Dr. Shannon Spaulding’s primary area of research is social cognition, the capacity to understand and interact with other agents. SCIENCE OF MISUNDERSTANDING At the intersection of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, one can find Dr. Shannon Spaulding, professor of philosophy and department head, studying social cognition. She aims to answer the basic question of “How do ordinary people understand and interact with other people?” Every day, humans interact with family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers and strangers on the internet. Research shows that in laboratory conditions, neurotypical adults are fairly good at understanding others. However, in real life, neurotypical adults regularly misinterpret others’ intentions, thoughts and emotions in social interactions. These mistakes occur both within close circles of friends and family and with outgroup members. However, these aren’t just simple, one-off performance mistakes; they reflect deeper, systematic patterns in how social cues are interpreted. “I’m really interested in the mistakes we make when trying to understand other people,” Spaulding said. “What’s actually happening when we get it wrong? I’m curious about how our personal motivations and the stereotypes we bring into a social interaction shape how we interpret it — our preconceived ideas about certain situations or people create expectations, and sometimes others meet those expectations, but sometimes they don’t.” Spaulding is leading in this area of research and was recently recognized with the prestigious Stanton Prize from the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, a preeminent organization at the intersection of those eponymous areas. The Stanton Prize is awarded to a young scholar in philosophy or psychology who has begun making significant contributions to interdisciplinary research and has been active in SPP. To Spaulding, receiving the award was especially affirming. “Research is such a delayed gratification activity — you spend years working on a project without knowing if it will go anywhere or if the idea is a dead end,” she said. “There are so many opportunities to doubt yourself. So being recognized for my years-long contributions to research means a lot. “It’s especially meaningful to win the prize while representing OSU. Most recipients are from the Ivy League or prestigious private institutions and have networks of faculty and graduate students working in their areas of research at their institution. Thanks to the generous support of the philosophy department, I’ve been able to travel and deliberately build a research network extending across the U.S. and Europe. This support has allowed me to have a thriving research career. I am so grateful to be seen and supported by my peers in philosophy and psychology in this way.” 8 CONNECT 2025
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