31 - Tom Gilovich: Judging Individuals, Judging Groups

Eric chats with Tom Gilovich, Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. Tom’s Judgment and Belief Lab studies how people evaluate the evidence of their everyday experience to make judgments, form beliefs, and decide on courses of action. Why do people make seemingly wrong decisions? When do they misread evidence? Tom’s research has been widely cited around the world, and he is the author of multiple books, including The Wisest One in the Room, co-authored with Lee Ross.

In this episode, Tom discusses his recent work on how people judge groups differently than individuals. For example, people want individuals to have longer streaks of success than groups. Or people are more tolerant of inequality when discussing a society of unequal individuals than a society of unequal groups. Finally, Tom talks about what he has learned, and how he has changed as a person, in collaborating with the late Lee Ross.

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Links:

Paper on success

Paper on inequality

Book with Lee Ross

Eric's website
Eric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsy

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

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