Molly J. Crockett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Molly J. Crockett
Crockett speaks at the 2017 World Economic Forum
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (BA) King's College, Cambridge (PhD)
Awards	APS Janet Taylor Spence Award (2019)
Scientific career
Fields	Neuroscience
Institutions	Princeton University Yale University University of Oxford
Doctoral advisor	Prof Trevor Robbins

Molly J. Crockett is an American neuroscientist. She studies how people make decisions. Her work also looks at human morality (what people think is right or wrong) and altruism (helping others without expecting anything in return). In 2019, she received the Janet Taylor Spence Award from the Association for Psychological Science.

About Her Career

Molly J. Crockett grew up in Irvine, California. She is currently a professor of psychology at Princeton University. Before this, she taught at Yale University and the University of Oxford.

She also worked as a researcher at University College London and the University of Zürich. She received a special fellowship in 2010 to support her research. Molly Crockett earned her first degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She then completed her PhD at King's College, Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

What She Studies

Molly Crockett focuses on behavioral neuroscience. This field explores how our brains affect our behavior. She is very interested in how special chemicals in the brain, called neurotransmitters, influence the choices we make.

For example, she has studied how certain medicines, like antidepressants, might change how people act in discussions or negotiations. Recently, she has also started to research moral outrage. This is a strong feeling of anger or shock when someone believes something unfair or wrong has happened.

Works