Influence Tactics

With PhD student Craig Lewis, I investigate how power and persuasion underlie the behaviors we engage in to carry out power.

Dissociative Status

This set of multiple studies has shown that people willingly confer status onto others who show defiance or exclusivity–qualities not normally considered part of the prestige pathway to status.

Latent Lieutenant

In multiple studies, we’ve shown that a potential leader is seen as more powerful, more competent, and sometimes even more likable, based on the subtle nonverbal responses of other people around them.

Theories of Power

My coauthors and I develop a two-factor theory that describe how some people want power for the pleasures it offers, and others because it enables progress toward important goals.

Status & Safety

We know (or think we know) that people want status because it carries privileges, opportunities, and rewards. But perhaps people want status for a more fundamental reason: because it helps keep us out of dangerous situations, thus making us safer.