Interests

Who do we let change our minds about right and wrong? We're exposed to moral arguments constantly — through the news, social media, coworkers, friends, religious leaders, politicians — and they don't all carry equal weight. The same argument may persuade us when one person makes it and fail when someone else does, often regardless of how sound the reasoning is. My research investigates why: specifically, how being seen as a "good" or "bad" person shapes a person's ability to influence others' moral beliefs and behaviors. There's an established literature on how perceptions of a messenger affect persuasion broadly; my work isolates moral character as a variable that may matter a great deal once the subject itself turns moral.

I study two related effects. The first is whether people perceived as morally good or morally bad are more or less successful at changing others’ minds on a moral issue. The second is whether those perceptions shape future epistemic receptivity, or the willingness to continue listening to and learning from that person over time. A moral reputation may therefore affect not only whether a single argument succeeds, but also whether future arguments from that same person are seriously considered, dismissed outright, or given the benefit of the doubt before they are even evaluated.

This line of research has implications for how moral beliefs spread and change within society. At a deeper level, it raises the question of whether moral influence is earned through the strength of one’s arguments or through the reputation of the person making them. If the latter plays a substantial role, perceptions of moral character may quietly shape the marketplace of ideas and beliefs.

Beyond this line of work, I’m broadly interested in all things related to humanity’s deepest convictions, such as much of the work produced within moral psychology, political psychology, the psychology of religion, positive psychology, and experimental philosophy. These fields continue to shape how I think about human nature and the forces that guide how we live, connect, and flourish.

Outside of research, I’m passionate about prison education, financial literacy, and marathon training. I believe everyone should understand compound interest and experience the mental turmoil of mile 20. I completed the 2025 Virtual NYC Marathon (in Ithaca, NY) and the 2026 London Marathon, and I’ll be running the 2026 NYC Marathon in November and the 2027 Cape Town Marathon in May—using the term "running" very generously.