This research program aims to investigate how normal processes of causal inference can lead individuals to egocentrically perceive the causal impact of their own conscious will. Because even one's own causal influence can never be directly perceived -- but only indirectly inferred, individuals are bound to make incorrect inferences. The proposed research is designed to investigate how these inferences can result in (i) egocentric perceptions of the harmful impact to others of one's negative thoughts, (ii) manic beliefs about one's own abilities and influence on events in the world, and (iii) overconfidence in the power of various """"""""willpower"""""""" techniques for affecting desired material outcomes. All of these ideas will be investigated using the research methods of experimental social psychology. The long-term objective of the research is to advance current theoretical understanding of the relationship between consciousness and self perception while providing insight into significant applied concerns ranging from the etiology of mental disorder to the healing power of creative visualization.
| Pronin, Emily; Jacobs, Elana; Wegner, Daniel M (2008) Psychological effects of thought acceleration. Emotion 8:597-612 |
| Pronin, Emily; Wegner, Daniel M; McCarthy, Kimberly et al. (2006) Everyday magical powers: the role of apparent mental causation in the overestimation of personal influence. J Pers Soc Psychol 91:218-31 |
| Pronin, Emily; Gilovich, Thomas; Ross, Lee (2004) Objectivity in the eye of the beholder: divergent perceptions of bias in self versus others. Psychol Rev 111:781-99 |
