Gilovich honored for lifetime of research

Social psychology researcher and professor Thomas Gilovich, the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Chair of Psychology, was recently awarded The Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Donald T. Campbell Award.

The senior career award is given to those who have demonstrated distinguished scholarly achievement and sustained excellence in social psychology throughout their professional research career. It honors social psychologist and president of the American Psychological Association, Donald Campbell.. 

In addition to leading classes for undergraduates interested in research in advanced social science topics, Gilovich’s research focuses on everyday human judgement fallacies. His work seeks to understand how people assess one another and their environments. He is particularly interested in how these perceptions lead to false understandings and conclusions, questionable beliefs and incorrect courses of action. 

“It’s a cliche, but the ‘it’s-the-people-along-way' summary really is most apt,” Gilovich said about the honors. “I’m proudest of being honored for research I’ve done with cohort upon cohort of great graduate students, students who were a pleasure to work with and who have gone on to have very productive scientific careers.” 

Gilovich’s findings have implications in explaining gambling behavior, economics perspectives and anchoring in marketing strategies. He has published multiple books and his research has been cited in more than 33,000 scientific works.

Recipients of this award receive a $1,000 honorarium and accompanying plaque, which will be presented during the society’s annual convention, where Gilovich will give an address in a special plenary session.