<< Back to Faculty Timothy Wilson Sherrell J. Aston Professor Emeritus of Psychology Education & Training Ph.D. University of Michigan, 1977 (Psychology) M.A. University of Michigan, 1975 (Psychology) B.A. Hampshire College, 1973 (Psychology) 434-924-0674 tdw@virginia.edu Gilmer 319 Research Website Areas of focus Social Psychology Timothy Wilson is Sherrell J Aston Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Wilson has conducted research showing the limits of introspection as a source of self-knowledge, the dangers of engaging in too much introspection about why we do what we do, the difficulty in predicting our future emotional reactions, as well as the pleasures we can derive from “just thinking.” He has also conducted research on applications of social psychology to address social problems. Related Content Who am I? Beyond "I think, therefore I am." Research Can we ever truly answer the question, “Who am I?” Moderated by Alex Voorhoeve (London School of Economics), neuro-philosopher Elie During (University of Paris, Ouest Nanterre), cognitive scientist David Jopling (York University, Canada), social psychologist Timothy Wilson (University of Virginia), and ethicist Frances Kamm (Harvard University) examine the difficulty of achieving genuine self-knowledge and how the pursuit of self-knowledge plays a role in shaping the self. Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change Research What if there were a magic pill that could make you happier, turn you into a better parent, solve a number of your teenager’s behavior problems, reduce racial prejudice, and close the achievement gap in education? Well, there is no such magic pill-but there is a new scientifically based approach called story editing that can accomplish all of this. Winners love winning and losers love money. Research Salience and satisfaction are important factors in determining the comparisons that people make. We hypothesized that people make salient comparisons first, and then make satisfying comparisons only if salient comparisons leave them unsatisfied. How we feel about the deal Research Recent experimental research suggests that humans are prone to systematic errors when determining how they currently feel, imagining how they will feel about future events, remembering how they have felt about past events, and understanding the preferences that underlie their decisions. In this article, we briefly review three basic assumptions that are called into question by recent findings regarding specific kinds of errors that people are prone to make. We suggest that this line of research has important implications for negotiation theory, research, advice, and practice. If money doesn’t make you happy then you probably aren’t spending it right. Research The relationship between money and happiness is surprisingly weak, which may stem in part from the way people spend it. Drawing on empirical research, we propose eight principles designed to help consumers get more happiness for their money. Conserving energy by inducing people to drive less. Research We attempted to reduce college students’ use of their cars with an online intervention. Every other day for 2 weeks, students reported the number of miles they had avoided driving. “He loves me, he loves me not . . . ”: Uncertainty can increase romantic attraction. Research This research qualifies a social psychological truism: that people like others who like them (the reciprocity principle). College women viewed the Facebook profiles of four male students who had previously seen their profiles. View All
Who am I? Beyond "I think, therefore I am." Research Can we ever truly answer the question, “Who am I?” Moderated by Alex Voorhoeve (London School of Economics), neuro-philosopher Elie During (University of Paris, Ouest Nanterre), cognitive scientist David Jopling (York University, Canada), social psychologist Timothy Wilson (University of Virginia), and ethicist Frances Kamm (Harvard University) examine the difficulty of achieving genuine self-knowledge and how the pursuit of self-knowledge plays a role in shaping the self.
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change Research What if there were a magic pill that could make you happier, turn you into a better parent, solve a number of your teenager’s behavior problems, reduce racial prejudice, and close the achievement gap in education? Well, there is no such magic pill-but there is a new scientifically based approach called story editing that can accomplish all of this.
Winners love winning and losers love money. Research Salience and satisfaction are important factors in determining the comparisons that people make. We hypothesized that people make salient comparisons first, and then make satisfying comparisons only if salient comparisons leave them unsatisfied.
How we feel about the deal Research Recent experimental research suggests that humans are prone to systematic errors when determining how they currently feel, imagining how they will feel about future events, remembering how they have felt about past events, and understanding the preferences that underlie their decisions. In this article, we briefly review three basic assumptions that are called into question by recent findings regarding specific kinds of errors that people are prone to make. We suggest that this line of research has important implications for negotiation theory, research, advice, and practice.
If money doesn’t make you happy then you probably aren’t spending it right. Research The relationship between money and happiness is surprisingly weak, which may stem in part from the way people spend it. Drawing on empirical research, we propose eight principles designed to help consumers get more happiness for their money.
Conserving energy by inducing people to drive less. Research We attempted to reduce college students’ use of their cars with an online intervention. Every other day for 2 weeks, students reported the number of miles they had avoided driving.
“He loves me, he loves me not . . . ”: Uncertainty can increase romantic attraction. Research This research qualifies a social psychological truism: that people like others who like them (the reciprocity principle). College women viewed the Facebook profiles of four male students who had previously seen their profiles.