Michael Madden Prinzing
Michael Madden Prinzing
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I am Research and Assessment Scholar for the Educating Character Initiative 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.
I am Research and Assessment Scholar for the Educating Character Initiative 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, and 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.
Previously, I held postdoctoral positions at Baylor and Yale Universities, and 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
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.
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.
Does collaborative dialogue increase intellectual humility about ethics and politics?
Does collaborative dialogue increase intellectual humility about ethics and politics?
In pluralistic, democratic societies, it is vital for citizens to discuss ethics and politics with intellectual humility. Many have argued that thinking through such questions with others, in a setting where people feel respected and supported, will help people recognize the limits of their understanding and the merits of others’ viewpoints. However, despite a comprehensive approach, involving a variety of methods and measures (including self-reports, behavioral indicators, and text-analytic measures), our findings consistently contradicted this hypothesis. These findings highlight a need further theorizing and tests of popular claims about how to cultivate this much-needed trait.
Can an algorithm tell how spiritual you are? Using Generative Pretrained Transformers for sophisticated forms of text analysis
Can an algorithm tell how spiritual you are? Using Generative Pretrained Transformers for sophisticated forms of text analysis
Text analysis is a form of psychological assessment that involves converting qualitative information (text) into quantitative data. Large language models have the potential to revolutionize this measurement method by dramatically reducing the time and labor required. In this paper, my colleagues and I validated this approach by applying it to a highly nuanced construct—namely, spirituality. The results revealed that the language models performed just as well as trained human judges, showing equivalent associations with other measures of spirituality and theoretically related constructs. This indicates that automated text-analytic measurement with large language models can match what many have long considered the "gold standard" of human raters, even in sophisticated forms of text analysis, but requires a fraction of the time and labor.
Clarifying the diploma divide: The growing importance of higher education for political identity
Clarifying the diploma divide: The growing importance of higher education for political identity
(Prinzing & Vazquez, 2026, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)
Higher education is widely believed to have a liberalizing effect on students, yet empirical findings are mixed. In two studies (total N = 483,885), we found that over the past half-century adults with more education have consistently held more left-leaning views on social but not economic issues. Before the 2010s, however, there were no meaningful, educational differences in the degree to which people identified as liberal versus conservative. In the years since, college graduates have increasingly identified as liberal, while those with some or no college education remained steady. Within-person changes in political identity differ across fields of study, demographics, and other individual characteristics. Overall, the findings revealed a striking change in the relationship between higher education and political identity, while also undermining sweeping claims about liberalizing effects of education.
Pro-environmental behavior improves well-being
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.
Moments of connection with others make life feel meaningful
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.
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