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My research examines how individuals make judgments and decisions about global risks, the well-being of future generations, and effective charitable giving.

More specifically, I’m interested in understanding the psychological obstacles in aligning people’s feelings with the importance of global problems. We humans often display remarkable generosity, even towards strangers we will never meet. But we don’t always do so as effectively as possible, in part because of our psychology. For example, we don’t care 100 times as much about 100 people’s suffering than 1 person’s suffering. We have trouble grasping the stakes of risks to humanity’s survival. We understand future generations will inherit the consequences of our present day actions, yet it’s hard to resonate with their feelings. I’m hopeful that researching these barriers can ultimately encourage key decision-makers and society at large to engage in high-impact prosocial behaviors.

Currently, my research projects aim to answer the following questions:

• Why do people have trouble empathizing with others’ well-being in the future compared to the present?

• What do people think about human extinction? How likely do they think it is? To what extent do they believe society should prioritize human extinction risks and how can psychological interventions nudge these beliefs?

• Why are people hesitant to warn others about significant yet unlikely societal risks? What social factors overcome this reluctance?

I’m also the Project Manager at Giving Multiplier, an award-winning charitable donation platform created by psychology researchers at Harvard University. Giving Multiplier encourages donors to give to their favorite charity and an expert-recommended effective charity. The greater proportion you give to the effective charity, the more your donation is boosted from our matching fund. If you’re an organization interested in partnering with us, please email me (matt [at] givingmultiplier [dot] org).

My research training is in social psychology and judgment and decision-making, but my work also intersects with other subdisciplines including affective science, moral psychology, and cognitive psychology. Before starting my graduate research, I led research projects spanning a variety of other topics in psychology and neuroscience, including visual attention, learning & memory, the cognitive effects of exercise, mindfulness, and resilience to stress.

Finally, I’m passionate about mentorship, especially helping students navigate their career paths. I created this resource guide to help psychology students find full-time post-grad research positions.