Nicholas Epley
Born (1974-08-26) August 26, 1974 (age 49)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSt. Olaf College
Cornell University
Known forResearch on egocentrism, communication, anthropomorphism, social judgment and decision making
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago Booth School of Business
Doctoral advisorsThomas Gilovich

Nicholas Epley (born August 26, 1974) is an American psychologist who is the John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He studies social cognition—"how thinking people think about other thinking people"[1]—to understand why people routinely misunderstand one another. His peer-reviewed publications on topics such as perspective taking, miscommunication, anthropomorphism, and barriers to social connection have been widely cited in psychology.

Early History and Education

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Epley attended St. Olaf College, where he played football and graduated in 1996 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. He then obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology from Cornell University in 2001, working with his advisor Thomas Gilovich.

Notable Scholarly Contributions

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Perspective taking as egocentric anchoring and adjustment

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Anthropomorphism and dehumanization

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Psychological barriers to social connection

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Personal Life

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Epley lives with his wife Jennifer in Illinois. They have five kids.

Publications

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Books

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Epley, N. (2014). Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Feel, Believe, and Want. New York: Knopf.

Other notable publications

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Epley, N., Kardas, M., Zhao, X., Atir, S., & Schroeder, J. (2022). Undersociality: Miscalibrated social cognition can inhibit social connection. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(5), 406–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.007

Epley, N., Keysar, B., Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2004). Perspective taking as egocentric anchoring and adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(3), 327–339. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.327

Epley, N., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Mistakenly seeking solitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5), 1980–1999. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0037323

Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). On seeing human: a three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological Review, 114(4), 864–886. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.864

Epley, N., & Waytz, A. (2010). Mind perception. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (pp. 498–541). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy001014

References

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