allows runners to adapt in real time? The answer is not just in their legs and lungs, it’s in their eyes. My research shows that visual attention gives runners a flexible way to support motivation and improve their performance while they’re on the move. Visual attention works like a spotlight. It can be wide, taking in what’s on the left, right, above and below us. Or attention can be narrowly focused tightly on a single point ahead. Across multiple studies, I find that runners systematically shift the scope of this attentional sp…