Celebrating the Robert Zajonc Centennial

The upcoming celebration of the Robert Zajonc Centennial in Warsaw, June 18-19, 2023, marks a 30-year collaboration between the Institute for Social Research and its sister institute, the Zajonc Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in Poland. The eminent social psychologist Robert Zajonc, who served as director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics and ISR was known for tackling all dimensions of social psychology with tireless and inventive curiosity, but is best known for his work on the “mere exposure effect.” The celebration in Poland will reflect on Zajonc’s legacy, present new work from researchers from the U.S. and Poland, and will include a day honoring the 90th birthday of Zajonc mentee and RCGD emeritus professor Eugene Burnstein.

On June 18, the Burnstein celebration will include talks on cultural psychology and self-control, and the future of social science with RCGD’s ShinobuKitayama, Ethan Kross, and RCGD director Richard Gonzalez, and Grażyna Wieczorkowska-Wierzbińska of ISS. That event takes place at the UW Faculty of Management, Szturmowa 1/3 Street, Warsaw.

The Robert Zajonc Centennial recognizing the ISR-ISS Collaboration will be held on June 19, from 10 to 6, at the University of Warsaw, in the Senate Room of the Kazimierz Palace.

The directors of ISS and ISR, Anna Domaradzka and Kathleen Cagney, will open the conference, and the program will begin with a panel discussing Zajonc’s legacy. The panel includes Warsaw’s Grażyna Wieczorkowska, Janusz Grzelak, Renata Siemieńska, Andrzej Nowak, and Mirosław Kofta; from Michigan, panelists include RCGD’s Shinobu Kitayama, Eugene Burnstein, Richard Gonzalez, and Rowell Huessman, and Sheila Murphy of USC Annenberg.

Afternoon sessions on the themes of aging and political polarization include ISR participants Toni Antonucci (RCGD), Noah Webster (SRC), Kathleen Cagney (PSC/ISR), David Dunning (RCGD), and Ethan Kross (RCGD).