Research.
As Director of the Social Behavior and Decisions Lab [SoBaD], I collaborate with graduate and undergraduate students, postdocs, and research associates at UVa and beyond to explore human behavior. Our aim is to shed light on how people pursue goals and make decisions in a social world.
Publications
*Top link goes to published article.
[view] links to open access, pre-print, or other shareable version, if available.
email: We do our best to share papers while observing publishers' guidelines. If you are having trouble accessing a paper for personal use, please contact our lab manager, Natalie Baumeister (npb6pa@virginia.edu).
Supply, Demand and Polarization Challenges Facing US Climate Policies
Burgess, M. G., Van Boven, L., Wagner, G., Wong-Parodi, G., Baker, K., Boykoff, M., Converse, B. A. ... Vandenbergh, M.P. (2024). Nature Climate Change, 1-9.
Psychology of Rivalry: A Social-Cognitive Approach to Competitive Relationships
Converse, B. A., Reinhard, D. A., & Austin, M. M. K. (2024). In S. M. Garcia, A. Tor, & A. Elliott (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of The Psychology and Competition, (ch. 19), Oxford University Press.
Converse, B. A., Tsang, S., & Hennecke, M. (2023). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 152, 3021-3035.
Making People Aware of Eco-Innovation Can Decrease Climate Despair
Neale, C., Austin, M. M. K., Roe, J., & Converse, B. A. (2023). Climatic Change, 176, 1-21.
Problem Solving from a Goal-Systems Perspective
Converse, B. A. (2023). In A. Kruglanski, A. Fishbach, & C. Kopetz (Eds.), Goal Systems Theory: Psychological Processes and Applications, (ch. 10), Oxford University Press.
People-watching and the environment: Looking for signs of hope while concern outpaces action.
Converse, B. A. & Austin, M. M. K. (2022). Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 249-253.
Appears in a special issue on People-Watching: Interpersonal and Prediction (eds. K. Barasz & T. Kim).
Austin, M. M. K. & Converse, B. A. (2021). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 78, 1016900.
People systematically overlook subtractive changes. [view]
Adams, G. S., Converse, B. A., Hales, A. H., & Klotz, L. E. (2021). Nature, 592, 258-261.
If humans design the planet: A call for psychological scientists to engage with climate engineering.
Converse, B. A., Hancock, P., Klotz, L. E., Clarens, A. F., & Adams, G. S. (2021). American Psychologist, 76, 768-780.
Self-control and the reasons behind our goals. [view]
Converse, B. A., Juarez, L., & Hennecke, M. (2019). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116, 860-883.
Converse, B. A. & Dennis, P. J. (2018). Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 147, 94-107.
Next week, next month, next year: How perceived temporal boundaries affect initiation expectations. [view]
Hennecke, M. & Converse, B. A. (2017). Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 918-926.
Slow motion increases perceived intent.
Caruso, E. M., Burns, Z. C., & Converse, B. A. (2016). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113, 9250-9255.
On rivalry and goal pursuit: Shared competitive history, legacy concerns, and strategy selection.
Converse, B. A. & Reinhard, D. A. (2016). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110, 191-213.
Maloney, E. A., Converse, B. A., Gibbs, C. R., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2015). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 727-732.
Investing in karma: When wanting promotes helping.
Converse, B. A., Risen, J. L., & Carter, T. J. (2012). Psychological Science, 23, 923-930.
Instrumentality boosts appreciation: Helpers are more appreciated while they are useful.
Converse, B. A. & Fishbach, A. (2012). Psychological Science, 23, 560-566.
Identifying and counteracting temptations.
Fishbach, A. & Converse, B. A. (2011). In K. D. Vohs & R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications, 2nd Edition (pp. 242-262). Guilford.
You're having fun when time flies: The hedonic consequences of subjective time progression.
Sackett, A. M., Meyvis, T., Nelson, L. D., Converse, B. A., & Sackett, A. L. (2010). Psychological Science, 21, 111-117.
Walking the line between goals and temptations.
Fishbach, A. & Converse, B. A. (2010). In R. R. Hassin, K. Ochsner, and Y. Trope (Eds.), Self Control in Society, Mind, and Brain (pp. 289-407). Oxford.
Believers' estimates of God's beliefs are more egocentric than estimates of other people's beliefs.
Epley, N., Converse, B. A., Delbosc, A., Monteleone, G., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2009). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 21533-21538.
In the mood to get over yourself: Mood affects theory-of-mind use.
Converse, B. A., Lin, S., Keysar, B., & Epley, N. (2008). Emotion, 8, 725-730.
Reciprocity is not give and take: Asymmetric reciprocity to positive and negative acts.
Keysar, B., Converse, B. A., Wang, J., & Epley, N. (2008). Psychological Science, 19, 1280-1286.
Sharing.
We do our best to share papers while observing publishers' guidelines. If you are having trouble accessing a paper for personal use, please contact our lab manager, Natalie Baumeister (npb6pa@virginia.edu).