Will Crescioni, Ph.D.

Research Interests

My research focuses on human agency, particularly through the constructs of self-control and belief in free will. Much of my work examines the impact of belief in free will on judgments about the self and others, including perceptions of meaning in life and of moral responsibility.

Selected Research

• Quinton, T., Morris, B., & Crescioni, A. W. (in press). Beliefs in free will and determinism: Associations with social cognition and gambling behavior. Addiction Research & Theory.
• Crescioni, A. W., Baumeister, R. F., Ainsworth, S. E., Ent, M. R., & Lambert, N. E. (2016). Subjective correlates and consequences of belief in free will. Philosophical Psychology, 29, 41-63.
• Crescioni, A. W., Ehrlinger, J., Alquist, J. L., Conlon, K. E., & Baumeister, R. F, Schatschneider, C., & Dutton, G. R. (2011). High trait self-control predicts positive health behaviors and success in weight loss. Journal of Health Psychology, 16, 750 - 759.
• Conlon, K.E., Ehrlinger, J., Eibach, R.P., Crescioni, A.W., Alquist, J.L., Gerend, M.A., & Dutton, G.R. (2011). Eyes on the prize: The longitudinal benefits of goal focus on progress toward a weight loss goal. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 853 - 855.
• Crescioni, A. W., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). The four needs for meaning, the value gap, and how (and whether) society can fill the void. In Routledge, C. & J. (Eds.). The Experience of Meaning in Life: Perspectives from the Psychological Sciences.
• Crescioni, A. W. & Baumeister, R. F. (2010). Alone and aggressive: Social rejection impairs self-control and empathy and increases hostile cognition and aggression. In Harris, M. J. (Ed.). Bullying, rejection, and peer victimization: A social cognitive neuroscience perspective. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
• Baumeister, R. F., Crescioni, A. W., & Alquist, J. L. (2010). Free will as advanced action control for human social life. Neuroethics, 4, 1 - 11.
• Stillman, T. F., Baumeister, R. F., Lambert, N. M., Crescioni, A. W., DeWall, C. N., & Fincham, F. D. (2009). Alone and without purpose: Life loses meaning following social rejection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 4, 686 – 694.

Teaching Interests and Activities

Undergraduate Courses

• General Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Statistical Methods
• Research Methods