I am a social psychology researcher with expertise in intergroup perceptions, human values, and attitudes. 

My research builds on builds on robust evidence that people across the world agree on the importance of values like freedom, helpfulness, or wealth (Hanel et al., 2019). However, we often fail to recognise these shared values, and instead incorrectly assume that other people's values are fundamentally different from ours. And worryingly, such value misperceptions have a range of negative effects, including higher prejudice and lower well-being (Wolf et al., 2021).

Fortunately, interventions helping people to discover their shared values can correct these misperceptions and bring a range of benefits, including a greater sense of connection, trust, perceptions of getting along, and more hope about the future (Hanel & Wolf, 2020). This happens even between highly polarised groups, such as US Republicans and Democrats (Wolf & Hanel, 2024). Correcting these misperceptions of differences is particularly important in the face of growing threats from societal crises (e.g., climate change) that urgently require citizens to see past their differences and coordinate their efforts around a common purpose.

My current projects continue to explore the effects of correcting people's misperceptions of other groups. One project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) examines the effects of shared values on young people's pro-environmental behaviour and hope about the future of the planet. Another project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, tests the effects of shared values on more respectful behaviour in political debates.

I am accepting PhD students wishing to pursue research in the areas outlined above.