Is torture justifiable?  Should murderers receive the death penalty?  Does a person in a persistent vegetative state deserve moral rights? While such questions may have no objective answer, understanding how people answer them not only illuminates basic social psychological processes but helps us to decide issues when lives hang in the balance. 

The Maryland Mind Perception and Morality Lab, under the direction of Prof. Kurt Gray, investigates moral judgments and how people perceive the minds of others. Linking mind perception and morality can help explain why people debate torture, why they believe in God and how good (and evil) deeds can make people physically more powerful.

Research conducted by MPM lab members has been featured in the New York Times, the Economist, the National Post, Harvard Magazine, the Boston Globe and at a TED event (click to see TED talk).

What is the structure of morality? Lab research suggests that good and evil require (at least) two people, one person to do the harm, and one person to receive it. The person who does the harm - the agent - is perceived in terms of blame, while the person who receives the harm - the patient - is perceived in terms of pain. Thus morality is dyadic, equaling Blame + Pain. Boston Globe coverage. (chapter)

How can good deeds make us powerful? When we think of Superman, one image comes to mind - someone capable of doing heroic feats of strength. Lab research finds that engaging in good deeds can increase a person's tenacity and personal power. This comes about through a self-fulfilling prophecy - people think of themselves as heroes then become one. Interesting, evil deeds make us at least as powerful, if not more. See the TED talk. (article)

How does pain depend on the intentions of other people? Pain was initially thought to be a strictly physical reaction, but it responds to a variety of psychological variable. Lab research finds that pain depends on the intentions of the person hurting you. The identical shock hurts more when given in malice than when inflicted accidentally. This makes sense evolutionary and is in line with dyadic morality. The Economist coverage. (article)

Why do people believe in God? There are many reasons why people believe in God, but lab research suggests that suffering increases belief. People are used to having other people to blame for their plight but when another person to blame cannot be found, they look to the ultimate agent - God. Support for this idea comes from the high correlation between suffering and religious belief in the US. (article)

How can we make the world a better place? From books to movies, people have suggested that good deed can be paid forward. If I help you, then you help someone else, soon we will have a chain of goodwill stretching into the future. Unfortunately, lab research finds that greed is much more likely to be passed on than generosity. This suggests that in order to make the world a better place, preventing yourself from random acts of evil is more important than doing random acts of kindness.

Kurt Gray grew up in Canada, completed his undergrad at the University of Waterloo and his PhD at Harvard. He was almost a geophysicist instead of a social psychologist, but a cold night stranded and stalked by lynx in Northern Alberta convinced him otherwise. Unsurprisingly given the title of the lab, he is interested in mind perception and morality. He enjoys surfing and photography, but if forced to choose, would rather do research than either.

CV                                                                      Email: kurtgray (at) umd.edu

Kristen Klein examines extreme attitudes, cognition, and behavior at the individual and group level, using both normative and behavioral economic definitions of extremism. In her research, she explores cognitive and motivational factors involved in processes of radicalization and deradicalization. She is also leading a project to investigate the individual- and organizational-level factors which motivate suicide attacks.
Email: kklein (at) psyc.umd.edu

Anna Sheveland is in her fifth year at Maryland. Her master's thesis explored the intersection of motivated cognition and implicit and explicit learning. Her current research interests include motivated cognition, morality, and political psychology, particularly along the lines of ideology, public opinion, and terrorism.
Email: asheveland (at) psyc.umd.edu

Lisa Barrett

Paul Bloom

Fiery Cushman

Nick Epley

Andrea Heberlein

Anna Jenkins

Joshua Knobe

Jason Mitchell

Wendy Mendes

Carey Morewedge

Jesse Preston

Michael Norton

Dave Rand

Ryan Ritter

Piercarlo Valdesolo

Adrian Ward

Adam Waytz

Liane Young

    and the incomparable...

Dan Wegner

Interested in joining the lab? We are looking for undergraduate research assistants to help out conducting research. Must be conscientious and have good attention to detail. Must also like people - this is social psychology, after all. Email Prof. Gray with a summary of your classes, grades, experience and a brief but heartfelt admission of your passion for research.

The lab is also taking grad student applications for the fall of 2012.