Xuan Zhao 
Research Scientist
SPARQ (Social Psychological Answers to Real-World Questions)
Stanford University Department of Psychology
Email: xuanzhao@stanford.edu
​
How Do We Connect with Other People?
And with Humanlike Machines?

RESEARCH

As a behavioral scientist, I conduct empirical research to study how social cognition influences our conversation, decision making, and interaction with emerging technologies.
​Find out more about my research findings on the RESEARCH page.​
"Can’t we go five minutes without you checking your flower?"
"Of course I'm listening. Don't you see me making eye contact, striking an open posture, leaning towards you and nodding empathically?"

FROM RESEARCH TO APPLICATION

There is nothing more practical than a good theory.  —Kurt Lewin
Striving for real-world applications of my research, I have designed and taught "Leading with Empathy" at the Brown Leadership Institute to examine the connections between social cognition and social innovation. ​I have also collaborated with behavioral scientists at Booth and improv experts at The Second City to design inclusion and communication workshops such as "Inclusion in Practice: Appreciating Our Differences".​ ​Currently at Stanford, I work with industry partners such as Nextdoor to design and evaluate initiatives to foster respectful and inclusive online conversation, and Illumen Capital to foster diversity and inclusion in the investment world. Finally, curious to map out the landscape of humanlike robots, I have created the ABOT (Anthropomorphic roBOT) Database—an ever-growing image collection of real-world anthropomorphic robots created for research or commercial purposes. 
​Find out more on my TEACHING and RESOURCES pages.

MORE ABOUT ME

Before arriving at Stanford SPARQ, I was a postdoc at Chicago Booth and received my PhD in Psychology at Brown University. I also visited the Graduate School of Business and the Department of Psychology at Stanford during graduate school. Find our more about who I have worked with on my RESEARCH page!
I received my B.Sc. from Chu Kochen College, Zhejiang University and traveled around the world as part of the Semester At Sea program in my senior year in college. ​I enjoy reading, writing, public speaking, nature, food, and heartfelt conversations with friends. ​Find out more on my UPDATES! page.
Harvesting homegrown tomatoes and checking on the sunflowers in my backyard.