Paul Rozin

Professor

BA, University of Chicago;

Ph.D., Biology and Psychology, Harvard University

Office Location: 
Solomon Labs, 3720 Walnut St, Room D17
Email: 
rozin@psych.upenn.edu
Phone: 
215-898-7632
Website: 
https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/rozin
Research Interests: 
Psychopathology and Psychotherapy
Developmental Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology
Individual Differences and Behavior Genetics
Positive Psychology
Social and Cultural Psychology
 
Specific Research Areas: 

Cultural psychology, with a focus on understanding the role of food in human life, positive psychology, the meaning of "natural" and positive and negative memories

 
Research Synopsis:
Cultural Psychology, with a focus on understanding the role of food in human life positive psychology the meaning of "natural" and positive and negative memories. Work on food includes comparative studies of food attitudes and the function of pleasure in a number of cultures, including the USA, France, India and Japan; the role of relatively subtle environmental factors (such as portion size) on food intake; the meaning and reason for preference for natural things, in a cultural context, ambivalence to foods, especially meat and chocolate; attitudes and beliefs about the relationship between diet and health; the psychology of water; and the acquisition of likes and dislikes for foods. Work on positive psychology includes the relation between memories of valenced experiences and the actual experiences, and the distinction between comforts and joys, in a cultural context with comparisons of France and the USA. Behind all of this is a general interest in cultural evolution.

 

Selected Publications: 

Rozin, P., & Nemeroff, C. (2002). Sympathetic magical thinking: the contagion and similarity “heuristics”. In: Gilovich, T., Griffin, D., & Kahneman, D. Heuristics and biases. The psychology of intuitive judgment. (Pp. 201-216). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rozin, P., Kabnick, K., Pete, E., Fischler, C., & Shields, C. (2003). The ecology of eating: Part of the French paradox results from lower food intake in French than Americans, because of smaller portion sizes. Psychological Science, 14, 450-454.

Rozin, P. (2005). The meaning of “natural”: Process more important than content. Psychological Science, 16, 652-658.

Geier, A. B., Rozin, P., & Doros, G. (2006). Unit bias: A new heuristic that helps explain the effect of portion size on food intake. Psychological Science, 17, 521-525.

Cherfas, L., Rozin, P., Cohen, A. B., Davidson, A., & McCauley, C. R. (2006). The framing of atrocities: Documenting the wide variation in aversion to Germans and German related activities among Holocaust survivors. Peace and Conflict. Journal of Peace Psychology, 12(1), 65-80.

Rode, E., Rozin, P., & Durlach, P. (2007).  Experienced and remembered pleasure for meals:  Duration neglect but minimal peak-end effects.  Appetitie, 49, 18-29.

Rozin, P., Grant, H. Weinberg, S., & Parker, S. (2007).  "Head versus heart": Effect of monetary frames on expression of sympathetic magical concerns.  Judgment and Decision Making, 2, 217-224.

Rozin, P. (2007).  Exploring the landscape of modern academic psychology:  Finding and filling the holes.  American Psychologist, 62, 754-766.

Rozin, P., & Wolf, S. (2008).  Attachment to National and Sacred Land and its relation to personal land attachment and contagion.  Judgment and Decision Making, 3, 325-335.

Geier, A., & Rozin, P. (2008).  Weighing discomfort in college age American females: Incidence and causes.  Appetite, 51, 173-177.

Rozin, P., Haidt, J., & Fincher, K. (2009).  From oral to moral:  Is moral disgust an elaboration of a food rejection system.  Science, 323, 1179-1180.

Rozin, P, Fischler, C, & Chields-Argeles, C. (2009) Additivity dominance:  Additives are more potent and more often lexicalized across languages than are "subtractives".  Judgment and Decision Making, 5, 475-478

Rozin, P., Berman, L., & Royzman, E.B. (2010) Biases in use of positive and negative words across twenty natural languages.  Cognition and Emotion, 24, 536-548.

Hormes, J, & Rozin, P. (2010).  Does "Craving" carve nature at the joints?  Absence of a synonym for craving in many languages.  Addictive Behaviors, 35, 459-463.

Courses Taught: 

PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology
Other courses taught in some years are an undergraduate senior research seminar on eating, and a graduate course in cultural psychology.

Appointments: 

Psychology Graduate Group

Advisees: 
  • Katrina Fincher [Psychology Graduate Student]
  • Xuan Go (Psychology Graduate Student, cosponsored with Martin Seligman)