Barry Schwartz (born August 15, 1946) is an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

. Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of

Social Theory Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rela ...

and Social Action at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

and since 2016 has been visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His work focuses on the intersection of psychology and economics. He frequently publishes editorials in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', applying his research in psychology to current events. Schwartz's research addresses morality, decision-making and the inter-relationships between behavioral science and society. His books criticize certain philosophical roots of Western societies and expose underlying myths common in both lay and academic psychological theories. In particular, he is a critic of the "

rational economic man The term ''Homo economicus'', or economic man, is the portrayal of humans as Agency (philosophy), agents who are consistently Rationality, rational and narrowly Rational egoism, self-interested, and who pursue their subjectively defined ends Opt ...

" model in both psychology and economics. Schwartz studied under David Richmond Williams for his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a

predoctoral fellow In academia a predoctoral fellow is a person combining study for a doctorate with some form of paid research or work, in other words a paid doctoral student. The term is only used in some parts of the world. Europe (EU) Across EU, typically a pre- ...

with

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

Education

* BA

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, 1968. * PhD

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, 1971.

Publications

Articles

A select number of his works ar
available online

Books

* ''Why We Work'', Simon & Schuster/TED, 2015. () * '' The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less'', Ecco, 2004. (, ) * '' Psychology of Learning and Behavior'', with

Edward Wasserman Edward A. ('Ed') Wasserman is a professor of psychology at the University of Iowa. His research focusses on comparing cognitive processes in human and non-human animals. Wasserman has over 250 publications in peer reviewed academic journals. In 2 ...

and Steven Robbins * ''The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the Best Things in Life'', Xlibris Corporation, 2001. () * ''Learning and Memory'', with

Daniel Reisberg Daniel Reisberg is an American academic who is the Patricia and Clifford Lunneborg Professor of Psychology at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. His specialty is cognitive psychology, and he focuses on memory, judgment, and imagery, particularly ...

* ''The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life'' * ''Behaviorism, Science, and Human Nature'', with Hugh Lacey, W. W. Norton & Company, 1983. () * ''Practical Wisdom'', with Kenneth Sharpe, Riverhead, 2010, ()

References

External links

Speech at Pop!tech 2004

* *
"The paradox of choice" (TEDGlobal 2005)
*
"Our loss of wisdom" (TED2009)
*
"Using our practical wisdom" (TEDSalon NY2011 2010)
**
Interview: Barry Schwartz discusses the role of justice in college admissions
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