Michael Inzlicht

Michael Inzlicht is a social and cogntive psychologist, working as a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, with a cross-appointment in the Rotman School of Management and as Research Lead at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology & Society. Recognized as among the top 1% of most-cited psychologists in the world (2022-2025), his research examines the paradoxes of human motivation, particularly why people both avoid and find meaning in mental effort, and how artificial intelligence and digital technologies are reshaping behavior. His influential work on self-control has challenged traditional models by examining its emotional and motivational foundations, questioning whether self-control is truly a limited resource.^[1]

Inzlicht's current work focuses on AI empathy, showing that third-party evaluators often perceive AI-generated empathetic responses as more compassionate than human responses, including from expert crisis responders. His research on the effort paradox explores why people find meaning in cognitively demanding activities despite their costs. He has also pioneered work on empathy avoidance, demonstrating that empathy is cognitively costly and often actively avoided, and on how rapid content switching on digital platforms increases boredom rather than alleviating it.

In the early 2000s, his research on stereotype threat demonstrated how environmental characteristics could affect academic performance of stereotyped groups, though he later questioned the replicability of this work. His earlier work also explored self-control, cognitive control, and executive function using interdisciplinary methods combining neuroimaging, reaction time measurement, and behavioral techniques.

Inzlicht is a vocal advocate for open science reform. He has publicly expressed doubts about the replicability of his own past work, including research on ego depletion and stereotype threat. He co-hosts the podcast Two Psychologists Four Beers and writes the Substack newsletter Speak Now Regret Later.

Selected Awards & Honours

• 2025 - Carol and Ed Diener Award in Social Psychology, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
• 2022-2025 - Highly Cited Researcher 2025 (in recognition of being in top 1% of citations), Clarivate
• 2016-2019 - Research Excellence Faculty Scholar, University of Toronto Scarborough
• 2017 - NeuroLeadership Application of Science Award
• 2015 - Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
• 2015 - Principal's Research Award, University of Toronto Scarborough
• 2013 - Best Social Cognition Paper Award, International Society for Social Cognition
• 2013 - Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
• 2009 - Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation
• 2006 - Louise Kidder Early Career Award, American Psychological Association (Division 9)
• 2004-2006 - Fellow of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation

See also

• Replication crisis

References

External links

• Michael Inzlicht's Academic Website at the University of Toronto