John T. Cacioppo
Department of Psychology
University of Chicago
5848 South University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637
U.S.A.
Home Page
Phone: (773) 702-1962
Fax: (773) 702-4580
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John T. Cacioppo is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor at The University of Chicago. He is the Director of the Social Psychology Program at The University of Chicago as well as the Director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience. Before going to The University of Chicago, Cacioppo served on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame (1977-1979), the University of Iowa (1979-1989), and Ohio State University (1989-1999).
The general perspective Cacioppo takes in his research is social neuroscience. What does it mean to say humans are social animals? Hominids are believed to have walked the earth for the past 7 million years, or approximately 0.1% of the earth’s history. Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man) were not the first bipedal creatures nor apparently were they the first to use tools; and they have evolved only recently even within the epoch of hominids. In the brief span humans have roamed the earth – merely the past 3,000 to 5,000 years – one finds unparalleled achievements. Humans, apparently uniquely, contemplate the history of the earth, the reach of the universe, the origin of the species, and the genetic blueprint of life. The properties of humans responsible for this state of affairs continue to be debated, but big brains that make mental simulations and strategies possible, hands with fingers and thumbs that permit precise manipulations, and social bonding and language that promote complex and coordinated collective actions are commonly thought to be among those that are important.
Cacioppo and colleagues are focusing primarily on the latter of these features. Specifically, they are investigating the potential transduction pathways through which social connection, including beliefs about connections with a higher being or order, influences social cognition, emotion, behavior, biology, and health. Students in Cacioppo’s lab have the opportunity to learn traditional personality and social psychological methodologies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), event related brain potentials (ERPs), autonomic and neuroendocrine assessments, and measures of cellular immunity in investigations of how processes between the skin influence processes under the skin and vice versa. In addition, in collaboration with Dr. Boomsma, director of the Dutch Twin Register in the Netherlands, investigations are underway to determine the genetic and specific environmental determinants of loneliness and social connection.
 Books:
 Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (Eds.). (2005). Social neuroscience: Key readings. New York: Psychology Press.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Tassinary, L. G., & Berntson, G. G. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of psychophysiology (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Visser P. S., & Pickett, C. L. (Eds.). (2005). Social neuroscience: People thinking about thinking people. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional contagion. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Journal Articles:
- Boomsma, D. I., Willemse, G., Dolan, C. V., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2005). Genetic and environmental contributions to loneliness in adults: The Netherlands Twin Register Study. Behavior Genetics.
- Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). Common sense, intuition, and theory in personality and social psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 114-122.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Berntson, G. G., Lorig, T. S., Norris, C. J., Rickett, E., & Nusbaum, H. (2003). Just because you're imaging the brain doesn't mean you can stop using your head: A primer and set of first principles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 650-661.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., & Berntson, G. G. (2003). The anatomy of loneliness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 71-74.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Semin, G. R., & Berntson, G. G. (2004). Realism, instrumentalism, and scientific symbiosis: Psychological theory as a search for truth and the discovery of solutions. American Psychologist, 59, 214-223.
- Hawkley, L. C., Browne, M. W., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2005). How can I connect with thee? Let me count the ways. Psychological Science, 16, 798-804.
- Hawkley, L. C., Masi, C. M., Berry, J. D., & Cacioppo, J. T. (in press). Loneliness is a unique predictor of age-related differences in systolic blood pressure. Psychology and Aging.
- Ito, T. A., Chiao, K. W., Devine, P. G., Lorig, T. S., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2006). The influence of facial feedback on race bias. Psychological Science, 17, 256-261.
- Larsen, J. T., McGraw, A. P., Mellers, B. A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). The agony of victory and the thrill of defeat: Mixed emotional reactions to disappointing wins and relieving losses. Psychological Science, 15, 325-330.
- Norris, C. J., Chen, E. E., Zhu, D. C., Small, S. L., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). The interaction of social and emotional processes in the brain. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1818-1829.
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