Brad Pinter, Ph.D.

Dr. Pinter has been a faculty member at Penn State Altoona since 2004. His research interests encompass several areas in social psychology. One line of research focuses on the self-enhancement bias in memory. Dr. Pinter has demonstrated previously that people are less likely to remember information related to the self that is negative rather than positive. Interestingly, this bias seems not to apply to memory for other people. Recently, he has extended knowledge on this topic, showing that the bias is attenuated when the negative feedback originates from a close friend. Presumably this occurs because ignoring negative feedback is more difficult in close relationships. A second line of research focuses on intergroup conflict. Dr. Pinter has demonstrated previously that intergroup interactions are often more conflict-prone than interindividual interactions. Specifically, in the context of laboratory social dilemmas, groups make more selfish decisions and express more animosity than individuals. Dr. Pinter has recently shown how certain personality characteristics related to morality impact behavior in social dilemmas. Counterintuitively, the traits that are associated with moral behavior in interactions with individuals are the same traits that promote immoral behavior in interactions with groups. A final line of research focuses on program assessment. With colleagues in the department, Dr. Pinter has published a paper investigating the factors that are associated with student success in the Psychology major. Dr. Pinter regularly works with student collaborators and is constantly in need of help! Dr. Pinter also teaches Honors Introductory Psychology, Research Methods, History of Psychology, and courses in Social/Personality Psychology.