I am a lecturer in psychology at Lincoln University in New Zealand. My research interests is broadly about how people can flourish in communities, and stretches across three areas.
Morality
Morality is important for thriving because it is crucial for cooperation. People spend a great deal of time thinking (and arguing) about what the right thing to do is; I study where this thinking goes right and where it goes wrong. In my 2024 paper with Paul Conway and Andrew Vonasch, we examine the domain where the stakes for moral decisions are the highest: warfare. What we find is that while people approach wartime sacrifice in mostly a rational way, this rationality can come apart when there is less information. When bystanders in a combat zone are unidentified people tend to judge them more like enemies than innocents and treat them as acceptable collateral damage. This may explain the high cost of civilian lives in wartime. A video form SimplifyingPsychology covers this research.
Other moral topics include how our communities can shape our tendency to do moral actions through traits like population density. I have also written on the importance of considering moral diversity when arguing across heated political divides.
Wisdom
Wisdom is the skill of applying moral thinking correctly and of living life well. I taught the first ever university course on the psychology of wisdom in 2024 at the University of Canterbury. Currently I am working on ways that experiences like international travel can foster wisdom by allowing people to form novel connections with new cultures and instil values of open-mindedness and humility about the world.
Wellbeing
At the root of human flourishing is wellbeing. I take this to mean not just the absence of ailment but what it means to thrive and excel in life. Starting in 2025 I will teach two courses on the current science of wellbeing at5 Lincoln University.
Morality
Morality is important for thriving because it is crucial for cooperation. People spend a great deal of time thinking (and arguing) about what the right thing to do is; I study where this thinking goes right and where it goes wrong. In my 2024 paper with Paul Conway and Andrew Vonasch, we examine the domain where the stakes for moral decisions are the highest: warfare. What we find is that while people approach wartime sacrifice in mostly a rational way, this rationality can come apart when there is less information. When bystanders in a combat zone are unidentified people tend to judge them more like enemies than innocents and treat them as acceptable collateral damage. This may explain the high cost of civilian lives in wartime. A video form SimplifyingPsychology covers this research.
Other moral topics include how our communities can shape our tendency to do moral actions through traits like population density. I have also written on the importance of considering moral diversity when arguing across heated political divides.
Wisdom
Wisdom is the skill of applying moral thinking correctly and of living life well. I taught the first ever university course on the psychology of wisdom in 2024 at the University of Canterbury. Currently I am working on ways that experiences like international travel can foster wisdom by allowing people to form novel connections with new cultures and instil values of open-mindedness and humility about the world.
Wellbeing
At the root of human flourishing is wellbeing. I take this to mean not just the absence of ailment but what it means to thrive and excel in life. Starting in 2025 I will teach two courses on the current science of wellbeing at5 Lincoln University.
Projects
Burning bridges to build bridges
Why does political polarization in the US continue to deepen and extreme ideas spread online? We define a mechanism of group psychology in which extremist ideas are seen by a group as a credible signal of committment.