MORAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCHER
I am a moral psychology researcher with an interdisciplinary background in philosophy, literature, and psychology. My work examines how people arrive at moral judgments and understand moral relationships. I earned my PhD at Emory University and have taught psychology at Emory’s Oxford College and English at Clemson University.
ONGOING MORAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH
Normative Detachment Theory
How do people arrive at moral judgments—and what makes a judgment moral rather than another kind of judgment about what to do? My current work develops Normative Detachment Theory, a descriptive account of moral cognition. The project combines philosophical arguments, a formal specification, and an interactive Explorer that makes the proposed distinctions visible.
Explore Normative Detachment Theory — a working draft, shared for discussion and feedback.
SELECT ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
2021
Philosophical Psychology
Beal, Bree. “The Nonmoral Conditions of Moral Cognition.” Philosophical Psychology, 2021.
2021
Consciousness and Cognition
Beal, Bree, and Guga Gogia. “Cognition in Moral Space: A Minimal Model.” Consciousness and Cognition, 2021, 92.
2020
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Beal, Bree. “What Are the Irreducible Basic Elements of Morality? A Critique of the Debate Over Monism and Pluralism in Moral Psychology.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2020, 15(2), pp. 273–290.
EDUCATION
2012-2018
PhD
Emory University
Institute for the Liberal Arts
I earned my PhD from Emory University's Institute for the Liberal Arts (ILA) in 2018. My dissertation was a "Dostoevskyan" model of moral psychology. While at Emory, I also conducted cognitive neuroscience research in the Dilks Lab.
2010-2011
Master of Arts
Arizona State University
New College
I earned my Masters of Arts, with a focus on Philosophy, Rhetoric, and Literature, from Arizona State University's New College in December, 2011.
AI Training - Philosophy & Literature Domain Specialist | March 2026—Present
Training AI models on philosophy and literature at Handshake AI, writing prompts and evaluating model responses to help shape how AI engages with humanistic content.
Accountant | May 2025—Present
Creative Multicare, LLC
Business Strategy Consultant | Jan 2024—April 2025
Derived KPIs and automated the data analytics.
Moral Psychology Researcher | 2018—2025
Developed an original model of moral cognition via publications in academic journals like Perspectives on Psychological Science, Philosophical Psychology, and Current Anthropology.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology | Aug 2022—Aug 2023
Oxford College of Emory University
Taught statistical inference, psychobiology, and child development.
English Lecturer | Aug 2018—Aug 2020
Clemson University
Taught writing, literature, and interdisciplinary topics.