Personal profile
Research Interests
Moral Psychology:
- Moral Judgement / Categorization
- Moral Dumbfounding
- Morality and Meaning
- Moral Networks
Theoretical Interests:
- Concepts and Categories
- Judgement and Decision Making
- Ecological Psychology
- Embodiment
Biography
I am an Experimental Psychologist specialising in cognitive and social psychology. I have worked with a diverse range of research techniques, and I have applied experience in the development of new methods and materials. The main focus of my research to date has been on morality and moral judgement. My interests extend beyond the moral domain to include learning and knowledge acquisition, categorisation, skill/expertise, meaning, motivation, and memory. My theoretical interests include Ecological Psychology, Embodiment, and Dynamical Systems.
I graduated with a Ph.D. in October 2018. My thesis examined the phenomenon of moral dumbfounding; when a person defends a moral judgement in the absence of reasons. The dumbfounding paradigm has been influential in moral psychology; however, there is limited empirical work investigating it. This has meant that the main focus of my work to date has been testing, and attempting to understand the phenomenon.
Related documents
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
McHugh, C., Griffin, S. M., Kinsella, E. L., Quayle, M., Strunz, B. & Muldoon, O. T., Dec 2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 40366.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Negative media representations of young people during COVID related national lockdown increases young people's perceived stress
Bradshaw, D., Barry, K., Griffin, S., Jay, S. & McHugh, C., Apr 2025, In: Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. 25, 1, e12437.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
McHugh, C. & Igou, E., Oct 2025, In: Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 38, 4, e70034.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries
Vlasceanu, M., Doell, K. C., Bak-Coleman, J. B., Todorova, B., Berkebile-Weinberg, M. M., Grayson, S. J., Patel, Y., Goldwert, D., Pei, Y., Chakroff, A., Pronizius, E., van den Broek, K. L., Vlasceanu, D., Constantino, S., Morais, M. J., Schumann, P., Rathje, S., Fang, K., Aglioti, S. M. & Alfano, M. & 238 others, , Feb 2024, In: Science Advances. 10, 6, eadj5778.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Moral Judgments
McHugh, C. & Wylie, J., 1 Jan 2024, Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies. Springer International Publishing, 2019, p. 1393-1399 7 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review