PETER DESCIOLI
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Background2012-2013 IFREE Postdoc Fellow in Psychology, Harvard University
ResearchMy research investigates how the human mind uses principles of strategy to solve problems in the social world. Much of my work has focused on moral judgment, especially the functions of condemning other people, moralistic punishment, and moral impartiality. I also study how people form alliances, how they choose their loyalties to others, and how they display and conceal their loyalties. In a third project, I look at our sense of ownership by designing computer games to observe conflicts over resources in the laboratory. In recent years, I have been designing games for experiments about politics, including redistribution of wealth, social safety nets, alliance formation, and political negotiation. Play games!
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Publications![]() Connors, E. C., Del Ponte, A. & DeScioli, P. (in press). Indirect restrictions demoblize supporters of abortion rights. Policy Studies Journal. [link] **DeScioli, P. (2023). On the origin of laws by natural selection. Evolution and Human Behavior, 44, 195-209. [link] DeScioli, P. (2023). The dangers of alliances caused the evolution of moral principles. Psychological Inquiry, 34, 175-179. [link] DeScioli, P. (2023). Computational theories should be made with natural language instead of meaningless code. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e332. [link] DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2023). Moralistic punishment is not for cooperation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e301. [link] Reed, L. I., Enayetallah, M., & DeScioli, P. (2023). A risk or an opportunity? Facial expressions of fear in bargaining. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 9, 328-337. [link] **DeScioli, P., & Pinker, S. (2022). Piled modifiers, buried verbs, and other turgid prose in the American Political Science Review. PS: Political Science and Politics, 55, 123-128. [pdf] Del Ponte, A., & DeScioli, P. (2022). Pay your debts: Moral dilemmas of international debt. Political Behavior, 44, 1657-1680. [pdf] Del Ponte, A., Delton, A. W., & DeScioli, P. (2021). Altruism and spite in politics: How the mind makes welfare tradeoffs about political parties. Political Behavior, 43, 1289-1310. [pdf] Del Ponte, A., DeScioli, P., Masiliunas, A., & Lim, N. (2021). One-way routes complicate cooperation in migrant crises. Scientific Reports, 11, 13529. [pdf] Huang, L., DeScioli, P., & Murad, Z. (2021). Pulling for the team: Competition between individuals, groups, and political partisans. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 7, 97-105. [pdf] Bor, A., Mazepus, H., Bokemper, S. E., & DeScioli, P. (2021). When should the majority rule? Experimental evidence for Madisonian judgments in five cultures. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 8, 41-50. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Cho, B., Bokemper, S. E., & Delton, A. W. (2020). Selfish and cooperative voting: Can the majority restrain themselves? Political Behavior, 42, 261-283. [pdf] Delton, A. W., DeScioli, P., & Ryan, T. J. (2020). Moral obstinacy in political negotiations. Political Psychology, 41, 3-20. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Bokemper, S. E. (2019). Intuitive political theory: People’s judgments about how groups should decide. Political Psychology, 40, 617-636. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Kimbrough, E. O. (2019). Alliance formation in a side-taking experiment. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 6, 53-70. [pdf] Del Ponte, A., & DeScioli, P. (2019). Spending too little in hard times. Cognition, 183, 139-151. [pdf] De Freitas, J., Thomas, K., DeScioli, P., & Pinker, S. (2019). Common knowledge, coordination, and strategic mentalizing in human social life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 13751-13758. [pdf] Bokemper, S. E., DeScioli, P., & Kline, R. (2019). Unfair rules for unequal pay: Wage discrimination and procedural justice. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 6, 180-191. [pdf] De Freitas, J., DeScioli, P., Thomas, K., & Pinker, S. (2019). Maimonides' ladder: States of mutual knowledge and the perception of charitability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148, 158-173. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Shaw, A., & Delton, A. W. (2018). Share the wealth: Redistribution can increase economic efficiency. Political Behavior, 40, 279-300. [pdf] Delton, A. W., Petersen, M. B., DeScioli, P., & Robertson, T. E. (2018). Need, compassion, and support for social welfare. Political Psychology, 39, 907-924.[pdf] Thomas, K., DeScioli, P., & Pinker, S. (2018). Common knowledge, coordination, and the logic of self-conscious emotions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39, 179-190. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2018). How Homo economicus lost her mind and how we can revive her. Comment on “Folk-economic beliefs: An evolutionary cognitive model.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 41, E158. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2018). Morality is for choosing sides. In K. Gray & J. Graham (Eds.), Atlas of Moral Psychology (pp. 177-185). New York: Guildford Press. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Karpoff, R., & De Freitas, J. (2017). Ownership dilemmas: The case of finders versus landowners. Cognitive Science, 41, 502-522. [pdf] Shaw, A., DeScioli, P., Barakzai, A., & Kurzban, R. (2017). Whoever is not with me is against me: The costs of neutrality among friends. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 71, 96-104. [pdf] De Freitas, J., DeScioli, P., Nemirow, J., Massenkoff, M., & Pinker, S. (2017). Kill or die: Moral judgment alters linguistic coding of causality. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43, 1173-1182. [pdf] Reed, L. I., & DeScioli, P. (2017). Watch out! How a fearful face adds credibility to warnings of danger. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38, 490-495. [pdf] Reed, L. I., & DeScioli, P. (2017). The communicative function of sad facial expressions. Evolutionary Psychology, 15, 1-9. [pdf] Reed, L. I., & DeScioli, P. (2017). The emotional moves of a rational actor: Smiles, scowls, and other credible messages. Games, 8, 1-11. [pdf] Thomas, K. A., De Freitas, J., DeScioli, P., & Pinker, S. (2016). Recursive mentalizing and common knowledge in the bystander effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 621-629. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2016). The side-taking hypothesis for moral judgment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 7, 23-27. [pdf] Neuberg, S., & DeScioli, P. (2016). Prejudices: Managing perceived threats to group life. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Second Edition (pp.704-721). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Kurzban, R., & DeScioli, P. (2016). Morality. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Second Edition (pp.770-787). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
DeScioli, P., & Karpoff, R. (2015). People's judgments about classic property law cases. Human Nature, 26, 184-209. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Rosa, N. M., & Gutchess, A. H. (2015). A memory advantage for property. Evolutionary Psychology, 13, 411-423. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Kurzban, R., & Todd, P. (2015). Evolved decision makers in organizations. In Arvey, R. D., & Colarelli, S. M. (Eds.) Biological Foundations of Organizational Behavior (pp. 203-235). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. DeScioli, P., Massenkoff, M., Shaw, A., Petersen, M. B., & Kurzban, R. (2014). Equity or equality? Moral judgments follow the money. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281, 20142112. [pdf] Thomas, K. A., DeScioli, P., Haque, O. S., & Pinker, S. (2014). The psychology of coordination and common knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107, 657-676. [pdf] Reed, L. I., DeScioli, P., & Pinker, S. (2014). The commitment function of angry facial expressions. Psychological Science, 25, 1511-1517. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Bokemper, S. (2014). Voting as a counter-strategy in the blame game. Psychological Inquiry, 25, 206-214. [pdf] **DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2013). A solution to the mysteries of morality. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 477-496. [pdf] Tybur, J. M., Lieberman, D., Kurzban, R., & DeScioli, P. (2013). Disgust: Evolved function and structure. Psychological Review, 120, 65-84. [pdf] Kurzban, R., & DeScioli, P. (2013). Adaptationist punishment in humans. Journal of Bioeconomics, 15, 269-279. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Krishna, S. (2013). Giving to whom? Altruism in different types of relationships. Journal of Economic Psychology, 34 218-228. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2013). Does market competition explain fairness? Comment on DeScioli, P., Asao, K., & Kurzban. R. (2012). Omissions and byproducts across moral domains. PLoS ONE, 7, e46963.[pdf] DeScioli, P., Gilbert, S., & Kurzban, R. (2012). Indelible victims and persistent punishers in moral cognition. Psychological Inquiry, 23, 143-149. [pdf] Shaw, A., DeScioli, P., & Olson, K. (2012). Fairness versus favoritism in children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33, 736-745. [pdf] Kurzban, R., DeScioli, P., & Fein, D. (2012). Hamilton vs. Kant: Pitting adaptations for altruism against adaptations for moral judgment. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33, 323-333. [pdf] **DeScioli, P., & Wilson, B. J. (2011). The territorial foundations of human property. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32, 297-304. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Christner, J., & Kurzban, R. (2011). The omission strategy. Psychological Science, 22, 442-446. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Bruening, R., & Kurzban. R. (2011). The omission effect in moral cognition: Toward a functional explanation. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32, 204-215. [pdf] DeScioli, P., Kurzban, R., Koch, E. N., & Liben-Nowell, D. (2011). Best friends: Alliances, friend ranking, and the MySpace social network. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 6-8. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2011). The company you keep: Friendship decisions from a functional perspective. In Krueger, J. I. (Ed.), Social Judgment and Decision Making (pp.209-225). New York: Psychology Press. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2010). Heavy hearts and heads held high - A review of Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds [by Steven Vogel]. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 304-306. [pdf] Weisbord, R. K., & DeScioli, P. (2010). The effects of donor standing on philanthropy: Insights from the psychology of gift-giving. Gonzaga Law Review, 45, 225-289. [pdf] **DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2009). Mysteries of morality. Cognition, 112, 281-299. [pdf] **DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2009). The alliance hypothesis for human friendship. PLoS ONE, 4, e5802. [pdf] Kurzban, R., & DeScioli, P. (2008). Reciprocity in groups: Information-seeking in a public goods game. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 139-158. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2008). Beyond selfish and selfless [Review of Moral sentiments and material interests by H. Gintis, S. Bowles, R. Boyd, and E. Fehr (Eds.)]. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 67, 524-528. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2008). Cracking the superhero's moral code. In R. Rosenberg (Ed.), The Psychology of Superheroes (pp.245-259). Dallas, TX: BenBella Books. [amazon] Kurzban, R., DeScioli, P., & O'Brien, E. (2007). Audience effects on moralistic punishment. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 75-84. [pdf] DeScioli, P. (2007). Peering underneath the hood of morality [Review of Moral minds by M. D. Hauser]. Evolutionary Psychology, 5, 306-312. [pdf] DeScioli, P., & Kurzban, R. (2007). The games people play. In S. Gangestad & J. Simpson (Eds.), Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies (pp. 130-136). New York: Guilford. [pdf ] [amazon] | ||
Working PapersBokemper, S. E., & DeScioli, P. The problem of dishonesty in government safety nets. [draft] Connors, E. C., Del Ponte, A., & DeScioli, P. Indirect restrictions on abortion demobilize supporters of abortion rights. Massenkoff, M., DeScioli, P., Thomas, K., & Pinker, S. (in prep.) What happens in vagueness. | ||
Invited TalksDeScioli, P. (2022, November). Strategies for choosing sides. Talk given at the Center for Decision Research at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. Del Ponte, A., DeScioli, P., Masiliunas, A., & Lim, N. (2021, May). Are Refugees Welcome? Experiments on International Cooperation in Migrant Crises. Talk given at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore. DeScioli, P., & Kimbrough, E. (2018, October). Alliance formation in a side-taking experiment. Talk given at the Department of Psychology at Columbia University, New York, NY. DeScioli, P., Delton, A. W., & Ryan, T. J. (2018, June). Moral obstinacy in political negotiations. Talk given at the Center for the Study of American Politics Conference 2018, Yale University, New Haven, CT. DeScioli, P., Cho, B., Bokemper, S. E., & Delton, A. W. (2017, April). Selfish and cooperative voting: Can the majority restrain themselves? Talk given at the New York Area Political Psychology Meeting, Columbia University, New York, NY. | ||
Conference PresentationsCarter, B., & DeScioli, P. (2023, April). Fairness and redistribution: Do people’s perceptions of merit and luck depend on their success? Talk given at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL. Carter, B., & DeScioli, P. (2022, April). Voting on taxes: Is it more intuitive to only tax the rich? Talk given at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL. Del Ponte, A., DeScioli, P., Masiliunas, A., & Lim, N. (2021, October). Are Refugees Welcome? Experiments on International Cooperation in Migrant Crises. Talk given at the American Political Science Association Conference, Montreal. Carter, B., Del Ponte, A., & DeScioli, P. (2021, April). Do voters understand who benefits from higher taxes? Talk given at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL. Carter, B., Del Ponte, A., & DeScioli, P. (2019, April). Give some to get some: Do voters connect taxes with the benefits they fund? Talk given at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL. | ||
TeachingMoral Politics, Moral Politics and Public Policy, The Political Animal, Evolutionary Psychology, Experimental Economics SocietiesAmerican Political Science AssociationMidwest Political Science Association Association for Psychological Science Human Behavior and Evolution Society Society for Personality and Social Psychology | ||
In The NewsLiving Fossils. October, 2023. Kurzban, R. Living Fossils. September, 2023. Kurzban, R. Psychology Today. August, 2023. DeScioli, P. Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Blog. June, 2023. DeScioli, P. The Duck of Minerva. October, 2021. Nexon, D. Game Demos
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