Photo of Margaret Beier.

Thank you for visiting my website! I am a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University. I am a member of the Industrial/Organizational Psychology research interest group. I study lifelong learning and skill acquisition in the context of work. In particular, I am interested in the ability and motivational factors that lead to self-directed and self-regulated learning within and outside of organizational contexts, and success in organizational and educational contexts.

 I direct the Adult Skills and Knowledge Lab (ASK Lab) at Rice. More information about my work is available on the lab website and my Curriculum Vitae.

I have been a member of two consensus studies at the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, available below:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management?. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25796.

And I recently chaired the consensus committee on Adult Learning in the Military Context, available below:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Adult Learning in the Military Context. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27959.

You can access my publications on Google Scholar here and on ResearchGate here.

I teach undergraduate courses in Psychological Testing (Psyc 329) and Personality Theory and Research (Psyc 330). I also teach graduate seminars, including Foundations of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Psyc 530), Training (Psyc 630), Individual Differences (Psyc 631), and Personnel Psychology (Psyc 634).