Martin Ford's research focuses on motivation and competence development across the life span, with a special focus on adolescents and young adults. He is the creator of Motivational Systems Theory (MST) and co-creator of the Thriving with Social Purpose framework (with Peyton Smith) that links MST concepts and principles with optimal functioning. Martin has also developed assessment tools designed to help people identify their core personal goals and potential obstacles to the pursuit of those goals, including the Assessment of Personal Goals (APG; with C.W. Nichols), the Assessment of Personal Agency Belief Patterns (APP), and the APG Personal Application Guide (with Peyton Smith; see www.implicitself.com).
Martin received his bachelor's degree from Penn State's College of Human Development in 1975, and his doctorate in child psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1980. During his 13 years at Stanford University, Dr. Ford received the APA Division 15 Early Contribution Award (1983) and Division 7's McCandless Young Scientist Award (1987). In 1993 he moved to George Mason University, where he applies motivational principles on a daily basis in his role as Senior Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Development. Martin also served as Acting Dean of the College on two occasions (2000-2001 and 2009-2010), and in 2007 received the David W. Rossell Quill Award for leadership on initiatives resulting in advancement of the university's mission.
Ford, M.E., & Smith, P.R. (in preparation). Motivating self and others: How thriving with social purpose can create meaningful lives and effective leaders.
Ford, M.E., & Smith, P.R. (2011). Motivation. To appear in B.B. Brown & M. Prinstein, Encyclopedia of adolescence. Oxford: Academic Press.
Ford, M.E., & Smith, P.R. (2009). Building on a strong foundation: Five pathways to the next level of motivational theorizing. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook on motivation at school (pp. 265-275). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ford, M.E., & Smith, P.R. (2007). Thriving with social purpose: An integrative approach to the development of optimal functioning. Educational Psychologist, 42, 153-171.