Psychology professor Marie Helweg-Larsen will discuss her research on “optimistic bias” in a virtual lecture hosted by Dickinson’s Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. “Why Are We Optimistically Biased About Our Risks? Applications to the Coronavirus Pandemic,” will take place Monday, April 6, at noon. The link to view the event will be available on the Clarke Forum website at 11:50 that morning. Members of the public are invited to watch the discussion and submit questions in the comments section of the YouTube live stream.
Helweg-Larsen is a professor of psychology and the Glen E. & Mary Line Todd Chair in the Social Sciences. She is currently directing Dickinson’s Norwich Sciences Program in England. Her research examines the causes, consequences and correlations of “optimistic bias,” or thinking you are less at risk than others, as well as other health-related behaviors and cognitions. Most recently, she initiated a research project with Dickinson alumni in which gendered and political factors in the link between coronavirus risk perceptions and preventive behaviors are examined. Helweg-Larsen is known to say she “examines why smart people do dumb things.” Her other recent research explores cross-culturally how moralized beliefs about smoking affect risk perceptions and willingness to quit smoking. Her current National Institutes of Health-funded research examines the effects of stigmatization on smokers’ willingness to quit smoking.
The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.
Published April 4, 2020