WATCH: Princeton Psychologist Betsy Levy Paluck Wins MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant
Image by NPR.org
By Ari Feldman October 11, 2017
A Princeton University psychologist who studies how to reduce social tensions — from high school bullying to ethnic tension in Rwanda — was selected for a 2017 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Betsy Levy Paluck is one of 24 fellows announced Wednesday.
Paluck has dedicated her career in research psychology to determining how psychological insights can be applied to reducing prejudice and conflict in real-world situations.
Her most famous study to date has been tracking the effects of a radio soap opera in post-genocide Rwanda. The soap followed characters from different ethnic backgrounds that were able to reconcile their differences. Paluck found that even while Rwandan’s tended to maintain their ethnic prejudices, their behavior towards people of different ethnicities became more peaceable and friendly.
“I’ve been really interested in this idea: That how we behave is actually much more influenced by what other people think than by our own personal ideas,” Paluck told NPR. “I think everybody’s had the experience of doing something because they thought it was expected of them.”
Paluck plans to use part of her “Genius” grant — $625,000 over five years — to help connect social science scholars with activists and NGOs to help solve real-world problems.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward What the election of Mark Carney would mean for Canadian Jews and Israel
-
Fast Forward Over 500 rabbis sign letter rejecting Trump’s antisemitism agenda
-
Fast Forward AJC, USC Shoah Foundation announce partnership to document antisemitism since World War II
-
Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward What the election of Mark Carney would mean for Canadian Jews and Israel
-
Fast Forward Over 500 rabbis sign letter rejecting Trump’s antisemitism agenda
-
Film & TV In ‘The Rehearsal,’ Nathan Fielder fights the removal of his Holocaust fashion episode
-
Fast Forward AJC, USC Shoah Foundation announce partnership to document antisemitism since World War II
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.