Principal Researcher Jerry Richardson

BACKGROUND

Jerry Richardson earned his PhD in Psychology from Cornell University. He also holds an MA in Psychology from Cornell University, and a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland. He also conducted research in Wendy Wood’s lab at the University of Southern California. 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Jerry studies how emotion and reason shape moral judgment—how we come to see others as good or bad, right or wrong, deserving of praise or blame—and how these judgments differ depending on whether we’re evaluating ourselves or others. He also studies reputation management: what people say and do to appear trustworthy and morally good. His work is driven by questions such as: How do individuals represent other minds? When, why, and how do people signal (or not signal) their own moral character? And what role do emotions play in how we evaluate other people’s minds and actions? Grounded in real-world phenomena, his research sheds light on the drivers of cooperative, prosocial behavior—and the barriers that block it.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Lee, R.T., Brodie, K., Richardson, J., & Gilovich, T. (2026). Glad to help out: Grateful people are more likely to engage in costly prosocial action. Emotion. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1037/emo0001722

Richardson, J., Bloom, P., Nichols, S., Pizarro, D. (2025). The do-gooder dilemma: A self/other asymmetry in the perceived emotional costs of self-reporting good deeds. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 121, 104808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104808.

Richardson, J., & Gilovich, T. (2023). A very public replication of the temporal pattern to people's regrets. Royal Society Open Science, 10(6), 221574. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221574