Professional Bio

Dr. Cameron investigates the psychological processes involved in empathy and moral decision-making, using an interdisciplinary approach drawing on affective science, social cognition, and moral philosophy.  In much of his research, he examines motivational and situational factors that shape empathic emotions and behaviors toward others.  In other research, he uses implicit measurement and mathematical modeling to assess empathy and moral judgment in healthy, clinical, and incarcerated populations.  To learn more about his research, please visit the Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab web page (https://emplab.la.psu.edu).

Dr. Cameron is a Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute for 2023-2026. Additionally, he is a Senior Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute.

Dr. Cameron also directs the Consortium on Moral Decision-Making  (https://moralconsortium.psu.edu/), an interdisciplinary network of scholars who study empathy and moral decisions."

Selected Publications:

Cameron, C. D., Hutcherson, C. A., Ferguson, A., Scheffer, J. A., Hadjiandreou, E., & Inzlicht, M. (2019). Empathy is hard work: People choose to avoid empathy because of its cognitive costs. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148, 962-976.

Spring, V. L., Cameron, C. D., McKee, S., & Todd, A. (2019). Intentional and unintentional empathy for pain among physicians and non-physicians. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10, 440-448.

Spring, V. L., Cameron, C. D., & Cikara, M. (2018). The upside of outrage. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22, 1067-1069.

Cameron, C.D., Lindquist, K.A., & Gray, K. (2015). A constructionist review of morality and emotions: No evidence for specific links between moral content and discrete emotions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19, 371-394.