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Phoebe C. Ellsworth is an American social psychologist and professor at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, holding dual appointments at the Psychology Department and in the
Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
.


Biography

Ellsworth received her B.A. from
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
in 1966 and her Ph.D. in
social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
from
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1970, after graduating from
Hopkins School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to fou ...
in
New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
in 1961. Ellsworth previously held positions at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
and
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. Throughout her career, she has served on various editorial boards, advisory committees, and review panels. She also served as a member on the Board of Trustees of the Law and Society Association, the Executive Board of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and the Board of Trustees of the Russell Sage Foundation. She is currently a board member of the Death Penalty Information Center. Ellsworth is noted for her work in law and psychology. More specifically, she has done research on jury behavior and decision making, public opinion and the death penalty, and
eyewitness identification In eyewitness identification, in criminal law, evidence is received from a witness "who has actually seen an event and can so testify in court". The Innocence Project states that "Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wron ...
. Her other main research interest is in emotions. Some areas of research in this topic include facial emotions, cognition and emotion, and interpretation of emotion. As a graduate student, she worked with
Paul Ekman Paul Ekman (born February 15, 1934) is an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco who is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. He was ranked 59th out of t ...
and Wallace Friesen to develop the photographs that were used in their research comparing perceptions of emotional faces across cultures. Ellsworth is known for her contributions to
appraisal theory Appraisal theory is the theory in psychology that emotions are extracted from our evaluations (appraisals or estimates) of events that cause specific reactions in different people. Essentially, our appraisal of a situation causes an emotional, or ...
,
emotions and culture An emotion is a conscious, intentional response directed toward an object; is dependent on cultural, biological, and psychological factors; and is observer-dependent—emotions exist only in the minds of individuals. Emotions are both intraper ...
, challenges of emotion and language, and for her writing on
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
. In much of her research, Ellsworth has intertwined an interest in cultural differences. In particular, she has taken a look at the cultural differences in perceiving facial emotions (Masuda, Ellsworth, Mesquita, Leu, Tanida, and Van de Veerdonk, 2008). Ellsworth has received many honors in her career. She is a Frank Murphy Distinguished University Professor of Law and Psychology (2003), Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, and
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
Distinguished Lecturer (2002-2004). In addition, an annual symposium, Phoebe Ellsworth Psychology and Justice Symposium, was created in her honor to recognize her contributions to law and psychology. In 2014 she received both the Nalini Ambady Award for Mentoring Excellence and the Career Contribution Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.


Recent publications

* * * "Social Science and the Evolving Standards of Death Penalty Law." S. R. Gross, co-author. In Beyond Common Sense, edited by E. Borgida and S. T. Fiske, 237-59. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2008. * "Legal Reasoning." In The Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning, edited by K. J. Holyoak & R. G. Morrison Jr., 685-704. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005. * "Clapping with Both Hands: Numbers, People, and Simultaneous Hypotheses." In Perspectivism in Social Psychology: The Yin and Yang of Scientific Progress, edited by John T. Jost et al., 261-73. APA Science Series; APA Decade of Behavior Series. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2004. * Ellsworth, P. C., & Gonzalez, R. (2003). Questions, comparisons, and preparation: Methods of research in social psychology. In M. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.), Sage Handbook of Social Psychology (pp 24–42). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. * Ellsworth and A. Reifman. Juror Comprehension and Public Policy: Perceived Problems and Proposed Solutions. 6 Psychol., Pub. Pol'y, & Law 788 (2000). * Ellsworth, P. C., & Scherer, K. R. (2003). Appraisal processes in emotion. In R. J. Davidson, H. Goldsmith, & K. R. Scherer (Eds.), Handbook of Affective Sciences. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Ellsworth & Samuel R. Sommers. How Much Do We Really Know About Race and Juries? A Review of Social Science Theory and Research. 78 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 997 (2003). * Ellsworth & Samuel R. Sommers. White Juror Bias: An Investigation of Prejudice Against Black Defendants in the American Courtroom. 8 Violence & Abuse Abstracts 3 (2002). * Gross, S., & Ellsworth, P. C. (2003) Second thoughts: Americans; views on the death penalty. In S.P. Garvey (Ed.), Beyond repair? America's death penalty. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.


References


Sources

* * http://cgi2.www.law.umich.edu/_FacultyBioPage/facultybiopagenew.asp?ID=137 * http://ellsworth.socialpsychology.org/ * http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/news/on-our-minds/2006/pdf/OOM2006_FINAL.pdf * (2006 University of Michigan Psychology Department newsletter, featuring an interview with Ellsworth) * http://www.westernpsych.org/programs/program99/sat.html * http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/042602/Ellsworth.shtml {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Phoebe C. American social psychologists Radcliffe College alumni Stanford University alumni University of Michigan Department of Psychology faculty University of Michigan Law School faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Stanford University faculty Yale University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Living people James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award recipients Hopkins School alumni