Robb Willer
Professor | Stanford University
Selected Publications
2023
Clayton, K. & Willer, R. (2023). Endorsements from Republican Politicians Can Increase Confidence in U.S. Elections. Research and Politics, 10(1), 20531680221148967.
2022
Mernyk, J. S., Pink, S. L., Druckman, J., & Willer, R. (2022). Correcting Inaccurate Metaperceptions Reduces Americans’ Support for Partisan Violence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(16), e2116851119.
Corbett, C.*, Voelkel, J.*, Cooper, M., Willer, R. (2022). Pragmatic Bias Impedes Women's Access to Political Leadership. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(6), e2112616119.
Goldenberg, A., Abruzzo, J., Willer, R., Halperin, E., & Gross, J. (2022). Homophily and Acrophily as Drivers of Political Segregation. Nature Human Behaviour, 1-12.
Voelkel, J.G., Chu, J., Stagnaro, M. N., Mernyk, J. S., Redekopp, C., Pink, S., Druckman, J., Rand, D., Willer, R. (2022). Interventions reducing affective polarization do not necessarily improve anti-democratic attitudes. Nature Human Behaviour, 7, 55–64.
Hartman, R., Blakey, W., Womick, J., Bail, C. A., Finkel, E., Han, H., Sarrouf, J., Schroeder, J., Sheeran, P., Van Bavel, J., Willer, R., Gray, K. (2022). Interventions to Reduce Partisan Animosity. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 1194-1205.
Santos, L. A., Voelkel, J. G., Willer, R., & Zaki, J. (2022). Belief in the Utility of Cross-Partisan Empathy Reduces Partisan Animosity and Facilitates Political Persuasion. Psychological Science, 33(9), 1557–1573.
Frimer, J., Aujla, H., Feinberg, M., Skitka, L., Eichstaedt, J., & Willer, R. (2022). Incivility is rising among American politicians on Twitter. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506221083811.
Landry, A., Schooler, J., Willer, R., & Seli, P. (2022). Reducing Explicit Blatant Dehumanization by Correcting Exaggerated Meta-Perceptions. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506221099146.
Lang, D., Esbenshade, L., Willer, R. (2022). Did Ohio's Vaccine Lottery Increase Vaccination Rates? A Pre-Registered, Synthetic Control Study. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 1-19.
van Loon, A., Giorgi, S., Willer, R., & Eichstaedt, J. (2022). Negative Associations in Word Embeddings Predict Anti-black Bias across Regions–but Only via Name Frequency. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. 6. 1419-1424.
Simpson, B., Willer, R., & Feinberg, M. (2022). Radical Flanks of Social Movements Can Increase Support for Moderate Factions. PNAS Nexus, 1(3), pgac110.
Voelkel, J. G., Malik, M., Redekopp, C., & Willer, R. (2022). Changing Americans’ Attitudes about Immigration: Using Moral Framing to Bolster Factual Arguments. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 700(1), 73–85.
2021
Chu, J., Pink, S., & Willer, R. (2021). Religious Identity Cues Increase Vaccination Intentions and Trust in Medical Experts among American Christians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(49), e2106481118.
Pink, S., Chu, J., Druckman, J., Rand, D., & Willer, R. (2021). Elite party cues increase vaccination intentions among Republicans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(32), e2106559118.
Stewart, S., & Willer, R. (2021). The Effects of Racial Status Threat on White Americans’ Support for Donald Trump: Results of Five Experimental Tests. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 25(3), 791-810.
2020
Leong, Y. C., Chen, J., Willer, R., & Zaki, J. (2020). Conservative and liberal attitudes drive polarized neural responses to political content. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(44), 27731-27739. Press Release.
Van Bavel, J. J., Baicker, K., Boggio, P. S., Capraro, V., Cichocka, A., Cikara, M., Crockett, M. J., Crum, A. J., Douglas, K. M., Druckman, J. N., Drury, J., Dube, O., Ellemers, N., Finkel, E. J., Fowler, J. H., Gelfand, M., Han, S., Haslam S. A., Jetten, J., Kitayama, S., Mobbs, D., Napper, L. E., Packer, D. J., Pennycook, G., Peters, E., Petty, R. E., Rand, D. G., Reicher, S. D., Schnall, S., Shariff, A., Skitka, L. J., Smith, S. S., Sunstein, C. R., Tabri, N., Tucker, J. A., van der Linden, S., van Lange, P., Weeden , K. A., Wohl, M. J. A., Zaki, J., Zion, S. R., and Willer, R. (2020). Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(5), 460-471.
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., & Kovacheff, C . (2020). The activist’s dilemma: Extreme protest actions reduce popular support for social movements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(5), 1086.
Côté, S., Stellar, J. E., Willer, R., Forbes, R. C., Martin, S. R., & Bianchi, E. C. (2020). The psychology of entrenched privilege: High socioeconomic status individuals from affluent backgrounds are uniquely high in entitlement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(1), 70-88.
Heiserman, N., Simpson, B., & Willer, R. (2020). Judgments of Economic Fairness Are Based More on Perceived Economic Mobility Than Perceived Inequality. Socius, 6, 2378023120959547.
2019
Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2019). Moral reframing: A technique for effective and persuasive communication across political divides. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(12), e12501.
Wetts, R., & Willer, R. (2019). Who is called by the dog whistle? Experimental evidence that racial resentment and political ideology condition responses to racially encoded messages. Socius, 5, 2378023119866268.
Niemiec, R. M., Willer, R., Ardoin, N. M., & Brewer, F. K. (2019). Motivating landowners to recruit neighbors for private land conservation. Conservation Biology, 33(4), 930-941.
Penner, A. M., & Willer, R. (2019). Men’s over-persistence and the gender gap in science and mathematics. Socius, 5, 2378023118821836.
2018
Wetts, R., & Willer, R. (2018). Privilege on the precipice: Perceived racial status threats lead white Americans to oppose welfare programs. Social Forces, 97(2), 793-822. Press Release.
Stellar, J. E., & Willer, R. (2018). Unethical and inept? The influence of moral information on perceptions of competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(2), 195.
Simpson, B., Willer, R., & Feinberg, M. (2018). Does violent protest backfire? Testing a theory of public reactions to activist violence. Socius, 4, 2378023118803189. Press Release.
van Loon, A., Bailenson, J., Zaki, J., Bostick, J., & Willer, R. (2018). Virtual reality perspective-taking increases cognitive empathy for specific others. PloS One, 13(8), e0202442.
2017
Simpson, B., Willer, R., & Harrell, A. (2017). The enforcement of moral boundaries promotes cooperation and prosocial behavior in groups. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-9. Press Release.
Boutyline, A., & Willer, R. (2017). The social structure of political echo chambers: Variation in ideological homophily in online networks. Political Psychology, 38(3), 551-569.
2016
Kilduff, G. J., Willer, R., & Anderson, C. (2016). Hierarchy and its discontents: Status disagreement leads to withdrawal of contribution and lower group performance. Organization Science, 27(2), 373-390.
Van De Rijt, A., Akin, I. A., Willer, R., & Feinberg, M. (2016). Success-breeds-success in collective political behavior: Evidence from a field experiment. Sociological Science, 3, 940-950.
2015
Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2015). From gulf to bridge: When do moral arguments facilitate political influence? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(12), 1665-1681. Supplementary Material. Press Release.
Côté, S., House, J., & Willer, R. (2015). High economic inequality leads higher-income individuals to be less generous. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(52), 15838-15843.
Simpson, B., & Willer, R. (2015). Beyond altruism: Sociological foundations of cooperation and prosocial behavior. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 43-63.
Willer, R., Wimer, C., & Owens, L. A. (2015). What drives the gender gap in charitable giving? Lower empathy leads men to give less to poverty relief. Social Science Research, 52, 83-98. Press Release.
Van der Toorn, J., Feinberg, M., Jost, J. T., Kay, A. C., Tyler, T. R., Willer, R., & Wilmuth, C. (2015). A sense of powerlessness fosters system justification: Implications for the legitimation of authority, hierarchy, and government. Political Psychology, 36(1), 93-110. Press Release.
2014
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., Stellar, J. E., & Schultz, M. (2014). Gossip and ostracism promote cooperation in groups. Psychological Science, 25(3), 1-9. Press Release.
Stellar, J. E., & Willer, R. (2014). The corruption of value: Negative moral associations diminish the value of money. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(1), 60-66. Press Release.
Feinberg, M., Antonenko, O., Willer, R., Horberg, E. J., & John, O. P. (2014). Gut check: Reappraisal of disgust helps explain liberal–conservative differences on issues of purity. Emotion, 14(3), 513.
Anderson, C., & Willer, R. (2014). Do status hierarchies benefit groups? A bounded functionalist account of status. In The psychology of social status (pp. 47-70). Springer.
2013
Willer, R., Rogalin, C. L., Conlon, B., & Wojnowicz, M. T. (2013). Overdoing gender: A test of the masculine overcompensation thesis. American Journal of Sociology, 118(4), 980-1022. Press Release.
Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2013). The moral roots of environmental attitudes. Psychological Science, 24(1), 56-62. Supplementary Material. Press Release.
Côté, S., Piff, P. K., & Willer, R. (2013). For whom do the ends justify the means? Social class and utilitarian moral judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(3), 490.
Simpson, B., Harrell, A., & Willer, R. (2013). Hidden paths from morality to cooperation: Moral judgments promote trust and trustworthiness. Social Forces, 91(4), 1529-1548.
Saslow, L. R., Willer, R., Feinberg, M., Piff, P. K., Clark, K., Keltner, D., & Saturn, S. R. (2013). My brother’s keeper? Compassion predicts generosity more among less religious individuals. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(1), 31-38. Press Release.
Antonenko Young, O., Willer, R., & Keltner, D. (2013). “Thou shalt not kill”: Religious fundamentalism, conservatism, and rule-based moral processing. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(2), 110.
2012
Willer, R., Flynn, F. J., & Zak, S. (2012). Structure, identity, and solidarity: A comparative field study of generalized and direct exchange. Administrative Science Quarterly, 57(1), 119-155. Press Release.
Simpson, B., Willer, R., & Ridgeway, C. L. (2012). Status hierarchies and the organization of collective action. Sociological Theory, 30(3), 149-166.
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., Stellar, J., & Keltner, D. (2012). The virtues of gossip: Reputational information sharing as prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(5), 1015. Press Release.
Anderson, C., Willer, R., Kilduff, G. J., & Brown, C. E. (2012). The origins of deference: When do people prefer lower status? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(5), 1077.
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., Antonenko, O., & John, O. P. (2012). Liberating reason from the passions: Overriding intuitionist moral judgments through emotion reappraisal. Psychological Science, 23(7), 788-795.
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., & Keltner, D. (2012). Flustered and faithful: Embarrassment as a signal of prosociality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 81. Press Release.
Willer, R., Youngreen, R., Troyer, L., & Lovaglia, M. J. (2012). How do the powerful attain status? The roots of legitimate power inequalities. Managerial and Decision Economics, 33(5-6), 355-367.
Willer, R., Sharkey, A., & Frey, S. (2012). Reciprocity on the hardwood: Passing patterns among professional basketball players. PloS One, 7(12), e49807.
Munsch, C. L., & Willer, R. (2012). The role of gender identity threat in perceptions of date rape and sexual coercion. Violence Against Women, 18(10), 1125-1146.
Feinberg, M., Cheng, J. T., & Willer, R. (2012). Gossip as an effective and low cost form of punishment. Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 35(25).
2011
Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2011). Apocalypse soon? Dire messages reduce belief in global warming by contradicting just-world beliefs. Psychological Science, 22(1), 34-38. Press Release.
Penner, A. M., & Willer, R. (2011). Stigma and glucose levels: Testing ego depletion and arousal explanations of stereotype threat effects. Current Research in Social Psychology, 16(3), n3.
Macy, M., Centola, D., Flache, A., van de Rijt, A., & Willer, R. (2011). Social mechanisms and generative explanations: Computational models with double agents. In Pierre Demeulenaere (Ed.), Analytic sociology and social mechanisms (pp. 250-65). Cambridge University.
2010
Willer, R., Feinberg, M., Irwin, K., Schultz, M., & Simpson, B. (2010). The trouble with invisible men: How reputational concerns motivate generosity. In Steve Hitlin and Stephen Vaisey (Eds.), The handbook of the sociology of morality (pp. 315-330). Springer.
2009
Willer, R., Kuwabara, K., & Macy, M. W. (2009). The false enforcement of unpopular norms. American Journal of Sociology, 115(2), 451-490.
Willer, R. (2009). Groups reward individual sacrifice: The status solution to the collective action problem. American Sociological Review, 74(1), 23-43. Press Release.
Willer, R. (2009). A status theory of collective action. In Shane R. Thye and Edward J. Lawler (Eds.), Advances in Group Processes (Vol. 26) (pp. 133-163 ). Emerald.
Willer, R. (2009). No atheists in foxholes: motivated reasoning and religious ideology. In John T. Jost, Aaron C. Kay, and Hulda Thorisdottir (Eds.), Social and psychological bases of ideology and system justification (pp. 241-266). Oxford University Press.
2008
Willer, R., & Adams, N. (2008). The threat of terrorism and support for the 2008 presidential candidates: Results of a national field experiment. Current Research in Social Psychology, 14(1), 1-22. Press Release.
Simpson, B., & Willer, R. (2008). Altruism and indirect reciprocity: The interaction of person and situation in prosocial behavior. Social Psychology Quarterly, 71(1), 37-52.
Kalkhoff, W., & Willer, R. (2008). Deterring deviance: Rationality and self-control. In Christine Horne and Michael J. Lovaglia (Eds.), Experiments in criminology and law (pp. 39-62). Rowan and Littlefield.
2007
Barclay, P., & Willer, R. (2007). Partner choice creates competitive altruism in humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274(1610), 749-753. Press Release.
Kuwabara, K., Willer, R., Macy, M. W., Mashima, R., Terai, S., & Yamagishi, T. (2007). Culture, identity, and structure in social exchange: A web-based trust experiment in the United States and Japan. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(4), 461-479.
Willer, R. (2007). The role of metanetworks in network evolution. Mathematical Sociology, 31(2), 101-119.
Benard, S., & Willer, R. (2007). A wealth and status-based model of residential segregation. Mathematical Sociology, 31(2), 149-174.
2005
Centola, D., Willer, R., & Macy, M. (2005). The emperor’s dilemma: A computational model of self-enforcing norms. American Journal of Sociology, 110(4), 1009-1040.
Willer, R., Troyer, L., & Lovaglia, M. J. (2005). Influence over observers of structural power: An experimental investigation. The Sociological Quarterly, 46(2), 263-277.
2004
Willer, R. (2004). The effects of government-issued terror warnings on presidential approval ratings. Current Research in Social Psychology, 10(1), 1-12.
2003
Lovaglia, M. J., Willer, R, and Troyer, L. (2003). Power, status, and collective action: developing fundamental theories to address a substantive problem. In Shane R. Thye and John Skvoretz (Eds.), Advances in group processes (Vol. 20) (pp. 105-132). Elsevier.
2002
Macy, M. W., & Willer, R. (2002). From factors to actors: Computational sociology and agent-based modeling. Annual Review of Sociology, 28(1), 143-166.
Lovaglia, M. J., & Willer, R. (2002). Theory, simulation and research: The new synthesis. In Jacek Szmatka, Michael Lovaglia, and Kinga Wysienska (Eds.), The growth of social knowledge: Theory, simulation and empirical research in group processes (pp. 247-262). Praeger.
Willer, D., Borch, C., & Willer, R. (2002). Games, norms and status: A theoretical model of solidarity and cohesion. In Shane R. Thye and Edward J. Lawler (Eds.), Advances in group processes (Vol. 19) (pp. 67-108). Elsevier.
Willer, D., Markovsky, B., Walker, H., Willer, R, Simpson, B., Lovaglia, M., & Thye, S. (2002). Network exchange theory. In Joe Berger and Morris E. Zelditch (Eds.), New directions in sociological theory: The growth of contemporary theories (pp. 109-144). Rowan and Littlefield.
2000
Willer, R., & Willer, D. (2000). Exploring dynamic networks: Hypotheses and conjectures. Social Networks, 22(3), 251-272.