Welcome!
The work in the Wisdom and Culture Lab is oriented to a multitude of projects, but is guided by two key themes:
- Demystifying wisdom: a “philosopher’s stone” in behavioral sciences. Is there a unique quality distinguishing human excellence 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 think, feel, and act wisely.
- Modeling of cultural change: For at least 150 years, social scientists have developed lofty theories about the origins and evolution of culture and the role of culture for psychology. Most of these theories have not been adequately tested, relying on anecdotal and cross-sectional observations. We aim to shift the paradigm by starting to study and model change in cultural and accompanying psychological processes.
News
- Oct. 12, 2018Podcast: The Dark Side (With Paul Bloom)
Tune in to our latest podcast "The Dark Side" as we talk about how some forms of empathy may actually be dangerous for society.
- Oct. 11, 2018Why We Tell Stories (with Nic Westrate)
Why do we spend so much time telling stories - about ourselves, about each other, even about fictional characters? If storytelling isn’t simply about information exchange, what role does it really play in our lives?
- Oct. 10, 2018Congratulations!
Congratulations to Hansky Santos and Alex Huynh for completing their PhDs!
