Research
Current Projects
Moral Cognition
What cognitive processes underlie how people determine what is good or bad, right and wrong, ethical or unethical? What are the consequences that result from these determinations, and what implications do they have for different contexts? I have experimentally investigated these research questions in a variety of contexts. Specifically, I've focused on how people seek out and integrate information about others in forming judgments of moral character, how moral judgments change depending on how they are elicited, and how moral cognition can be utilized to improve society's willingness to engage in positive health behaviors. Much of my current research focuses on applications to the legal system, shown below.
Interviewing & Interrogation
Juror Decision-Making
My research in this area focuses on several important factors that influence the efficacy of interview and interrogation procedures involving uncooperative subjects. I have taken mixed-method approaches to investigate: why interview subjects resist providing information to investigators, the effects of building rapport and trust with interview subjects, and how moral character influences interview subject's decision to cooperate and provide information during an investigative interview.
My research in this area focuses on understanding and improving juror's decision-making, in order to assist them in making more accurate and appropriate verdict decisions. I have designed various research projects in this domain, where I assessed the impact of juror's moral values on their conviction decisions, and assessed the utility of a novel instruction method aimed to improve juror's evaluation of confession evidence.