Professor Jamin Halberstadt, Our People, Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand

Jamin Halberstadt

Head of Department

Email jamin.halberstadt@otago.ac.nz
Tel 64 3 479 7644

Professor Jamin Halberstadt is a member of the Social Perception Area of Research Excellence, the Memory Theme, the Otago Lifespan Development Research Group, and was a founding member of the OZONE young researcher advisory group. He has supervised 8 PhD students (4 still in progress), and has been named an outstanding research supervisor 4 times by the Otago University Student Association.

Internationally, he is a Fellow of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology and serves as an Associate Editor of the Society’s journal. He has published over 50 research articles and chapters in top international journals, and presents regularly at international conferences. In 2012 he will begin a term as an Associate Editor of the journal Psychological Science.

Jamin joined the Department in 1997. He has over 20 years of research experience, and has taught over 15 years at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

Teaching

PSYC 212 Social and Applied Psychology
PSYC 426 Social Cognition

Research Interests

Social cognition
Social categorisation
Facial attractiveness
Emotion perception
Decision making

Find out more about Professor Halberstadt's research interests

^ Top of page

Publications

Stojanov, A., Halberstadt, J., Bering, J. M., & Kenig, N. (2021). Examining a domain-specific link between perceived control and conspiracy beliefs: A brief report in the context of COVID-19. Current Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01977-0

Swan, T., & Halberstadt, J. (2021). Anxiety enhances recall of supernatural agents. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/10508619.2021.1898808

Silva Luna, D., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. (2021). Public faith in science in the United States through the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic [Short communication]. Public Health in Practice, 100103. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100103

Atkinson, L., Murray, J. E., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). Older adults' emotion recognition ability is unaffected by stereotype threat. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 605724. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.605724

Swan, T., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). The fitness relevance of counterintuitive agents. Journal of Cognition & Culture, 20(3-4), 188-217. doi: 10.1163/15685373-12340081

Jong, J., & Halberstadt, J. (2016). Death anxiety and religious belief: An existential psychology of religion. Londun, UK: Bloomsbury, 232p.

Authored Book - Research

Halberstadt, J., & Jong, J. (2014). Scaring the bejesus into people: The role of religious belief in managing implicit and explicit anxiety. In J. P. Forgas & E. Harmon-Jones (Eds.), Motivation and its regulation: The control within. (pp. 331-350). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Jahanitabesh, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2014). Do you see what I see? Rumination, construal and emotion perception in depression. In S. R. Nasato (Ed.), Advances in social cognition research. (pp. 181-198). New York: Nova Science.

Chapter in Book - Research

Owen, H. E., & Halberstadt, J. (2014). Truth in text: The influence of language complexity and style on perceived self-reflection and truthfulness. In S. R. Nasato (Ed.), Advances in social cognition research. (pp. 199-213). New York: Nova Science.

Chapter in Book - Research

Secher, J., Jackson, J., & Halberstadt, J. (2014). Anger: Causes, experience and outcomes of the mercurial emotion. In S. R. Nasato (Ed.), Advances in social cognition research. (pp. 151-179). New York: Nova Science.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halberstadt, J., & Winkielman, P. (2013). When good blends go bad: How fluency can explain when we like and dislike ambiguity. In C. Unkelbach & R. Greifeneder (Eds.), The experience of thinking: How the fluency of mental processes influences cognition and behaviour. (pp. 133-150). Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Yamaguchi, M., & Halberstadt, J. (2011). It's all about me: Maladaptive self-focused attention as a mediator of the relationship between extrinsic goals and well-being. In I. Brdar (Ed.), The human pursuit of well-being: A cultural approach. (pp. 95-106). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-1375-8

Chapter in Book - Research

Catty, S., & Halberstadt, J. (2008). The use and disruption of familiarity in intuitive judgements. In H. Plessner, C. Betsch & T. Betsch (Eds.), Intuition in judgement and decision making. (pp. 295-308). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halberstadt, J., & Wilson, T. D. (2008). Reflections on conscious reflection: Mechanisms of impairment by reasons analysis. In J. E. Adler & L. J. Rips (Eds.), Reasoning: Studies of human inference and its foundations. (pp. 548-596). Cambridge University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Yamaguchi, M., & Halberstadt, J. (2008). Attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals revisited: The interaction of goal and well-being dimensions. In B. P. Reimann (Ed.), Personality and social psychology research. (pp. 93-105). New York: Nova Science.

Chapter in Book - Research

Fernando, K., & Halberstadt, J. (2007). Effects of explanation on emotion attribution. In F. R. Lewis (Ed.), Focus on nonverbal communication research. (pp. 199-213). Nova Science.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halberstadt, J. (2007). Proximate and ultimate origins of a bias for prototypical faces: An evolutionary social cognitive account. In J. P. Forgas, M. G. Haselton & W. von Hippel (Eds.), Evolution and the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and social cognition. (pp. 245-262). New York: Psychology Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halberstadt, J. B., Rhodes, G., & Catty, S. (2003). Subjective and objective familiarity as explanations for the attraction to average faces. In S. P. Shohov (Ed.), Advances in psychology research: Volume 22. (pp. 35-50). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter in Book - Research

Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2003). Top-down influences in social perception. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology: Volume 14. (pp. 49-76). East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press Ltd.

Chapter in Book - Research

Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2000). Emotional response as conceptual coherence. In E. Eich, J. F. Kihlstrom, G. H. Bower, J. P. Forgas & P. M. Niedenthal (Eds.), Counterpoints: Cognition and Emotion. (pp. 169-203). New York: Oxford University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2000). Grounding categories in emotional response. In J. P. Forgas (Ed.), Feeling and Thinking: The Role of Affect in Social Cognition. (pp. 357-386). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halberstadt, J. B., Niedenthal, P. M., & Setterlund, M. B. (1996). Cognitive organization of different tenses of the self mediates affect and decision making. In L. L. Martin & A. Tesser (Eds.), Striving and Feeling: Interactions Among Goals, Affect, and Self-Regulation. (pp. 123-150). Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Chapter in Book - Research

Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (1995). The acquisition and structure of emotional response categories. In D. L. Medin (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation. (pp. 23-64). New York: Academic Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Journal - Research Article

Alogna, V. K., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). The divergent effects of prayer on cheating. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(4), 365-378. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2019.1574881

Journal - Research Article

Colombo, M. S., Bremer, C., Gross, J., Halberstadt, J., & Hayne, H. (2020). “What was his name, again?”: A new method for reducing memory-based errors in an adult false-belief task. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 16(2), 300-316. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v16i2.1998

Journal - Research Article

Ruffman, T., Halberstadt, J., Murray, J., Jack, F., & Vater, T. (2020). Empathic accuracy: Worse recognition by older adults and less transparency in older adult expressions compared to young adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B, 75(8), 1658-1667. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbz008

Journal - Research Article

Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). Does lack of control lead to conspiracy beliefs? A meta-analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50, 955-968. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2690

Journal - Research Article

Stojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). Does perceived lack of control lead to conspiracy theory beliefs? Findings from an online MTurk sample. PLoS ONE, 15(8), e0237771. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237771

Journal - Research Article

Swan, T., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). The fitness relevance of counterintuitive agents. Journal of Cognition & Culture, 20(3-4), 188-217. doi: 10.1163/15685373-12340081

Journal - Research Article

Alogna, V. K., Bering, J., Balkcom, E., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). Religious intuitions and the nature of “belief”. Studia Humana, 8(3), 58-68. doi: 10.2478/sh-2019-0025

Journal - Research Article

Balkcom, E. R., Alogna, V. K., Curtin, E. R., Halberstadt, J. B., & Bering, J. M. (2019). Aversion to organs donated by suicide victims: The role of psychological essentialism. Cognition, 192, 104037. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104037

Journal - Research Article

Cardwell, B. A., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). Religious believers do not distinguish good from poor reasons for God’s existence. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 29(3), 147-160. doi: 10.1080/10508619.2018.1564446

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, C. M., Jackson, J. C., Bilkey, D., Jong, J., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). The dynamic emergence of minimal groups. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 22(7), 921-929. doi: 10.1177/1368430218802636

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, J. C., van Egmond, M., Choi, V. K., Ember, C. R., Halberstadt, J., Balanovic, J., … Gelfand, M. J. (2019). Ecological and cultural factors underlying the global distribution of prejudice. PLoS ONE, 14(9), e0221953. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221953

Journal - Research Article

Jahanitabesh, A., Cardwell, B. A., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). Sadness and ruminative thinking independently depress people's moods. International Journal of Psychology, 54(3), 360-368. doi: 10.1002/ijop.12466

Journal - Research Article

Morris Trainor, Z., Jong, J., Bluemke, M., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). Death salience moderates the effect of trauma on religiosity. Psychological Trauma, 11(6), 639-646. doi: 10.1037/tra0000430

Journal - Research Article

Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). The conspiracy mentality scale: Distinguishing between irrational and rational suspicion. Social Psychology, 50(4), 215-232. doi: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000381

Journal - Research Article

Swan, T., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). The Mickey Mouse problem: Distinguishing religious and fictional counterintuitive agents. PLoS ONE, 14(8), e0220886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220886

Journal - Research Article

Barton, D. N., & Halberstadt, J. (2018). A social Bouba/Kiki effect: A bias for people whose names match their faces. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25(3), 1013-1020. doi: 10.3758/s13423-017-1304-x

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, J. C., Jong, J., Bilkey, D., Whitehouse, H., Zollmann, S., McNaughton, C., & Halberstadt, J. (2018). Synchrony and physiological arousal Increase cohesion and cooperation in large naturalistic groups. Scientific Reports, 8, 127. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18023-4

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, J. C., Jong, J., Bluemke, M., Poulter, P., Morgenroth, L., & Halberstadt, J. (2018). Testing the causal relationship between religious belief and death anxiety. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 8(1), 57-68. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2016.1238842

Journal - Research Article

Jong, J., Ross, R., Philip, T., Chang, S.-H., Simons, N., & Halberstadt, J. (2018). The religious correlates of death anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 8(1), 4-20. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2016.1238844

Journal - Research Article

Segal, K., Jong, J., & Halberstadt, J. (2018). The fusing power of natural disasters: An experimental study. Self & Identity, 17(5), 574-586. doi: 10.1080/15298868.2018.1458645

Journal - Research Article

Carr, E., Huber, D. E., Pecher, D., Zeelenberg, R., Halberstadt, J., & Winkielman, P. (2017). The ugliness-in-averageness effect: Tempering the warm glow of familiarity. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 112(6), 787-812. doi: 10.1037/pspa0000083

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, J. C., Bilkey, D., Jong, J., Rossignac-Milon, M., & Halberstadt, J. (2017). Strangers in a stadium: Studying group dynamics with in vivo behavioral tracking. Social Psychological & Personality Science, 8(5), 509-518. doi: 10.1177/1948550617709112

Journal - Research Article

Jackson, J. C., Lemay, Jr, E. P., Bilkey, D., & Halberstadt, J. (2017). Beyond “birds of a feather”: A social inference approach to attachment-dependent grouping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 73, 216-221. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2017.06.004

Journal - Research Article

Jong, J., & Halberstadt, J. (2017). What is the causal relationship between death anxiety and religious belief? Religion, Brain & Behavior, 7(4), 296-298. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2016.1249916

Journal - Research Article

Schmitt, D. P., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Alves, I. C. B., Anderson, C. A., Angelini, A. L., … Fernando, K., … Halberstadt, J., … Zupančič, A. (2017). Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating: Universal links across 11 world regions of the international sexuality description project-2. Psychological Topics, 26(1), 89-137.

Journal - Research Article

Bluemke, M., Jong, J., Grevenstein, D., Mikloušić, I., & Halberstadt, J. (2016). Measuring cross-cultural supernatural beliefs with self- and peer-reports. PLoS ONE, 11(10), e0164291. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164291

Journal - Research Article

Halberstadt, J., Jackson, J. C., Bilkey, D., Jong, J., Whitehouse, H., McNaughton, C., & Zollmann, S. (2016). Incipient social groups: An analysis via in-vivo behavioral tracking. PLoS ONE, 11(3), e0149880. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149880

Journal - Research Article

Owen, H. E., Halberstadt, J., Carr, E. W., & Winkielmann, P. (2016). Johnny Depp, reconsidered: How category-relative processing fluency determines the appeal of gender ambiguity. PLoS ONE, 11(2), e0146328. doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0146328

Journal - Research Article

Ruffman, T., Wilson, M., Henry, J. D., Dawson, A., Chen, Y., Kladnitski, N., Myftari, E., Murray, J., Halberstadt, J., & Hunter, J. A. (2016). Age differences in right-wing authoritarianism and their relation to emotion recognition. Emotion, 16(2), 226-236. doi: 10.1037/emo0000107

Journal - Research Article

More publications...