Adam Cohen
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Phone: 480-965-7345
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PSYCHOLOGY BUILDING TEMPE, AZ 85287
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Mail code: 1104Campus: Tempe
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Adam Cohen's main research interests fuse cultural, social, and personality psychology. He is interested in how religious differences function as cultural differences, affecting domains including religious identity and motivation, well-being, moral judgment, forgiveness, and the like. Cohen is also interested in applying evolutionary theory to religion. He has been associate editor of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Perspectives on Psychological Science.
He has had grant funding from the Notre Dame Science of Generosity program, the Templeton Foundation, NSF, DARPA, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Army Research Institute.
Professor Cohen is a fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, the 2009 recipient of the Margaret Gorman award from the American Psychological Association, the 2013 Godin Prize winner from the International Association for the Psychology of Religion, and the 2012 Gumby Award winner from the ASU Department of Psychology.
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2000.
Aglozo, E. Y., & Cohen, A. B. (2025). Religious values and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 35(4), 696–705. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1464
Northover, S. B., Quillien, T., Conroy-Beam, D., & Cohen, A. B. (2024). Religious costly signaling: Effects on trust, generosity, and cooperation. Evolution and Human Behavior, 45, 106593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.06.002
Wormley A. S., & Cohen, A. B. (2023). C-H-E-A-T: Wordle cheating is related to religiosity and cultural tightness. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18, 702-709.
Moon, J. W., Cohen, A. B., Laurin, K., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2023). Is religion special? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18, 340-357.
Cohen, A. B. (2021). You can learn a lot about religion from food. Current Opinion in Psychology, 40, 1-5.
Moon, J. W., Krems, J. A., Cohen, A. B., & Kenrick, D. T. (2019). Is nothing sacred? Religious beliefs and reproductive strategies. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28, 361-365.
Moon, J. W., Krems, J. A., & Cohen, A. B. (2018). Religious people are trusted more because they are slow life history strategists. Psychological Science, 29, 947-960.
Hall, D., Cohen, A. B., Meyer, K. K., Varley, A., & Brewer, G. A., Jr. (2015). Costly signaling increases trust, even across religious affiliations. Psychological Science, 26, 1368-1376.
Cohen, A. B. (2015). Religion’s profound influences on psychology: Morality, intergroup relations, self-construal, and enculturation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24, 77-82.
Cohen, A. B. (2009). Many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 64, 194-204.
Cohen, A. B., & Rozin, P. (2001). Religion and the morality of mentality. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 81, 697-710
Principal investigator for extension for “Fasting and Flourishing: A Comparative Analysis”, Templeton World Charity Foundation. 2022-2026.
Principal investigator for “Anti-semitism and free speech”, Academic Engagement Network. 2023-2024.
Principal investigator, “Broadening our view of culture”, US Army Research Institute. 2017-2021.
Principal investigator, “Religion, culture, and trust”, Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 2015-2018.
Courses
2027 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 455 | Cultural Psychology |
2026 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 350 | Social Psychology |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 350 | Social Psychology |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 350 | Social Psychology |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| PSY 399 | Supervised Research |
| NEU 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| NEU 493 | Honors Thesis |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 350 | Social Psychology |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| NEU 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| NEU 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 592 | Research |
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 592 | Research |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 350 | Social Psychology |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
Elected Fellow, Society of Personality and Social Psychology.
Godin prize, International Association for the Psychology of Religion (awarded every 4 years to a senior scholar for excellence in the psychology of religion).
Gumby award, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University (awarded by department chair for departmental flexibility and citizenship).
Margaret Gorman Award, American Psychological Association (early career award, Division 36, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality).
Elected Fellow, Society of Experimental Social Psychology.
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship competition honorable mention.
Neil Horowitz ’73 award, Akiba Hebrew Academy, for excellence in Jewish studies and community service.
Associate editor, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2021 - 2021.
Associate editor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Personality Processes and Individual Differences, 2013 – 2020.
Associate editor, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011 – 2012.
Chair, limited submissions, Knowledge Enterprise and Research Development, 2021-2023.
Dean’s faculty advisory committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 2023.
University Promotion and Tenure Committee, 2017-2020.