Imperfectly Human: The Humanizing Potential of (Corrected) Errors in Text-Based Communication [PDF]→

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Bluvstein, S.*, Zhao, X.*, Barasch, A., & Schroeder, J. (2024). Imperfectly human: The humanizing potential of (corrected) errors in text-based communication. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 9(3), 332-343. [Article Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper shows that online communicators (e.g., customer service agents) who make and then correct typos are seen as more likely to be human (vs. AI) than communicators who don't make any typos or make but don't correct their typos (7 experiments).

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Experimental Studies of Conflict: Challenges, Solutions, and Advice to Junior Scholars [PDF]→

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Minson, J. A., Bendersky, C., de Dreu, C., Halperin, E., & Schroeder, J. (2023). Experimental studies of conflict: Challenges, solutions, and advice to junior scholars. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 177, 104257. [Science Direct Link]

  • Short Summary: This editorial presents a taxonomy of successful experimental approaches to the study of conflict and offers advice to researchers seeking to make impactful contributions to this area.

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Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input [PDF]→

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Abel, J. E., Vani, P., Abi-Esber, N., Blunden, H., & Schroeder. J. (2022). Kindness in short supply: Evidence for inadequate prosocial input. Current Opinion in Psychology, 48, 101458. [Science Direct Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper documents when and why people fail to give “prosocial input” (i.e., (information intended to benefit others), noting that potential givers overestimate the costs of doing so (e.g., making recipients uncomfortable) and underestimate the benefits (e.g., being helpful) for at least four psychological reasons.

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Interventions To Decrease Partisan Animosity [PDF]→

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Ernstoff, R., Blakey, W., Womick, J., Bail, C., Finkel, E., Han, H., Sarrouf, J., Schroeder, J., Sheeran, P., Van Bavel, J., Willer, R., & Gray, K. (2022). Interventions to reduce partisan animosity. Nature Human Behavior, 6, 1194-1205. [Nature Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper reviews interventions designed to reduce partisan animosity (i.e., negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors toward a political outgroup). It introduces the TRI framework (Thoughts - correcting misconceptions and highlighting commonalities; Relationships - building dialogue skills and fostering positive contact; Institutions - changing public discourse and transforming political structures).

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Undersociality: Miscalibrated Social Cognition Can Inhibit Social Connection [PDF]→

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Epley, N., Kardas, M., Zhao, X., Atir, S., & Schroeder, J. (2022). Undersociality: Miscalibrated social cognition can inhibit social connection. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(5), 406-418.[Article link]

  • Short Summary: This paper proposes that people are less social than is optimal for their own and others’ well-being (i.e., “undersocial”). It reviews the empirical literature demonstrating that people are undersocial and suggests 3 reasons for why people are undersocial.

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When “Enemies” Become Close: Relationship Formation Among Palestinians and Jewish Israelis at a Youth Camp [PDF]→

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White, S., Schroeder, J., & Risen, J. L. (2021). When “enemies” become close: Relationship formation among Palestinians and Jewish Israelis at a youth camp. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(1), 76-94. [APA PsycNet Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper uses 7 years of data from Jewish Israeli and Palestinian teenagers attending a three-week summer camp (Seeds of Peace) to show that propinquity (here, being quasi-randomly assigned to share an activity group together) increases the formation of outgroup relationships more than ingroup relationships (1 longitudinal field study). Thus, at least in this setting, propinquity counteracted homophily.

  • Winner of the 2021 SPSP Cialdini Prize

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  • Note regarding data: Due to confidentiality concerns from the Institutional Review Board, we cannot publicly post data. Interested researchers can contact jschroeder@berkeley.edu directly to learn more about the data, and to submit a joint IRB protocol for access to the data.

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Demeaning: Dehumanizing Others by Minimizing the Importance of Their Psychological Needs [PDF]→

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Schroeder, J., & Epley, N. (2020). Demeaning: Dehumanizing others by minimizing the importance of their psychological needs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119, 765-791. [APA PsycNet Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper identifies a novel facet of dehumanization, the tendency to “demean” others’ needs by believing that psychological needs (e.g., need for meaning, autonomy) are relatively less important to others compared to physical needs (e.g., need for food and sleep; 9 experiments).

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The Preference for Distributed Helping [PDF]→

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Sharps, D., & Schroeder, J. (2019). The preference for distributed helping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117, 954-977. [APA PsycNet Link]

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Endorsing Help for Others That You Oppose for Yourself: Mind Perception Alters the Perceived Effectiveness of Paternalism [PDF]→

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Schroeder, J., Waytz, A., & Epley, N. (2017). Endorsing help for others that you oppose for yourself: Mind perception alters the perceived effectiveness of paternalism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146, 1106-1125. [APA PsycNet Link]

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Befriending the Enemy: Outgroup Friendship Longitudinally Predicts Intergroup Attitudes in a Co-Existence Program for Israelis and Palestinians [PDF]→

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Schroeder, J., & Risen, J.L. (2016). Befriending the enemy: Outgroup friendship longitudinally predicts intergroup attitudes in a co-existence program for Israelis and Palestinians. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 19, 72-93. [SAGE Journals Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper finds that outgroup relationships longitudinally and bidirectionally predict intergroup attitude change in a co-existence camp among Israeli and Palestinian teenagers (3 years of data collection).

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Overlooking Others: Dehumanization by Commission and Omission [PDF]→

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Waytz, A., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Overlooking others: Dehumanization by commission and omission. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 21, 1-16. [APA PsycNet Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper distinguishes between two forms of dehumanization, dehumanization by commission (actively and overtly representing others as subhuman) and dehumanization by omission (more passively overlooking others’ mental capacities).

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The Lesser Minds Problem [PDF]→

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Waytz, A., Schroeder, J., & Epley, N. (2014). The lesser minds problem. In Bain, P., Vaes, J., & Leyens, J. P. (Eds.) Humanness and Dehumanization (pp. 49-67). New York, NY: Psychology Press. [APA PsycNet Link]

  • Short Summary: A common psychological bias is assuming others have less active and sophisticated mind than we do. This paper identifies three forms of this “Lesser Minds Problem” and its consequences.

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Motivated Mind Perception: Treating Pets as People and People as Animals [PDF] →

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Epley, N., Schroeder, J., & Waytz, A. (2013). Motivated mind perception: Treating pets as people and people as animals. In Gervais, S. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 60, pp 127–152). Springer: New York. [Springer Link]

  • Short Summary: This paper proposes that anthropomorphism is guided by two primary motives, the need to explain behavior and the need to connect with others.

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