Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness
Free, registration required
In-Person and Online Options
About the talk:
Cynicism is an understandable response to a world full of injustice and inequality. But in many cases, it is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realize how kind, generous, and open-minded others really are. Cynical thinking deepens social problems: when we expect the worst in people, we often bring it out of them. We don’t have to remain stuck in this cynicism trap.
Join Jamil Zaki, author of Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness, in a fireside chat with Ethan Kross to learn the secret for beating back cynicism: hopeful skepticism—thinking critically about people and our problems, while simultaneously acknowledging our power. Through science and storytelling, Jamil will share how hopeful skepticism can strengthen relationships, schools, businesses, and social movements. This philosophy isn’t about naïve optimism; it’s about magnifying the good in people while remaining critical. Hopeful skepticism honors humanity’s strengths while confronting our weaknesses head-on.
About Zaki:
Jamil Zaki is a full professor of psychology at Stanford University. He and his colleagues study social connection, including empathy, cooperation, and trust (see ssnl.stanford.edu for details), and develop tools to help people connect more effectively.
Dr. Zaki received his BA in cognitive neuroscience from Boston University and his PhD in psychology from Columbia University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard Center for Brain Science. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received about two dozen awards from scientific associations and universities. In 2019 he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the US Government’s highest honor for researchers at his career stage.
Host:
Ethan Kross, Faculty Associate, Center for Positive Organizations; Professor of Psychology and Management & Organizations, University of Michigan
Series Sponsors:
The Center for Positive Organizations thanks the Sanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations, and Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies for their support of the 2024-25 Positive Links Speaker Series.
Series Promotional Partners:
Additionally, we thank Ann Arbor SPARK and the Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) Division of the Academy of Management for their Positive Links Speaker Series promotional partnerships.
| Sponsor: | Center for Positive Organizations, Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Sanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations |
| Audience: | Ross Community, All Current Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Public |
| Career Interest: | None specified |
| Web Tags: | Center for Positive Organizations, Event, Global Business, Leadership, Management and Organizations, Positive Business |
