Keith Payne
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Keith Payne is a Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. His research examines how inequality shapes the human mind. For example: Why do people make more self-defeating decisions when inequality is high? Why does feeling poor sometimes have more powerful effects than actually being poor? Why do people sometimes act in prejudiced ways even when they intend to be fair? He and his collaborators use the methods of experimental psychology to understand the cognitive and emotional mechanisms behind these pressing social questions. Keith Payne has received numerous awards for his work, including the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science and the Young Scholars Awards from the SAGE foundation. His book, The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die has appeared on a list of recommended books by former President Barack Obama.