How to Reach Across the Political Divide…
Compelling new research on language and a response to political polarization. What if new social psychology research held the key to bridging America’s political divides?
Ph.D: Sociologist / Stanford
Robb Willer is a professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Organizational Behavior at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Cornell University and his B.A. from the University of Iowa. He previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was the 2009 recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching award, the only teaching award given by the student body.
Professor Willer’s research focuses on forces that bring people together (cooperation, morality, solidarity), forces that divide them (prejudice, competition), and settings featuring the complex interplay of the two (politics, organizations). A theme of his research is that many aspects of social life that are often viewed as antisocial – gossip, hierarchies, moral judgments – are in fact fundamental to social order.
Most recently his work has explored the role of morality in politics, how Americans’ sense of right and wrong shapes their views of issues, candidates, and their fellow citizens.
His research has received widespread media coverage including from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, Scientific American, CNN, NBC Nightly News, and The Today Show.
