Below are some topics I'm currently researching!
The Psychology of Creativity
In this line of research I study beliefs about creativity. This work is guided by two general questions: What do people believe to be true about creativity? And how do those beliefs stack up against the reality of the creative process? For instance, work with Loran Nordgren finds that people tend to undervalue persistence in the creative process and, as a consequence, they underestimate their own ability to generate ideas (Lucas & Nordgren, 2015).
In this line of research I study beliefs about creativity. This work is guided by two general questions: What do people believe to be true about creativity? And how do those beliefs stack up against the reality of the creative process? For instance, work with Loran Nordgren finds that people tend to undervalue persistence in the creative process and, as a consequence, they underestimate their own ability to generate ideas (Lucas & Nordgren, 2015).
Morality & Ethical Behavior
In this line of research I study factors that shape people's willingness to help and to harm one another. I'm particularly interested in the roles of social connection, empathy, and perspective-taking. While each can facilitate social relationships, they can also produce less desirable attitudes and behaviors. For instance, feeling socially connected to close others can increase the willingness to harm distant others (Lucas & Livingston, 2014) and perspective-taking with others that are perceived to have questionable motives can increase condemnation and dislike (Lucas, Galinsky, & Murnighan, 2016).
In this line of research I study factors that shape people's willingness to help and to harm one another. I'm particularly interested in the roles of social connection, empathy, and perspective-taking. While each can facilitate social relationships, they can also produce less desirable attitudes and behaviors. For instance, feeling socially connected to close others can increase the willingness to harm distant others (Lucas & Livingston, 2014) and perspective-taking with others that are perceived to have questionable motives can increase condemnation and dislike (Lucas, Galinsky, & Murnighan, 2016).
Publications
Journal Articles
Carton, A. M. & Lucas, B. J. (forthcoming). How can leaders overcome the blurry vision bias? An antidote to the paradox of vision communication. Academy of Management Journal.
Lucas, B. J. & Kteily, N. S. (2018). (Anti-)Egalitarianism differentially predicts empathy for members of advantaged versus disadvantaged groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 665-692. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J., Galinsky, A. D., & Murnighan, J. K. (2016). An intentions-based account: Why perspective-taking can both decrease and increase moral condemnation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 1480-1489. [pdf]
Effron, D. A., Lucas, B. J., & O’Connor, K. (2015). Hypocrisy by association: When organizational membership increases condemnation for wrongdoing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 130, 147-159. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Nordgren, L. F. (2015). People underestimate the value of persistence for creative performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109, 232-243. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). Is Utilitarianism risky? How the same antecedents and mechanism produce both utilitarian and risky choices. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 541-548. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Livingston, R. W. (2014). Feeling socially connected increases utilitarian choices in moral dilemmas. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 53, 1-4. [pdf]
Yap, A. J., Wazlawek, A. S., Lucas, B. J., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Carney, D. R. (2013). The incidental ergonomics of life and work can lead to stealing, cheating, and traffic violations. Psychological Science, 24, 2281-2289. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J., Schubert, E., & Halpern, A. R. (2010). Perception of emotion in sounded and imagined music. Music Perception, 27, 399-412. [pdf]
Gais, S., Lucas, B. & Born, J. (2006). Sleep after learning aids memory recall. Learning & Memory, 13, 259-262. [pdf]
Popular Articles
Lucas & Nordgren (Dec 1, 2015). Giving up is the enemy of creativity. Harvard Business Review. [link]
Chapters & Other Publications
Thompson, L. & Lucas, B. J. (2014). Judgmental biases in conflict resolution and how to overcome them. In P. T. Coleman, M. Deutsch, & E. C. Marcus (eds.). Handbook of Conflict Resolution, (pp. 255-282). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [pdf]
Thompson, L., Lucas, B. J., & Hall, E.V. (2014). Negotiation bandwidth. In N. M. Ashkanasy, O. B. Ayoko, & K. Jehn (eds.). Handbook of Research in Conflict Management, (pp. 461-479).UK: Edward Edgar Publishing. [pdf]
Thompson, L. Lucas, B., & Hall, E.V. (2012). Upstream and downstream negotiation research. In R. Croson & G. Bolton (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Economic Conflict Resolution, (pp. 372-388). New York: Oxford University press. [pdf]
Thompson, L., Richardson, E.V., & Lucas, B. (2012). Integrating Negotiation Research with Team Dynamics. In Goldman and D. Shapiro (eds.). The Psychology of Negotiations in the 21st Century workplace. SIOP Frontiers Series. [pdf]
Journal Articles
Carton, A. M. & Lucas, B. J. (forthcoming). How can leaders overcome the blurry vision bias? An antidote to the paradox of vision communication. Academy of Management Journal.
Lucas, B. J. & Kteily, N. S. (2018). (Anti-)Egalitarianism differentially predicts empathy for members of advantaged versus disadvantaged groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 665-692. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J., Galinsky, A. D., & Murnighan, J. K. (2016). An intentions-based account: Why perspective-taking can both decrease and increase moral condemnation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 1480-1489. [pdf]
Effron, D. A., Lucas, B. J., & O’Connor, K. (2015). Hypocrisy by association: When organizational membership increases condemnation for wrongdoing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 130, 147-159. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Nordgren, L. F. (2015). People underestimate the value of persistence for creative performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109, 232-243. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). Is Utilitarianism risky? How the same antecedents and mechanism produce both utilitarian and risky choices. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 541-548. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J. & Livingston, R. W. (2014). Feeling socially connected increases utilitarian choices in moral dilemmas. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 53, 1-4. [pdf]
Yap, A. J., Wazlawek, A. S., Lucas, B. J., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Carney, D. R. (2013). The incidental ergonomics of life and work can lead to stealing, cheating, and traffic violations. Psychological Science, 24, 2281-2289. [pdf]
Lucas, B. J., Schubert, E., & Halpern, A. R. (2010). Perception of emotion in sounded and imagined music. Music Perception, 27, 399-412. [pdf]
Gais, S., Lucas, B. & Born, J. (2006). Sleep after learning aids memory recall. Learning & Memory, 13, 259-262. [pdf]
Popular Articles
Lucas & Nordgren (Dec 1, 2015). Giving up is the enemy of creativity. Harvard Business Review. [link]
Chapters & Other Publications
Thompson, L. & Lucas, B. J. (2014). Judgmental biases in conflict resolution and how to overcome them. In P. T. Coleman, M. Deutsch, & E. C. Marcus (eds.). Handbook of Conflict Resolution, (pp. 255-282). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [pdf]
Thompson, L., Lucas, B. J., & Hall, E.V. (2014). Negotiation bandwidth. In N. M. Ashkanasy, O. B. Ayoko, & K. Jehn (eds.). Handbook of Research in Conflict Management, (pp. 461-479).UK: Edward Edgar Publishing. [pdf]
Thompson, L. Lucas, B., & Hall, E.V. (2012). Upstream and downstream negotiation research. In R. Croson & G. Bolton (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Economic Conflict Resolution, (pp. 372-388). New York: Oxford University press. [pdf]
Thompson, L., Richardson, E.V., & Lucas, B. (2012). Integrating Negotiation Research with Team Dynamics. In Goldman and D. Shapiro (eds.). The Psychology of Negotiations in the 21st Century workplace. SIOP Frontiers Series. [pdf]