Faculty Member, Pscyhology
About
I am an experimental social psychologist. Much of my work begins with the idea that we each know we're inevitably going to die someday, and consequently engage in various mental gymnastics to avoid being overwhelmed by death-related anxiety. Primarily, to mitigate underlying concerns with personal mortality, people require a cultural worldview (a socially procured "lens" though which to perceive situations/stimuli as meaningful) and self-esteem (the sense that one looks good through the socially procured lens, i.e., is a good person).
In this theoretical context, I employ experimental methods to examine: a) neural processes by which thoughts of death motivate human subjects to strive for meaning and value; b) the influence of death reminders/fear-mongering on political preferences; c) how concerns with finitude motivate investment in fame, wealth, looking attractive, and who one wants to date; and d) the idea that PTSD in the wake of cultural trauma is partly a consequence of being cognitively saturated with thoughts of mortality.
In other work, I examine how and why people believe false political smears, the motivational underpinnings of proselytizing behavior, and conditions under which obedient killing contributes to later free-willed killing behavior.
