About News Finding a Seat at the Interdisciplinary Research Table Feb 20, 2025 Cathryn McCue Finding a Seat at the Interdisciplinary Research Table UVA Batten hosted the “Annual Behavioral Science Across Grounds Conference” last week, bringing some of the brightest minds of UVA’s research community to Garrett Hall to exchange ideas, interests and insights.In a blend of six “data blitz talks” and four longer discussion sessions, presenters explored topics including social power, forming friendships, structural racism, healthcare disparities, critical consciousness, mascot names and AI.Batten Dean Ian H. Solomon set the tone for the conference in his opening remarks. Behavioral science has the power to yield tremendous positive impacts in society, but also potentially to do harm, he said, so the need for wider and more inclusive conversation around key issues is critical.“Conferences and convenings like this are important because they force us out of our singular and sometimes narrow questions to consider the broader implications and the interactions across our work,” he told the roughly 40 attendees. This is especially true now with the eruption of AI and big data into almost every aspect of human life, he said. “Whether we will be saved by the algorithms or destroyed by them is an important question for behavioral science.”The conference series, now in its fourth year, is organized by Gabrielle Adams, a joint faculty member in Batten and in the Darden School of Business; Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi, associate professor in psychology and public policy; and Tim Wilson, Sherrell J. Aston Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UVA. The conference brings together faculty from fields as varied as psychology, marketing, leadership, education, civil engineering, medicine, architecture, public health, data science, and philosophy.UVA Batten associate professor Benjamin Converse gave the keynote address, titled “Table Manners,” about doing impactful research, scholarship that stretches beyond basic study – something he described as having a seat at the table.He shared his experience of the last couple years working on a committee of the National Academies of Science with a “definitively interdisciplinary group of scholars — climatologists, engineers, hydrologists, someone who called herself an ice-cubologist, and three social scientists.” In listening to those discussions, Converse said he realized the benefit of being multi-lingual in terms of the language, assumptions and jargon of other disciplines.Having a better understanding of what others are doing and why provides researchers the tools to ask more important questions and pursue better methodologies, he said. “Instead of just repeating your message that social psychology says ‘X,’ it’s trying to understand what the political theorist is saying, what the economist is saying. That makes it more likely that you’ll get invited to the table.”Converse said the scholars at last week’s conference were excited to be there and hear what their colleagues were up to in their research.“If we had just one behavioral science department at UVA it would be massive and it would be considered amazing. There’s just so many creative, thoughtful people here.”### Benjamin Converse Benjamin Converse is an associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Department of Psychology. His research focuses on motivation, social judgment, problem solving and decision making. He teaches courses related to leadership and negotiations. Read full bio Gabrielle Adams Gabrielle Adams is an associate professor of public policy and business administration at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and in the Darden School of Business’s Leadership and Organizational Behavior area. Adams studies the processes and dynamics that give rise to ‘good’ decisions, policies and conditions in organizations. Read full bio Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi is an associate professor of psychology and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Brown-Iannuzzi's research seeks to understand why social group disparities may persist and, in some cases, grow. Read full bio Related Content Benjamin Converse Better Sharing of “Eco-Innovations” Can Combat Rising Climate Despair Research Climate despair is emerging as a psychosocial threat. Ben Converse, associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Batten School, along with Batten post-doc Maura Austin and other UVA researchers, have found a potential source of hope that is underutilized. People systematically overlook subtractive changes Research A series of problem-solving experiments reveal that people are more likely to consider solutions that add features than solutions that remove them, even when removing features is more efficient. New Research: Sharing "Eco-Innovations" Can Ease Climate Despair News Climate despair is emerging as a psychosocial threat. Ben Converse, associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Batten School, and other UVA researchers have found a potential source of hope that is underutilized. When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors. Gabrielle Adams The “Equal-Opportunity Jerk” Defense: Rudeness Can Obfuscate Gender Bias Research In this research, we identified a barrier that makes sexism hard to recognize: rudeness toward men. We found that observers judge a sexist perpetrator as less sexist if he is rude toward men. Anger Damns the Innocent Research False accusations permeate social life—from the mundane blaming of other people to more serious accusations of infidelity and workplace wrongdoing. Importantly, false accusations can have grave consequences, including broken relationships, job loss, and reputational damage. In this article, we document an equally pernicious phenomenon—the misuse of anger as a cue to predict whether a suspect has been falsely accused. Meeting Overload Is a Fixable Problem News Batten School professor Gabe Adams spoke with American Talk about the benefits of adopting a subtraction mindset and how to get it done. When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors. Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi Confederate monuments and the history of lynching in the American South: An empirical examination Research The present work interrogates the history of Confederate memorializations by examining the relationship between these memorializations and lynching, an explicitly racist act of violence. Confederate monuments and the history of lynching in the American South: An empirical examination Research The present work interrogates the history of Confederate memorializations by examining the relationship between these memorializations and lynching, an explicitly racist act of violence. Brown-Iannuzzi, Claibourn, Trawalter: ‘Confederate memorials are associated with hate’ — New UVA study shows ‘significant’ correlation between lynchings and monuments News A UVA research team, including three Batten professors, uncovered a quantifiable relationship between Confederate memorials and the explicitly racist practice of lynching. New UVA Study Finds Correlation Between Lynchings and Confederate Monuments News A team of Batten and psychology researchers are bringing an empirical perspective to a national conversation. Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Benjamin Converse Benjamin Converse is an associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Department of Psychology. His research focuses on motivation, social judgment, problem solving and decision making. He teaches courses related to leadership and negotiations. Read full bio
Gabrielle Adams Gabrielle Adams is an associate professor of public policy and business administration at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and in the Darden School of Business’s Leadership and Organizational Behavior area. Adams studies the processes and dynamics that give rise to ‘good’ decisions, policies and conditions in organizations. Read full bio
Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi is an associate professor of psychology and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Brown-Iannuzzi's research seeks to understand why social group disparities may persist and, in some cases, grow. Read full bio
Better Sharing of “Eco-Innovations” Can Combat Rising Climate Despair Research Climate despair is emerging as a psychosocial threat. Ben Converse, associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Batten School, along with Batten post-doc Maura Austin and other UVA researchers, have found a potential source of hope that is underutilized.
People systematically overlook subtractive changes Research A series of problem-solving experiments reveal that people are more likely to consider solutions that add features than solutions that remove them, even when removing features is more efficient.
New Research: Sharing "Eco-Innovations" Can Ease Climate Despair News Climate despair is emerging as a psychosocial threat. Ben Converse, associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Batten School, and other UVA researchers have found a potential source of hope that is underutilized.
When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors.
The “Equal-Opportunity Jerk” Defense: Rudeness Can Obfuscate Gender Bias Research In this research, we identified a barrier that makes sexism hard to recognize: rudeness toward men. We found that observers judge a sexist perpetrator as less sexist if he is rude toward men.
Anger Damns the Innocent Research False accusations permeate social life—from the mundane blaming of other people to more serious accusations of infidelity and workplace wrongdoing. Importantly, false accusations can have grave consequences, including broken relationships, job loss, and reputational damage. In this article, we document an equally pernicious phenomenon—the misuse of anger as a cue to predict whether a suspect has been falsely accused.
Meeting Overload Is a Fixable Problem News Batten School professor Gabe Adams spoke with American Talk about the benefits of adopting a subtraction mindset and how to get it done.
When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors.
Confederate monuments and the history of lynching in the American South: An empirical examination Research The present work interrogates the history of Confederate memorializations by examining the relationship between these memorializations and lynching, an explicitly racist act of violence.
Confederate monuments and the history of lynching in the American South: An empirical examination Research The present work interrogates the history of Confederate memorializations by examining the relationship between these memorializations and lynching, an explicitly racist act of violence.
Brown-Iannuzzi, Claibourn, Trawalter: ‘Confederate memorials are associated with hate’ — New UVA study shows ‘significant’ correlation between lynchings and monuments News A UVA research team, including three Batten professors, uncovered a quantifiable relationship between Confederate memorials and the explicitly racist practice of lynching.
New UVA Study Finds Correlation Between Lynchings and Confederate Monuments News A team of Batten and psychology researchers are bringing an empirical perspective to a national conversation.