Psychology professor named to National Academy of Sciences

Psychology professor named to National Academy of Sciences

Petty honored for his work on beliefs, attitudes and behaviors

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A psychology professor from The Ohio State University has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.

Richard Petty, Distinguished University Professor of psychology, received the honor in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

While Petty has received many awards in his career, he said this one is special.

"It is a real capstone for my career, for sure. None of the previous awards, for which I am also very grateful, can top being elected to the National Academy," Petty said.

"Professor Petty's many contributions to the field of social psychology have reshaped our understanding of human behavior. His election to the National Academy of Sciences is a testament to his remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication to science and the pursuit of new knowledge," said Peter Mohler, executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge.

Petty's research focuses broadly on the factors responsible for changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. He is best known for his role in developing the elaboration likelihood model, or ELM.

This model identified thoughtful and non-thoughtful routes to persuasion. For many decisions, people don't have the time or desire to think through all the options. So they may simply decide to follow the lead of a spokesperson they like, or a political party they like, for example.

"These simple heuristics are not necessarily stupid, even if they don't involve a lot of thought. It makes sense sometimes to go along with somebody who seems credible, who seems knowledgeable, if it means you don't have to think about it yourself, or if it is a complex topic that you don't know much about," Petty said.

The ELM says that people take a more thoughtful approach to decisions that are more important to them. But that doesn't mean they will get the right answer.

"That's probably the biggest way our theory is misunderstood. The theory is about the process by which people make their judgments. It is not about whether they get the best or right answer."

Petty and his colleagues have used the ELM in studies to understand prejudice, consumer choices, political and legal decisions, and health behaviors.

His current research, funded by the Templeton Foundation, examines persuasion and attitude change as it relates to an important societal issue today: extremism in all its forms. That includes political extremists on the right and the left, but also non-political extremism.

"For example, we are looking at extreme consumer behavior, like what makes people get permanent tattoos of a favorite brand, rather than just displaying a bumper sticker," he said.

Petty said he owes a lot to Ohio State for his success. It started as a graduate student - Petty received his PhD in social psychology from Ohio State in 1977. After graduation, he spent nine years at the University of Missouri before returning to Ohio State as a faculty member, where he has been ever since.

Petty has been elected Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990), the Association for Psychological Science (1988), the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (1982) and the American Psychological Association. In 2014, he was named one of the Most Eminent Psychologists of the Modern Era.

He received Ohio State's Distinguished Scholar Award in 1995 and was named a Distinguished University Professor in 1998.

"I am grateful to Ohio State for my graduate training and all the support I've had as a faculty member here," he said.

"The university and college have helped keep the social psychology program here strong through the years. Our faculty and graduate students are fantastic, and have been from the inception of the program."

Petty is one of 10 current Ohio State faculty memberswho have been elected to the NAS. Overall, 120 new NAS members were elected this year from across the U.S., bringing the total number of active members to 2,662. There are also 556 international members.

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