Anna DorfmanBar Ilan University | BIU · Department of Psychology
Anna Dorfman
PhD
About
49
Publications
16,928
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Citations
Introduction
I am a social psychologist, I study the role of emotions, emotion regulation, and metacognition for interpersonal and intergroup conflict resolution.
Additional affiliations
October 2021 - present
Position
- Professor (Assistant)
Description
- I am an assistant professor in Social and Organizational Psychology. I am interested in how people manage challenging situations in the workplace and beyond. I teach undergraduate and graduate-level courses in organizational psychology, social psychology, and emotions.
Education
October 2010 - January 2016
Publications
Publications (49)
We reflect on the concept of wisdom from a social psychological lens, with particular focus on the discrepancy between dynamic theories of wisdom and the largely atemporal nature of existing empirical evidence. Upon reviewing theoretical models of the key components of wisdom such as intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and empathy/perspective-t...
In this national study, we analyzed population-level data from a representative longitudinal survey to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal ideation rates. Between April and May 2021, responses from 1793 adults aged 20 and older were collected regarding suicidal ideation. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in suicida...
This study tests three common assumptions in research on complex thought and wisdom: common cause of indicators, cross-situational consistency, and between-within isomorphism. Using a year-long, multi-wave study of 499 North Americans’ event-contingent reflections on autobiographical adversity, we examined intellectual humility, open-mindedness, pe...
This work explored polarization over Israel’s Judicial Reform, introduced in January 2023. We find that the reform divided people into pro- and anti-reform camps, which differed in characteristics such as institutional trust, patriotism, and national identity. For example, the camps disagreed about trust in the government versus the judiciary. In l...
The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitu...
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented changes in the lives of many people. Although research has documented associations between concerns related to COVID-19 and poor mental health indicators, fewer studies have focused on positive factors that could help people better cope with this stressful social context. To fill this gap, the presen...
We draw from theory on motivated reasoning to suggest that men would be more prone toward gender pay gap scepticism (PGS) than women because doing so maintains a valued but illusory belief that society is currently fair. Integrating theory on wisdom and wise reasoning —a self‐transcendent thinking process composed of intellectual humility, contextu...
People often face conflicts where they must choose between their long-term goals and tempting alternatives. Using an open-ended daily diary design, we investigated the characteristics of self-control conflicts in daily life, both replicating and extending past work. Specifically, we examined the factors that affected self-control conflict success,...
Previous studies have highlighted the importance of promoting health literacy and minimizing misinformation to encourage higher adherence to key public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores how one’s self-reported understanding of information and types of sources used to get information regarding COVID-19 can hinder adhe...
In the context of public health crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, it is essential that individuals cooperate by complying with preventive measures (e.g., wearing a mask). The current research examines how high trust in close others is linked to less cooperation—that is, less compliance with measures—and thus, undermines collective interests. Sp...
We present a global experience‐sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well‐being during times of crisis such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (Co...
We present a global experience-sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well-being during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (Co...
Introduction:
We investigated whether initial risk classes and heterogeneous trajectories of self-compassion over the course of the pandemic may impact well-being outcomes 1 year into the pandemic.
Methods:
A large, representative sample of Canadians (N = 3,613; 50.6% women) was sampled longitudinally over 11 waves (April 2020-April 2021), using...
Three pre-registered studies explored mental representations of abstractness and concreteness and their association with psychological characteristics of wisdom: intellectual humility, recognition of multiple ways an issue might unfold and change, consideration of different perspectives, and search for compromise/integration of different opinions....
High-rise construction increasingly dominates the contemporary urban landscape. Adopting a socioecological framework, we show that the physical built environment is linked to lay theories about social power. In five experiments (N = 1,091), we comprehensively test the bi-directional causal link between floor location in high-rises and perceived soc...
Objectives
Previous studies found a general increase in prejudice against Chinese people during the first months of the pandemic. The present study aims to consider inter-individual heterogeneity in stability and change regarding prejudice involving Chinese people during the pandemic. The first objective is to identify and describe different trajec...
Previous studies have highlighted the importance of promoting health literacy and minimizing misinformation to encourage higher adherence to key sanitary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores how one’s understanding of information and sources’ reliability can hinder adherence to sanitary measures implemented by the Canadian gov...
How do people reason in response to ambiguous messages shared by admirable individuals? Using behavioral markers and self-report questionnaires, in two experiments (N = 571) we examined the influence of speakers’ admirability on meaning-seeking and wise reasoning in response to pseudo-profound bullshit. In both studies, statements that sounded supe...
Focusing on one’s adversity can be a source of strength, facilitating meaning-making and growth. However, adversity can also lead to depression, anxiety, and trauma-related stress. The authors propose that the self-perspective one takes while reflecting on adversity—that is, self-distanced (third-person perspective on one’s experiences) versus self...
Research on consequences of adversity appears inconclusive. Adversity can be detriment to mental health, promoting maladaptive patterns of thoughts. At the same time, posttraumatic growth studies suggest that overcoming major adversity facilitates growth in wisdom-related patterns of thoughts. We address this puzzle by examining how distinct types...
How can people wisely navigate social conflict? Two preregistered longitudinal experiments (Study 1: Canadian adults; Study 2: American and Canadian adults; total N = 555) tested whether encouraging distanced (i.e., third-person) self-reflection would help promote wisdom. Both experiments measured wise reasoning (i.e., intellectual humility, open-m...
Wisdom has been a central theme in the philosophical inquiry of the human experience for centuries, with the earliest written teachings dating back to the ancient Egyptian vizier, Ptahhotep 25-24 century BCE. The virtue of wisdom has been attributed to the great deities of various cultures and mythologies (e.g., Anahit of Armenia, Athena of Greece)...
Research on consequences of adversity suggests a puzzle. On the one hand, posttraumatic growth studies suggest that working through major adversity facilitates growth in wisdom. On the other hand, working through adversity can exacerbate negative emotions and thoughts. We address this puzzle by examining how distinct forms of adversity impact wisdo...
Objective:
Posttraumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we...
Posttraumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose tha...
Folk beliefs and philosophers have long suggested that mastering adversity contributes to growth in wisdom –adaptability to the situation, perspectivism, dialectical thinking, and epistemic humility. But existing research on outcomes of adversity suggests a puzzle. On the one hand, cross-sectional studies have found adversity leads to post-traumati...
Objective:
This research examines changes in emotionality following adverse experiences in daily life. We tested whether daily self-distancing (vs. self-immersing) in reflections on adversity results in positive change in emotionality. Additionally, we probed the "dosage" effect of repeated self-distancing.
Method:
A micro-longitudinal field exp...
Six studies (N = 1,617) tested the role of dispositional rejection sensitivity (RS) and manipulated power position for wise reasoning among managers and subordinates in workplace conflicts: intellectual humility, consideration of change/multiple ways a situation may unfold, recognition of others’ perspectives, search for compromise/resolution, and...
Climate change, proliferation of ultranationalist movements in various parts of the globe, tribalism, and denial of science—in times like these social critiques and philosophers often call for greater wisdom. What is wisdom and how does it develop? Philosophers argue that knowledge is insufficient for wisdom. Instead, they have argued that wisdom r...
Typical approaches to study practical wisdom are person-centric, use flawed methods, and produce insights of little relevance to the construct's definition. We propose that understanding the processes underlying practical wisdom requires a social-ecological framework, supported by emerging empirical insights. Wise reasoning (i.e., intellectual humi...
This research examines changes in emotionality following adverse experiences in daily life. We find that an experimentally manipulated self-distanced reflection can promote emotional growth in the face of everyday adversity. Notably, the effectiveness of repeated self-distancing has a saturation point. In contrast, a self-immersed reflection on adv...
Typical approaches to study practical wisdom are person-centric, use faulty methods and produce insights of little relevance to construct’s definition. We propose that understanding the mental processes underlying practical wisdom require a social-ecological framework, supported by emerging empirical insights. Wise reasoning (i.e., intellectual hum...
We tested the utility of illeism – a practice of referring to oneself in the third person – for the trainability of wisdom-related characteristics in everyday life: i) wise reasoning (intellectual humility, open-mindedness in ways a situation may unfold, perspective-taking, attempts to integrate different viewpoints) and ii) accuracy in emotional f...
Social incentives concern a broad range of interpersonal rewards and motivations that encourage people to behave in a socially valued and approved manner. Social incentives include projecting a positive social image and reputation, gaining social acceptance, and gaining a better place in the social hierarchy.
Climate change, proliferation of ultra-nationalist movements in various parts of the globe, tribalism, and denial of science in some parts of the globe – in times like these social critiques and philosophers often call for greater wisdom. What is wisdom and how does one develop it? Philosophers argue that knowledge is insufficient for wisdom. Inste...
Intergroup interactions allow members of advantaged groups to cooperate with in-group and out-group members alike (universal cooperation), cooperate with in-group members exclusively (parochial cooperation), or withhold cooperation altogether. These options impact the intergroup hierarchy differently; therefore, individuals’ ideological support of...
Unconscious-thought-theory asserts that complex choices are better following unconscious thought. Examining the role of interest, we found that for interesting matters, people prefer to engage with conscious rather than unconscious thought (Experiment 1), and in line with this preference, the former leads to better choices (Experiments 2-3).
In social dilemmas, broad collective interests conflict with immediate self-interests. In two studies, we examine the role of pride in guiding cooperative behavior in a social dilemma. We find that the consideration of pride led to more cooperation compared to the consideration of joy or a control condition (Study 1) and compared to the considerati...
Choosing a major field of study to secure a good job after graduation is a tacit coordination problem that requires considering others' choices. We examine how feeling skillful, either induced (Experiment 1) or measured (Experiment 2), affects coordination in this type of task. In both experiments participants chose between two lotteries, one offer...
Instructions for Experiment 1 for the computer condition.
(DOCX)
Instructions for Experiment 2 for the computer condition.
(DOCX)
The current research examines the effect of feeling skillful on tacit coordination behavior in a lottery selection task. In two experiments participants were asked to choose between one of two lotteries, where one lottery had a larger prize than the other. We manipulated the relevance of skill and examined how one’s feelings of skillfulness affect...