Research

In general, I am interested in empirical approaches to understanding ethics and how to influence moral beliefs, feelings, and behaviors.  As a harm-theorist, I hypothesize that moral judgments basically depend on harm perception.  Philosophically, I believe suffering is universally bad and that we ought to reduce suffering in the world. I hope that my research helps reduce suffering in the world.

While earning my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Applied Cognition and Development) at the University of Georgia, I researched how people think and feel about harming animals indirectly in specific ways (e.g. eating meat and by using disposable plastic), and how to change these thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by framing animals as having minds with more or less agentic qualities (e.g. intelligence, free-will).

For my M.S. in Digital Media at the Georgia Institute of Technology, I researched how digital artifacts, like online petitions, are used rhetorically and how they might be redesigned to better communicate and address perceived injustices.

Research Interests

  • Moral Psychology and Descriptive Ethics
    • Moral Motivation
      • Moral Identity
      • Moral Disengagement
      • Ethical Leadership Development
    • Research Ethics
      • Interpretations and Implementation of Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity
      • Accidental Plagiarism of Research Software
      • Design & Evaluation of Scientific Integrity Training
    • Food Ethics & Animal Ethics
      • Folk Beliefs about Animal Minds (Mind Perception of Animals)
      • Moral Judgements and Moral Emotions (e.g. guilt) about Harming Animals
      • Rationalizations for Harming Animals (e.g., for food, sport)
      • Relationship between Mind Perception of Animals and Moral Motivation to Harm Animals

Research Methods

  • Online Experiments
  • Survey
  • Ethnography

Publications

  • Doctoral Dissertation
    • The Influence of Beliefs about Animal Agency on Moral Judgments about Harming Animals
      I researched how beliefs about the minds of animals influence moral concern for harming them in terms of moral judgments, feelings of guilt, and behavioral intentions.
  • Masters Thesis
    • We the undersigned: anonymous dissent and the struggle for personal identity in online petitions

      I researched how online petitions functioned rhetorically.