David Pizarro, PhD, is a social psychologist and Cornell professor (and director of graduate studies). His primary research interests are in moral judgment. He is particularly interested in moral intuitions (especially concerning moral responsibility, and the permissibility or impermissibility of certain acts), and in biases that affect moral judgment. He also has a general interest in the influence of emotional states (e.g., disgust, anger, fear) on thinking and deciding.

• See his publications and his website here.
• See his popular Ted Talk about disgust and political orientation here.
• See his really awesome podcast, Very Bad Wizards, here.

This episode covers a lot of ground. Here's the list of topics:

1. How David got interested in researching moral judgment and disgust
2. Would David eat chocolate shaped like dog poop?
3. Why is disgust a dumb emotion?
4. Why is disgust sensitivity associated with political conservativism?
5. Why is morality and disgust important to understand?
6. To be a fair researcher of morality, do you have to attempt to put aside your own moral convictions?
7. Why psychology?
8. How did David get into graduate school?
9. Knowing what he knows now, would David have gone straight through from undergrad to grad school?
10. What do prestigious graduate programs look for in an applicant?
11. How do you demonstrate positive qualities in a grad school application?
12. Strategies to get research experiences (even when you don’t have prior research experience)
13. Mentors and the freedom to explore in grad school
14. Biggest challenges in graduate school: imposter syndrome, dealing with rejection, being productive
15. Why do a post-doc?
16. The competitiveness of tenure track - are you doomed if you don’t end up there?
17. Start with curiosities, not with disciplinary labels!
18. Do most psych undergrads go to grad school without knowing what they want to do with their degree?
19. The value of a PhD
20. Intellectual humility in academia
21. What skills are needed to become a successful researcher?
22. Do academics just shout into a void?
23. Why did Cornell hire David?
24. David’s podcast, Very Bad Wizards
25. Advice for confused, passionate psych majors
26. Why does David love what he does?
27. Why academics shouldn’t overlook teaching
28. We should express more gratitude!

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Music by: Adam Fine