Welcome!

The work in the Wisdom and Culture Lab is guided by two broad themes:

1. Demystifying wisdom: a “philosopher’s stone” in behavioral, cognitive and social sciences. Are there unique qualities distinguishing sound judgment beyond abstract intelligence and personality dimensions? Or is wisdom just a pipedream? To address this question, we aim to uncover misconceptions about wisdom and identify psychological processes that enable people to reason wisely.
2. Modeling of cultural change: Social scientists have developed lofty theories about the origins and evolution of culture and the role of social and ecological processes for human nature. Most of these theories rely on anecdotes and cross-sectional observations. We aim to shift the paradigm by studying and model change in cultural and psychological processes.