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Associate professor Ben Converse gave the keynote. Learn more Feb 01, 2024 New Research: Sharing "Eco-Innovations" Can Ease Climate Despair 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. Learn more Jan 26, 2023 When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life 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. Read in UVA Today Oct 13, 2022 Expert: Russia Risks Becoming ‘Isolated Pariah State’ if it Uses Nukes National Security Russia’s president is threatening to use “all the powers and means at our disposal” in its fight against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons expert and Batten School professor Todd Sechser weighs in on the possibilities. Learn more Mar 29, 2022 Putin is discovering that overwhelming military power can be a curse International and Global Affairs Todd S. Sechser, professor of politics and public policy at the Batten School, writes in The Washington Post that small countries can inflict serious damage on invading superpowers. Learn more Feb 25, 2022 Russia Invades Ukraine. What Does it Mean? International and Global Affairs Following the largest attack in Europe since World War II, a trio of experts including Batten's Todd Sechser weigh in on an invasion 31 years in the making. Learn more Jan 31, 2022 Batten's Lipscomb Receives UVA's Prestigious Public Impact-Focused Research Award Social Entrepreneurship Batten professor Molly Lipscomb was honored with the university's Public Impact-Focused Research Award for her work examining the impact of bringing public services to low-income households in countries where services are needed. Learn more Apr 16, 2021 We instinctively add on new features and fixes. Why don’t we subtract instead? Social Psychology Across a series of studies published this month in the journal Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors demonstrated that people tend to overlook the option to subtract parts when asked to change or improve something. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, they explore why ‘less is more’ is a hard insight to act on. Read in The Washington Post Apr 14, 2021 Why People Forget that Less is Often More Social Psychology Why, when solving problems, do people prefer adding things to getting rid of them? In an article for The Economist, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams and Benjamin Converse explain their research on subtractive improvements. Read in The Economist Apr 07, 2021 Why Our Brains Miss Opportunities to Improve through Subtraction Social Psychology Leadership In a new paper featured on the cover of Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors explain why people systematically overlook subtractive improvements. Learn more Nov 06, 2020 Batten Faculty Provide Commentary on Election Results Democracy Political Science In commentary compiled by the Miller Center, Batten Professors Jennifer Lawless, Margaret Foster Riley, Todd Sechser, and Craig Volden weigh in on the 2020 election, offering updates on the latest developments. Full Commentary from UVA's Miller Center Oct 08, 2020 Q&A: COVID-19 and American Foreign Policy with Batten's Sechser International and Global Affairs Democracy As the coronavirus pandemic continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life and government, Batten's Todd Sechser says the handling of the pandemic by the U.S. has implications far beyond our borders, affecting policy and power struggles around the world. READ IN UVA TODAY Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Next page Next › Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Feb 20, 2025 Finding a Seat at the Interdisciplinary Research Table UVA Batten hosted the “Annual Behavioral Science Across Grounds Conference” earlier this month, bringing some of the brightest minds of UVA’s research community to Garrett Hall to exchange ideas, interests, and insights. Associate professor Ben Converse gave the keynote. Learn more
Feb 01, 2024 New Research: Sharing "Eco-Innovations" Can Ease Climate Despair 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. Learn more
Jan 26, 2023 When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life 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. Read in UVA Today
Oct 13, 2022 Expert: Russia Risks Becoming ‘Isolated Pariah State’ if it Uses Nukes National Security Russia’s president is threatening to use “all the powers and means at our disposal” in its fight against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons expert and Batten School professor Todd Sechser weighs in on the possibilities. Learn more
Mar 29, 2022 Putin is discovering that overwhelming military power can be a curse International and Global Affairs Todd S. Sechser, professor of politics and public policy at the Batten School, writes in The Washington Post that small countries can inflict serious damage on invading superpowers. Learn more
Feb 25, 2022 Russia Invades Ukraine. What Does it Mean? International and Global Affairs Following the largest attack in Europe since World War II, a trio of experts including Batten's Todd Sechser weigh in on an invasion 31 years in the making. Learn more
Jan 31, 2022 Batten's Lipscomb Receives UVA's Prestigious Public Impact-Focused Research Award Social Entrepreneurship Batten professor Molly Lipscomb was honored with the university's Public Impact-Focused Research Award for her work examining the impact of bringing public services to low-income households in countries where services are needed. Learn more
Apr 16, 2021 We instinctively add on new features and fixes. Why don’t we subtract instead? Social Psychology Across a series of studies published this month in the journal Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors demonstrated that people tend to overlook the option to subtract parts when asked to change or improve something. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, they explore why ‘less is more’ is a hard insight to act on. Read in The Washington Post
Apr 14, 2021 Why People Forget that Less is Often More Social Psychology Why, when solving problems, do people prefer adding things to getting rid of them? In an article for The Economist, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams and Benjamin Converse explain their research on subtractive improvements. Read in The Economist
Apr 07, 2021 Why Our Brains Miss Opportunities to Improve through Subtraction Social Psychology Leadership In a new paper featured on the cover of Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors explain why people systematically overlook subtractive improvements. Learn more
Nov 06, 2020 Batten Faculty Provide Commentary on Election Results Democracy Political Science In commentary compiled by the Miller Center, Batten Professors Jennifer Lawless, Margaret Foster Riley, Todd Sechser, and Craig Volden weigh in on the 2020 election, offering updates on the latest developments. Full Commentary from UVA's Miller Center
Oct 08, 2020 Q&A: COVID-19 and American Foreign Policy with Batten's Sechser International and Global Affairs Democracy As the coronavirus pandemic continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life and government, Batten's Todd Sechser says the handling of the pandemic by the U.S. has implications far beyond our borders, affecting policy and power struggles around the world. READ IN UVA TODAY