​​Xuan Zhao 
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
​Center for Decision Research
​University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Email: xuan.zhao@chicagobooth.edu

​​My research examines two fundamentally related questions:
​How do we perceive and interact with other people?
How do we perceive and interact with human-like technologies?

My first line of research highlights the simple yet often overlooked fact that people hold different perspectives—that is, others may often perceive and conceive of the world differently than we do. In a series of projects, I highlight such gaps and explore conditions that facilitate people to a) adopt others' visual perspectives, b) discuss interpersonal disagreements, c) express genuine compliments, d) engage in cooperative behaviors, and e) overcome an important barrier to help-seeking.
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​Given that people also f) take robots' visual "perspectives" and g) attribute human-like intelligence to robots, my second line of research focuses on people’s perception of and interaction with human-like machines and algorithms. During this process, I have also h) created the ABOT Database—the largest database on anthropomorphic robots, and i) I explored how typos humanize a chatbot. Through this line of work, I strive to reveal what makes humans human in light of the emergence of robots and AI.
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Teaching is an integral part of my scholarship. I designed and taught "Leading with Empathy," a pre-college course at the Brown Leadership Institute that examines the connections between social psychology and social innovation. Striving for real-world applications of psychological research, I have trained in acting, persuasive communication, and conflict resolution. I also design executive training workshops in collaboration with the Second City, the world's premier school of improvisation.

I received my Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Brown University, where I worked with Bertram Malle in the Social Cognitive Science Lab. I also visited the Graduate School of Business and the Department of Psychology at Stanford in 2015. I received my B.Sc. with first-class honors from Chu Kochen College, Zhejiang University and traveled around the world on Semester At Sea in 2011.

My favorite quote: "There is nothing more practical than a good theory." (Kurt Lewin)
​​Read updates from me here.