Michael Madden Prinzing
I am Research and Assessment Scholar for the Educating Character Initative at Wake Forest University as well as Consulting Research Scientist for the Parr Center for Ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Previously, I held postdoctoral positions at Baylor and Yale Universities. I received my PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. Prior to that, I received a BPhil from the University of Oxford and a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Research highlights
My research is about the good life, encompassing fundamental questions about morality, happiness, and meaning, as well as more applied questions about how people can pursue these things in their own lives. Below are some highlights from recent publications.
Pro-environmental behavior improves well-being
In a 10-day experience-sampling study (N = 7,161 observations from N = 181 adults in 14 countries) I found that pro-environmental behavior is positively associated with well-being both within- and between-persons. Then, in a randomized experiment (N = 545 U.S. undergraduates) I found that incorporating proenvironmental behavior into individuals’ daily activities increased happiness and a sense of meaning in life. Indeed, the effect was comparable to incorporating activities selected specifically to elicit such positive states.
Why do evaluative judgments affect emotion attributions?
A person's evaluative judgments often affect the emotions that they attribute to others. For example, people think that someone living an immoral life isn’t truly happy. But what explains this effect? In six studies, we find that it is not because such emotions are thought to be unfitting (i.e., not called for or merited by the situation). Instead, the answer has to do with beliefs about the true self. When, for example, an immoral person appears to be happy, people think that, deep down in the person's true self, they are not experiencing happiness.
Moments of connection with others make life feel meaningful
(Prinzing, Le Nguyen & Fredrickson, 2023, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)
Pleasantness and meaningfulness are sometimes seen as opposing pursuits. Yet, in four longitudinal studies (three observational, one randomized experiment), we find that coexperienced pleasant states that are characterized by mutual care and synchrony are experienced as particularly meaningful in the moment and, over time, build social resources (e.g., supportive relationships and communities) that foster an enduring sense of meaning in life.
Messages about sustainability and well-being motivate climate action
When people expect pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) to improve well-being, they tend to have more positive attitudes towards PEBs, stronger intentions to engage in PEBs, and actually do engage in PEBs more frequently. Additionally, messages about how PEB can increase well-being improves attitudes towards PEBs and made people more persuasive in their subsequent efforts to encourage others to live sustainably.
