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 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. He has extended knowledge on this topic, showing that the bias is attenuated when 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 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. Dr. Pinter also teaches Research Methods, Senior Capstone, and courses in Social and Personality Psychology.