Seminars
The Center for the Science of Moral Understanding will resume hosting public talks starting this Fall! You can join our mailing list to receive updates for upcoming talks and other Center announcements here.
Past Events
the Social media prism
Chris Bail, Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, & Data Science at Duke University, shares his research exploring the effects social media may have on our perceptions of our political opponents
The social and political consequences of moral conviction
Linda Skitka, Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, shares her research exploring the boundaries of our moral concerns
The Cavalry Is Not Coming
Eli Finkel, Professor of Psychology and Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, explores the necessity of tempering moral absolutism in order to be able to address our toxic political environment.
Bridging Divides
Kurt Gray, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina and Director of the Center, presents recent research on the importance of personal experience in creating moral understanding in conversations.
How people think about others’ minds: Evidence for "everyday dehumanization"
Juliana Schroeder, an Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, shares her talk investigating the consequences of dehumanizing other minds and how communication—specifically, the power of speaking to and listening to another person in conversation—can serve to re-humanize our social connections and bridge societal divides.
Men against fire
Paul Bloom, Psychology at the University of Toronto, shares his insights on dehumanization and its place in moral psychology.
Understanding and Encouraging White American Parent-child Conversations about Race
Sylvia Perry, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, shares her work on how parents talk with their children about racism and these conversations impact on children's bias.
Assuming The Worst: Beliefs about what disadvantaged groups would do with power
Nour Kteily, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, shares his work on how advantaged groups perceive disadvantaged groups would act if they were put into positions of power.
From Gulf to Bridge: Moral reframing facilitates political persuasion
Robb Willer, Professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and the Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University, shares his research on methods for successful political persuasion.
Managing Misinformation and moral outrage on social Media
Social media has given us unprecedented abilities to share information and opinions. This cultural development has makes it easier than ever to spread misinformation and share outrage. Our panel shares their expertise on how to navigate social media better. Lisa Fazio, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, shows why misinformation is a problem. Gordon Pennycook, an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Regina, explains why it is so easy to spread fake news. Finally, William Brady, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, examines how social networks teach us to display outrage online.
Talking Politics Over Turkey: Why it’s so Hard & How to do it Better
From COVID to elections, it is almost impossible to avoid contentious topics in daily conversation. This year, the Center helps prepare you for those Thanksgiving conversations with even your most difficult relatives using insights from the social sciences. Our panel of experts share their research and knowledge for reducing partisan conflict. Jay Van Bavel, an Associate Professor of Psychology at NYU, examines the role of partisanship in responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Juliana Schroeder, an Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations group at Berkley Haas, discusses strategies for reducing partisan conflict in your conversations. Finally, John Sarrouf, the Co-Executive Director and Director of Program Development at Essential Partners, offers an intervention for addressing partisan conflict as they arise.