Work in the pipeline.
Peer review is the slowest part of science, and the healthiest sign of an active research program is what is sitting in editors' queues right now. Four empirical manuscripts from the Social Cognition Lab are currently under review — three sole-authored, all built on original data collected across the United States and the United Kingdom. Together they extend a single arc: how attachment, identity, and belief shape the capacity for self-compassion, and how far the circle of compassion extends beyond the self.
-
2026Under review
Vegans Feel More Compassion for Animals in Both the US and UK—but It Is Linked to Self-Compassion Only in America
Magee, M. W. Under review at a peer-reviewed social psychology journal.
Schematic — direction of effects, not to scale. In plain EnglishVegans in both countries felt more compassion for animals than omnivores did. But compassion for animals travelled with compassion for the self only in the United States—a link made by culture, not by necessity.
Study summary
A cross-national study of vegans and omnivores in the United States and the United Kingdom (N = 420). Vegans reported substantially more compassion for non-human animals in both countries—but compassion for animals was tied to compassion for the self only in the American sample, suggesting the two compassions are joined by culture, not by necessity. The study anchors the lab's program on vegans as a social group and the moral circle.
-
2026Under review
A Distant Parent, a Distant Faith? Parental Attachment Avoidance and the Atheist–Christian Self-Compassion Gap
Magee, M. W. Under review at an APA journal.
Schematic — direction of effects, not to scale. In plain EnglishWhy do atheists report less self-compassion than Christians? Part of the answer looks developmental: a more distant relationship with parents accounts for some of the gap.
Study summary
Building directly on Magee (2025, Pastoral Psychology), this study asks why Christians report more self-compassion than atheists. In a US/UK sample of 631 adults, parental attachment avoidance helps account for the gap—a shared-reality perspective on how early relationships echo in both faith and self-kindness. Data are fully public on OSF under a CC0 license.
-
2026Under review
An Inheritance of Shame: Parental Attachment Insecurity, Shame-Proneness, and the Capacity for Self-Compassion
Magee, M. W. Under review at a Springer psychology journal.
Schematic — direction of effects, not to scale. In plain EnglishIf self-compassion is learned in relationship, its absence may be inherited the same way. Insecure early attachment predicted shame, and shame predicted a harsher inner voice in adulthood.
Study summary
If self-compassion is learned in relationship, its absence may be inherited the same way. In 631 US and UK adults, insecure parental attachment predicted shame-proneness, which in turn constrained the capacity for self-compassion—a developmental pathway from early caregiving to the adult inner voice.
-
2026Under review
Secure Parental Attachment Predicts Self-Compassion—But Not for Adults High in ADHD Symptoms
Magee, M. W., & Oca, J. Under review at a Springer psychology journal.
Schematic — direction of effects, not to scale. In plain EnglishA secure start with parents usually predicts a kinder relationship with yourself. For adults high in ADHD symptoms, that protection vanished—pointing to self-compassion training as a targeted support.
Study summary
In a preoccupied, self-critical mind, even a secure start may not be enough. Among 350 US and UK adults, secure parental attachment predicted greater self-compassion—except for adults high in ADHD symptoms, for whom the protective link disappeared. The finding points to self-compassion training as a targeted support for adults with ADHD.
Journal names are withheld while manuscripts are in anonymized review, in keeping with peer-review norms. Statuses on this page are updated as editorial decisions arrive. For published work, see Publications.