MORAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCHER
I study how people arrive at moral judgments, drawing on psychology, philosophy, and literature. My current work uses human–AI collaboration to develop Normative Detachment Theory and its formal, computational, and interactive resources.
I earned my PhD at Emory University and have taught at Emory’s Oxford College and Clemson University. Alongside research, I work in corporate accounting, reporting, and financial systems automation. Both research and accounting resumes are available below.
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.
Moral psychology researcher | 2018–Present
Independent interdisciplinary research on human judgment. Current work develops Normative Detachment Theory through formalization, executable cases, literature comparisons, and interactive explanations.
AI evaluation consultant | March 2026–Present
Handshake · Develop prompts and assess responses in philosophy and related humanistic subjects.
Accountant | May 2025–Present
Creative Multicare, LLC · Corporate accounting, including AR reconciliation for four local brands. Develop reporting automations and financial data workflows, and lead ongoing ServiceTitan–NetSuite integration work.
Business strategy consultant | January 2024–April 2025
Developed performance indicators and automated data analysis.
Visiting assistant professor of psychology | August 2022–August 2023
Oxford College of Emory University · Taught statistical inference, psychobiology, and child development.
English lecturer | August 2018–August 2020
Clemson University · Taught writing, literature, and interdisciplinary topics.