Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
@kyleflaw.com
Postdoctoral Researcher, ASU | Moral Psychologist Traversing Social-Cognition & Ethical Philosophy | Exploring Exceptional Altruism to Foster a Brighter Collective Future | He/Him
kyleflaw.com
kyleflaw.com
Pinned
Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
@kyleflaw.com
· Aug 27
An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years | PNAS
How societies remember the dead can reveal what people value in life. We analyzed
38 million obituaries from the United States to examine how perso...
www.pnas.org
🪦 New in @pnas.org: we analyzed 38 million U.S. obituaries to ask what signals a life well lived:
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Really good read: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The hidden costs of human cooperation
Cooperation enables humans to reshape entire environments and build complex societies.
Although often celebrated, cooperation also has hidden costs. By presenting core mechanisms
behind its emergence,...
www.cell.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Really good read: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Public displays of virtue like donating or speaking up can set norms, but they’re often met with skepticism (“virtue discounting”). Our new paper asks: do people expect their own public virtue to be judged differently than others’ similar actions?
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library
Public acts of virtue can promote prosocial norms yet are often met with moral scepticism – a phenomenon known as virtue discounting. What psychological processes might underlie people's propensity t....
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 3, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Public displays of virtue like donating or speaking up can set norms, but they’re often met with skepticism (“virtue discounting”). Our new paper asks: do people expect their own public virtue to be judged differently than others’ similar actions?
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🪦 New in @pnas.org: we analyzed 38 million U.S. obituaries to ask what signals a life well lived:
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years | PNAS
How societies remember the dead can reveal what people value in life. We analyzed
38 million obituaries from the United States to examine how perso...
www.pnas.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:39 AM
🪦 New in @pnas.org: we analyzed 38 million U.S. obituaries to ask what signals a life well lived:
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
What values are people most remembered for?
How do legacies shift with cultural events?
How do age and gender shape what it means to have lived well?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Across 6 European countries, people feel more responsible to protect future generations than to directly reduce climate change. Both forms of responsibility predict climate policy support.
🔗 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lcgHzzKDP...
New paper w/ Zhaoquan Wang, @stysyropoulos.bsky.social, & many others.
🔗 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lcgHzzKDP...
New paper w/ Zhaoquan Wang, @stysyropoulos.bsky.social, & many others.
August 17, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Across 6 European countries, people feel more responsible to protect future generations than to directly reduce climate change. Both forms of responsibility predict climate policy support.
🔗 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lcgHzzKDP...
New paper w/ Zhaoquan Wang, @stysyropoulos.bsky.social, & many others.
🔗 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lcgHzzKDP...
New paper w/ Zhaoquan Wang, @stysyropoulos.bsky.social, & many others.
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social and I spoke with @drjimdavies.bsky.social about our new preprint on altruistic motivation.
Grateful for his thoughtful write-up in @nautil.us and the outstanding team behind this work (see below)!
Grateful for his thoughtful write-up in @nautil.us and the outstanding team behind this work (see below)!
In @nautil.us @drjimdavies.bsky.social reports on a huge study: People are motivated more by helping others than self-oriented motivations like reputation. Implications for how we try to encourage goodness .https://nautil.us/people-really-want-to-be-good-1227879/ @carleton-cogsci.bsky.social
August 5, 2025 at 8:29 AM
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social and I spoke with @drjimdavies.bsky.social about our new preprint on altruistic motivation.
Grateful for his thoughtful write-up in @nautil.us and the outstanding team behind this work (see below)!
Grateful for his thoughtful write-up in @nautil.us and the outstanding team behind this work (see below)!
Excited to share
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social's first preprint—an ambitious global study of human motivation!
Using data from 900,000+ people in 100+ countries, we find altruistic motives consistently outweigh egoistic ones across cultures.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social's first preprint—an ambitious global study of human motivation!
Using data from 900,000+ people in 100+ countries, we find altruistic motives consistently outweigh egoistic ones across cultures.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
June 3, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Excited to share
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social's first preprint—an ambitious global study of human motivation!
Using data from 900,000+ people in 100+ countries, we find altruistic motives consistently outweigh egoistic ones across cultures.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
@seoyeonbae211.bsky.social's first preprint—an ambitious global study of human motivation!
Using data from 900,000+ people in 100+ countries, we find altruistic motives consistently outweigh egoistic ones across cultures.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We asked over 8,700 people in 6 countries to think about future generations in decision-making, and this is what we found theconversation.com/we-asked-ove... @stysyropoulos.bsky.social
We asked over 8,700 people in 6 countries to think about future generations in decision-making, and this is what we found
When people reflect on how their actions shape the future, they are more likely to support solutions to present-day issues like poverty and inequality.
theconversation.com
June 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
We asked over 8,700 people in 6 countries to think about future generations in decision-making, and this is what we found theconversation.com/we-asked-ove... @stysyropoulos.bsky.social
Across 3 studies, we find that valuing future lives equally—regardless of their distance in time—predicts stronger interest in long-term oriented, high-impact careers.
Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social @amormino.bsky.social @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social @amormino.bsky.social @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
May 29, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Across 3 studies, we find that valuing future lives equally—regardless of their distance in time—predicts stronger interest in long-term oriented, high-impact careers.
Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social @amormino.bsky.social @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social @amormino.bsky.social @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
Asking participants to roleplay as a leader of a committee protecting future generations & having them partake in a philosophical thought exercise emphasizing reduction of intergenerational harm increased moral concern felt towards future generations. @kyleflaw.com
doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
May 14, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Asking participants to roleplay as a leader of a committee protecting future generations & having them partake in a philosophical thought exercise emphasizing reduction of intergenerational harm increased moral concern felt towards future generations. @kyleflaw.com
doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
PsyArXiv Preprints | Mapping the Moral Architecture of Effective and Extraordinary Altruism
Mapping the Moral Architecture of Effective and Extraordinary Altruism
While global challenges demand both impartiality and effectiveness, people often prioritize those nearby and overlook the impact of their prosocial actions. Here, we examined what moral values…
osf.io
April 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
PsyArXiv Preprints | Mapping the Moral Architecture of Effective and Extraordinary Altruism
Hey y’all! New paper with @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social & @stysyropoulos.bsky.social is out in BJSP!
We test ways to expand moral concern to future generations, with spillover benefits for distant others today.
#socialpsych #PsychSciSky #psychology
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
We test ways to expand moral concern to future generations, with spillover benefits for distant others today.
#socialpsych #PsychSciSky #psychology
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library
In three studies (N = 8775) including two pre-registered experiments and a pre-registered cross-national replication across five countries, we tested whether intergenerational appeals that emphasize ...
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Hey y’all! New paper with @lianeleeyoung.bsky.social & @stysyropoulos.bsky.social is out in BJSP!
We test ways to expand moral concern to future generations, with spillover benefits for distant others today.
#socialpsych #PsychSciSky #psychology
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
We test ways to expand moral concern to future generations, with spillover benefits for distant others today.
#socialpsych #PsychSciSky #psychology
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
🚨 New preprint! What drives truly selfless giving?
Led by @kyleflaw.bsky.social! We studied effective altruists (EAs) and organ donors to strangers (ODs) comparing them to controls.
EAs & ODs ⬆️ moral expansiveness
EAs ⬆️utilitarianism
Notably, loyalty isn’t always parochial. 👀
🔗 in comments!
Led by @kyleflaw.bsky.social! We studied effective altruists (EAs) and organ donors to strangers (ODs) comparing them to controls.
EAs & ODs ⬆️ moral expansiveness
EAs ⬆️utilitarianism
Notably, loyalty isn’t always parochial. 👀
🔗 in comments!
April 22, 2025 at 11:00 PM
🚨 New preprint! What drives truly selfless giving?
Led by @kyleflaw.bsky.social! We studied effective altruists (EAs) and organ donors to strangers (ODs) comparing them to controls.
EAs & ODs ⬆️ moral expansiveness
EAs ⬆️utilitarianism
Notably, loyalty isn’t always parochial. 👀
🔗 in comments!
Led by @kyleflaw.bsky.social! We studied effective altruists (EAs) and organ donors to strangers (ODs) comparing them to controls.
EAs & ODs ⬆️ moral expansiveness
EAs ⬆️utilitarianism
Notably, loyalty isn’t always parochial. 👀
🔗 in comments!
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
I've added a list at the bottom of the post linking to some places you could donate to help programs affected by the foreign aid cuts.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/i/161097332/...
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/i/161097332/...
April 12, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I've added a list at the bottom of the post linking to some places you could donate to help programs affected by the foreign aid cuts.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/i/161097332/...
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/i/161097332/...
New preprint! Do people who care about future generations actually do less to help others today?
Across 3 studies—including both deceased and non-directed living organ donors—we find the opposite:
Concern for the distant future predicts altruism now. 🌍🫀
👉 tinyurl.com/23r4cakh
Across 3 studies—including both deceased and non-directed living organ donors—we find the opposite:
Concern for the distant future predicts altruism now. 🌍🫀
👉 tinyurl.com/23r4cakh
April 2, 2025 at 8:13 PM
New preprint! Do people who care about future generations actually do less to help others today?
Across 3 studies—including both deceased and non-directed living organ donors—we find the opposite:
Concern for the distant future predicts altruism now. 🌍🫀
👉 tinyurl.com/23r4cakh
Across 3 studies—including both deceased and non-directed living organ donors—we find the opposite:
Concern for the distant future predicts altruism now. 🌍🫀
👉 tinyurl.com/23r4cakh
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
At the national and individual level, increased poverty was related to lower intergenerational concern and less support for farsighted policies @kyleflaw.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
April 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM
At the national and individual level, increased poverty was related to lower intergenerational concern and less support for farsighted policies @kyleflaw.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
New paper w Georgetown’s Abigail Marsh & Wharton’s Annie Wilson. We develop & validate a short form of the Social Discounting Task—a behavioral measure of generosity that reliably tracks w other forms of altruism. Perfect for tight surveys or large-scale studies
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
March 28, 2025 at 6:31 AM
New paper w Georgetown’s Abigail Marsh & Wharton’s Annie Wilson. We develop & validate a short form of the Social Discounting Task—a behavioral measure of generosity that reliably tracks w other forms of altruism. Perfect for tight surveys or large-scale studies
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
📢New preprint: shorturl.at/M77Bb
We surveyed 1,798 psychology PhD students. Marginalized students and students experiencing financial strain report disparities in mental health, worse program satisfaction and poorer academic experiences.
Funding & support are crucial to build a fairer academia!
We surveyed 1,798 psychology PhD students. Marginalized students and students experiencing financial strain report disparities in mental health, worse program satisfaction and poorer academic experiences.
Funding & support are crucial to build a fairer academia!
OSF
shorturl.at
March 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM
📢New preprint: shorturl.at/M77Bb
We surveyed 1,798 psychology PhD students. Marginalized students and students experiencing financial strain report disparities in mental health, worse program satisfaction and poorer academic experiences.
Funding & support are crucial to build a fairer academia!
We surveyed 1,798 psychology PhD students. Marginalized students and students experiencing financial strain report disparities in mental health, worse program satisfaction and poorer academic experiences.
Funding & support are crucial to build a fairer academia!
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
New preprint: shorturl.at/BZacg; with a team of 31 researchers!
Low concern for infection + low political trust = less compliance with COVID-19 measures.
Using data from 18 countries (N = 18k), we show how distrustful complacency undermines public health especially when leaders oppose science.
Low concern for infection + low political trust = less compliance with COVID-19 measures.
Using data from 18 countries (N = 18k), we show how distrustful complacency undermines public health especially when leaders oppose science.
March 28, 2025 at 4:53 PM
New preprint: shorturl.at/BZacg; with a team of 31 researchers!
Low concern for infection + low political trust = less compliance with COVID-19 measures.
Using data from 18 countries (N = 18k), we show how distrustful complacency undermines public health especially when leaders oppose science.
Low concern for infection + low political trust = less compliance with COVID-19 measures.
Using data from 18 countries (N = 18k), we show how distrustful complacency undermines public health especially when leaders oppose science.
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
📣 Across the U.S., cuts to federal funding for health research are projected to cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs. How will YOUR area be impacted?
Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky
scienceimpacts.org
Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky
scienceimpacts.org
SCiMaP
scienceimpacts.org
March 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
📣 Across the U.S., cuts to federal funding for health research are projected to cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs. How will YOUR area be impacted?
Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky
scienceimpacts.org
Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky
scienceimpacts.org
New paper by @amormino.bsky.social and colleagues! They develop and validate a short form of the Social Discounting Task—a fast, reliable measure of how altruism declines with social distance. Perfect for tight surveys or large-scale studies.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
March 28, 2025 at 5:35 AM
New paper by @amormino.bsky.social and colleagues! They develop and validate a short form of the Social Discounting Task—a fast, reliable measure of how altruism declines with social distance. Perfect for tight surveys or large-scale studies.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
Now officially out in @pnas.org with @greggsparkman.bsky.social! Almost 90% of Christian religious leaders believe in anthropogenic climate change. American congregants underestimate this consensus. Communicating this has important consequences for norms and beliefs!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
March 25, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Now officially out in @pnas.org with @greggsparkman.bsky.social! Almost 90% of Christian religious leaders believe in anthropogenic climate change. American congregants underestimate this consensus. Communicating this has important consequences for norms and beliefs!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
More evidence from the US showing that endorsements of political candidates by scientific journals decreases trust in science @stysyropoulos.bsky.social @kyleflaw.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
March 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
More evidence from the US showing that endorsements of political candidates by scientific journals decreases trust in science @stysyropoulos.bsky.social @kyleflaw.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
The Trump tax plan only works by cutting public services.
This incredible visualization combines the potential tax cuts (which mostly go to the rich) and loss of services (mostly borne by the poor).
It is a giant wealth transfer from the poorest to the richest. budgetlab.yale.edu/news/250319/...
This incredible visualization combines the potential tax cuts (which mostly go to the rich) and loss of services (mostly borne by the poor).
It is a giant wealth transfer from the poorest to the richest. budgetlab.yale.edu/news/250319/...
March 19, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The Trump tax plan only works by cutting public services.
This incredible visualization combines the potential tax cuts (which mostly go to the rich) and loss of services (mostly borne by the poor).
It is a giant wealth transfer from the poorest to the richest. budgetlab.yale.edu/news/250319/...
This incredible visualization combines the potential tax cuts (which mostly go to the rich) and loss of services (mostly borne by the poor).
It is a giant wealth transfer from the poorest to the richest. budgetlab.yale.edu/news/250319/...
📢 New Preprint: Who cares about the future? We examine how age, ideology, SES, and other sociodemographic factors shape future-oriented thinking across 37,000+ participants worldwide.
Check it out here: tinyurl.com/4et62tek
@lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social
Check it out here: tinyurl.com/4et62tek
@lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social
March 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
📢 New Preprint: Who cares about the future? We examine how age, ideology, SES, and other sociodemographic factors shape future-oriented thinking across 37,000+ participants worldwide.
Check it out here: tinyurl.com/4et62tek
@lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social
Check it out here: tinyurl.com/4et62tek
@lianeleeyoung.bsky.social
@stysyropoulos.bsky.social
Reposted by Kyle Fiore Law, PhD
New Preprint: Social Discounting reliably predicts prosociality in meta-analysis & replication. Increased relational mobility (but not Ind-Col) predicts generosity toward distant others. All undergrads from our replication course are co-authors:
tinyurl.com/4acvnbrb
@kendraseaman.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/4acvnbrb
@kendraseaman.bsky.social
OSF
tinyurl.com
March 11, 2025 at 10:03 PM
New Preprint: Social Discounting reliably predicts prosociality in meta-analysis & replication. Increased relational mobility (but not Ind-Col) predicts generosity toward distant others. All undergrads from our replication course are co-authors:
tinyurl.com/4acvnbrb
@kendraseaman.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/4acvnbrb
@kendraseaman.bsky.social