Richard Petty

Professor | Department of Psychology The Ohio State University

  • Columbus OH

Distinguished psychologist, revolutionizing understanding of prejudice, consumer choice, political and legal decisions, and health behavior

Contact

The Ohio State University

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Social

Biography

Education/Positions. Petty received his B.A. (with high distinction) in government (political science) and psychology from the University of Virginia in 1973, and his Ph.D. in social psychology from Ohio State University in 1977. He began his academic career that same year as Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Missouri. In 1981 he was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 1985 he was named the Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of Psychology at Missouri. After a sabbatical at Yale University in 1986, he returned to Ohio State in 1987 as Professor of Psychology and Director of the Social Psychology Doctoral Program. In 1995, he was visiting Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. In 1998, he was named Distinguished University Professor at Ohio State. He served as psychology department chair from 1998-2002 and again from 2008-2015.

Research. Petty's research focuses broadly on the situational and individual difference factors responsible for changes in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Much of his current work (and that of the students and colleagues with whom he collaborates) is aimed at examining the implications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion for understanding prejudice, consumer choices, political and legal decisions, and health behaviors. Topics of special current interest include: understanding the role of meta-cognitive (e.g., confidence/certainty) as well as implicit (automatic or unconscious) factors in persuasion, resistance to change, and advocacy; the effect of racial and ethnic prejudice, stereotypes, and specific emotions on social judgment and behavior; and investigating how people correct their evaluations for various factors they think may have biased their judgments (such as stereotypes they hold or emotions they are experiencing). This work has resulted in 8 books and over 300 journal articles and chapters.

Industry Expertise

Research
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International Affairs
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Areas of Expertise

Social Psychology
Attitudes & Persuasion
Social Cognition
Decision-Making

Education

Ohio State University

Ph.D.

Social Psychology

1977

University of Virginia in 1973

B.A.

Government and Psychology

1973

Media Appearances

This is spinal zap

Irish Independent  

2017-04-11

Another study, this time by Ohio State University, found that adopting an upright posture can give you more confidence in your own thoughts. When the study was published in 2009, professor of psychology at the university, Richard Petty, said: "Most of us were taught that sitting up straight gives a good impression to other people. But it turns out that our posture can affect how we think about ourselves. If you sit up straight, you end up convincing yourself by the posture you're in."...

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Dress for success: The psychology of style and professionalism in college

USA Today  

2015-02-26

A conversation with two Ohio State University psychologists, Ohio Eminent Scholar professor Jennifer Crocker, and chair of psychology professor Richard Petty, gave perspective on why this may be so.

“What we know from psychology is that what you wear, can effect what you think,” says Petty.

“Psychologists call this an example of priming and it’s just as simple as saying when I say ‘doctor’ you immediately think ‘nurse’, so that’s an example of priming,” says Petty. “There are certain natural associations that we have like for example we associate glasses with being smart.”...

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To clear negative thoughts, physically throw them away: Study

The Huffington  

2013-01-07

“At some level, it can sound silly. But we found that it really works — by physically throwing away or protecting your thoughts, you influence how you end up using those thoughts,” study researcher Richard Petty, of Ohio State University, said in a statement. “Merely imagining engaging in these actions has no effect.”

Petty conducted the study along with Spanish researchers from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The study included several experiments, the first of which included 83 high-schoolers in Spain who were given three minutes to write their negative or positive thoughts about their own body image...

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Recent Research

Here’s when powerful people have trouble making a decision

The Ohio State University

2016-10-25

Richard Petty, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State, said other research he and his colleagues have done suggests that feeling powerful gives people more confidence in their own thoughts.

That’s fine when you have a clear idea about the decision you want to make. But if you feel powerful and also ambivalent about a decision you face, that can make you feel even more conflicted than others would be, he said.

“If you think both your positive thoughts and your negative thoughts are right, you’re going to become frozen and take longer to make a decision,” Petty said...

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To strengthen an opinion, simply say it is based on morality

The Ohio State University

2016-05-31

The key finding was how easy it was to strengthen people’s beliefs by using the ‘moral’ label, said Richard Petty, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State.

“Morality can act as a trigger – you can attach the label to nearly any belief and instantly make that belief stronger,” Petty said...

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Bothered by negative, unwanted thoughts? Just throw them away

The Ohio State University

2012-11-26

“However you tag your thoughts -- as trash or as worthy of protection -- seems to make a difference in how you use those thoughts,” said Richard Petty, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

Some types of psychological therapy use variations of this concept by trying to get patients to discard their negative thoughts. But Petty said this is the first study he is aware of that has validated that approach.

“At some level, it can sound silly. But we found that it really works -- by physically throwing away or protecting your thoughts, you influence how you end up using those thoughts. Merely imagining engaging in these actions has no effect.”

The findings suggest that people can treat their thoughts as material, concrete objects, Petty said. That is evident in the language we use...

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