Education
PHD, Lehigh University
MS, Lehigh University
MA, New York University
BS, University Florida
BA, University Florida
About Me
In my lab, we study how identity shapes group life—from how humor and deviance are judged, to how polarization drives leader preferences, to how resilient communities help people cope with crises. Our work asks when shared identities make groups open to criticism, diversity, and cooperation, and when they instead reinforce conformity, hierarchy, and exclusion.
I teach PSYC-101 Principles of Psychology, as well as PSYC-223 Research Methods, which I believe is one of the most valuable courses a student can take. Research methods — the ways in which we measure people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors; as well as the ways in which we draw conclusions from those measurements — is the engine of psychological discovery. These skills are a great strength to all students, regardless of their eventual career. I also teach PSYC-230 Social Psychology, PSYC-245 Personality, and our capstone course, PSYC-421 Directed Research.
Follow our lab!
Instagram: @ungsonlab
Lab website:www.ungsonlab.com
Professional Experience
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
* 体育买球 University undergraduate student
Packer, D. J., &Ungson, N. D.(in press). Peer pressure. In S. T. Allison, J. K., Beggan, & G. R. Goethals (Ed.),Encyclopedia of heroism studies. Springer.
Van Bavel, J. J., Packer, D. J., Ray, J. L., Robertson, C., &Ungson, N. D.(in press). Beyond intuition and reason: How social identity tunes moral judgments. In N. Ellemers, S. Pagliaro, & F. van Nunspeet (Ed.),Handbook on the psychology of morality. Routledge.
Ungson, N. D., *Bucher, K., Marsh, J., Lamadrid, A., & Packer, D. J. (2023). Won’t you be my neighbor? Local community identification predicted decreased stress over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
Azevedo, F., Pavlović, T., Rêgo, G. G., Ay, F. C., Gjoneska, B., Etienne, T., …Ungson, N. D., … Sampaio, W. M. (2023). Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries.Scientific Data.
Pavlović, T., Azevedo, F., De, K., Riaño-Moreno, J.C., Maglić, M., Gkinopoulos, T., …Ungson, N. D., … Van Bavel, J. J. (2022). Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning.PNAS Nexus.
Van Bavel, J. J., Cichocka, A., Capraro, V., Sjåstad, H., Nezlek, J. B., Alfano, M., …Ungson, N. D., … Boggio, P. S. (2022). National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic: Results from 67 nations.Nature Communications.
Zamora, J.,Ungson, N. D., & Seidman, G. (2022). The end justifies the me: Self-interest moderates the relationship between Dark Triad traits and utilitarian moral decisions.Personality and Individual Differences, 184, 111134.
Marsh, J. K.,Ungson, N. D., & Packer, D. J. (2021). Bring out your experts: The relationship between perceived expert causal understanding and pandemic behaviors.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 27(4), 785-802.
Marsh, J. K.,Ungson, N. D., & Packer, D. J. (2021). Of pandemics and zombies: The influence of prior concepts on COVID-19 pandemic-related behaviors.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5207.
Packer, D. J.,Ungson, N. D., & Marsh, J.K. (2021). Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of COVD-19.Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 24(2), 311-317.
Evans, T. R., Johannes, N., Winska, J., Glinkska-Newes, A., van Stekelenburg, A., Nilsonne, G., …Ungson, N. D.(2020). Exploring the Consistency and Value of Humour Style Profiles.Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology.
Gill, M. J., &Ungson, N. D.(2018). How much blame does he truly deserve? Historicist narratives engender uncertainty about blameworthiness, facilitating motivated cognition in moral judgment.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 77, 11-23.
Packer, D. J., Miners, C. T. H., &Ungson, N. D.(2018). Benefiting from diversity: How groups’ coordinating mechanisms affect leadership opportunities for marginalized individuals.Journal of Social Issues, 74(1), 56-74.
Ungson, N. D., & Packer, D. J. (2018). Dissent. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.),The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Packer, D. J., &Ungson, N. D.(2017). Group decision-making: Revisiting Janis’ groupthink studies. In J. R. Smith & S. A. Haslam (Eds.),Social psychology: Revisiting the classic studies(2nd ed., pp. 182-200). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
* 体育买球 University undergraduate student
Wohl, M. A., Stefaniak, A., Ungson, N. D., & Packer, D. J.(Anticipated 2026, July). Strong leaders, not strongmen: How concern for polarization and collective nostalgia shape leader preference [Symposium Presentation]. European Association of Social Psychology, 2026.
Ungson, N. D. (2025, March). The (ethics and) function of humor [Invited talk]. A Psychologist & a Philosopher Walk into a Bar…, 体育买球 University Philosophy Department.
* Beishline, R., *Erdman, E., & Ungson, N. D. (2025, March). Punchlines and boundaries: When aggressive humor hits the mark in group dynamics [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*O’Neill, C., & Ungson, N. D. (2025, March). Local community identification and stress during COVID-19: Longitudinal insights from a diverse sample and opportunities for future research [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
Ungson, N. D. (2025, February). Punching up, down, or out: The role of intragroup status on judgments of aggressive humor [Poster Presentation]. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Conference, 2025.
Wohl, M., Packer, D. J., Stefaniak, A., & Ungson, N. D. (2025, February). Collective nostalgia as a balm for groups under threat [Symposium Presentation]. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Conference, 2025.
*Erdman, E., *Lind, J., *Clark, L., & Ungson, N. D. (2024, March). Punching up and the rules of using aggressive humor [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*Boyko, G., *Cruise, K., *Goetz, A., *Mitchell, M., & Ungson, N. D. (2024, March). The effects of physical attraction and personality on romantic desirability [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*Ruhalter, M., *Contarino, B., *Rigot, T., *Cross, P., & Ungson, N. D. (2024, March). Laughing through the pain: Mental health and humor preference [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*Conklin, A., *Lind, J., *Fox, M., *Warrick, S., & Ungson, N. D. (2024, March). Hey, did you hear? Factors that influence believability of gossip [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*Clark, L., Ganard, E., Luna, M., Stein, A., Klotz, M. L., & Ungson, N.D. (2024, March). Factors associated with the decline of religious affiliation among college students [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2024.
*Erdman, E., *Lind, J., *Bucher, K., *Correllus, M., & Ungson, N. D. (2023, March). The healing power of community connection during the early COVID-19 pandemic [Poster Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2023.
Wohl, M. J. A. & Packer, D. J.,Ungson, N. D., & Stefaniak, A. (2023, June). Strong leaders for polarized nations: Concern about political polarization predicts support for strong unifying figures via civic nostalgia. Paper presented at the European Association for Social Psychology Conference, Krakow, Poland.
*Erdman, E., *Lind, J., *Bucher, K., *Correllus, M., &Ungson, N. D.(2023, March). The healing power of community connection during the early COVID-19 pandemic [Conference Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference, 2023.
*Bucher, K., &Ungson, N. D.(2023, February). Local community identification predicted coping during COVID-19 [Conference Presentation]. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Conference 2023.
*Bucher, K., &Ungson, N. D.(2022, July). Stress and community identification during COVID-19 [Conference Presentation]. 体育买球 Valley Undergraduate Research (SVUR) Symposium, 2022.
Ungson, N. D., *Correllus, M, & *Bryant, J. (2022, March). Institutional trust predicts intergroup cooperation [Conference Presentation]. Eastern Psychological Conference Annual Conference, 2022.