Hope & Joy Series: Behavioral Neuroscience, Activism, and You

As part of our Hope & Joy Series, Molly Crockett, cognitive scientist and Associate Professor of Psychology & Human Values at Princeton University, shares how research in neuroscience and psychology can help us better understand morality, empathy, and activism in a time of division and digital disruption.

For nearly two decades, Molly has studied the science behind our sense of justice, altruism, and moral decision-making. Her more recent work explores the impact of misinformation, the spread of moral outrage online, and how we communicate in polarized spaces. Beyond her academic work, Molly is also a longtime practitioner and teacher of Buddhist meditation in the Samatha tradition.

Her lab at Princeton investigates how power structures influence the production and sharing of knowledge, and how insights from cognitive science can inform the design of more cooperative and ethical social systems—including social media and artificial intelligence.