John V. Petrocelli

Dr. John V. Petrocelli is an experimental social psychologist who researches, writes, and speaks about the science of communication and decision making. He is a Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, teaching social psychology and judgment and decision making. He is the Director of the Bullshit Studies Lab in the Department of Psychology at Wake Forest University. Dr. Petrocelli is also an Advisory Board Member of Seekr, an internet technology company.

Dr. Petrocelli is the author of "The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit." His research examines the causes and consequences of bullshit and bullshitting to better understand and improve bullshit detection and disposal. His research contributions also include attitudes and persuasion and the intersections of counterfactual thinking with learning, memory, and decision making. His research and writings have been featured by The Wall Street Journal and in his popular TEDx Talk, "Why BS is More Dangerous Than a Lie." Dr. Petrocelli has delivered keynotes for Executive Forum, Financial Executives Networking Group of Charlotte, NC, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, The Food Industry Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, CPA Society Executives Association and more.

In addition to his research and positions as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, he has authored over 50 papers in his field’s most prestigious journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, British Journal of Social Psychology, and Thinking and Reasoning. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research achievements.

Dr. Petrocelli is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. He was also elected to the highly selective Society for Experimental Social Psychology and is a fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. He gives frequent invited addresses and speaks regularly at national conferences. Dr. Petrocelli is available for speaking and consulting engagements, primarily in business, communication, leadership, and management. He received his PhD in social psychology from Indiana University.