Jer Clifton Ph.D.

About

Jer Clifton, Ph.D., is an early-career researcher who received a Ph.D. in psychology in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, studying with Dr. Martin Seligman (advisor) and Dr. Angela Duckworth (committee chair). He is a leading expert on the psychology of extremely basic beliefs about the world's general character (e.g., the world is dangerous), called "primal world beliefs." His secondary research interest is measurement. Academic publications include the foundational 2019 Psychological Assessment article featured in the Washington Post that empirically mapped the major primal world beliefs that humans hold and a 2019 Psychological Methods article on tradeoffs between validity and reliability in scale-creation. He is currently Director of the Primals Project, Senior Research Scientist at the UPenn Positive Psychology Center, chair of the Primals Research Awards Steering Committee, and teaches research methods in the UPenn Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program.

Recent Posts

When Demographics Aren't Destiny

A new study finds that most people (wrongly) assume that personal privilege strongly correlates to a positive life outlook.

Pay Attention to What You Pay Attention To

Humans constantly sift relevant information from irrelevant chatter. But what if we're disregarding good things? Primal world beliefs may help us change what we notice.

Does Religion Help You See the World as Good?

If it doesn't, check if it could. Your well-being is likely at stake.

Having Kids May Increase Social Conservatism

Have you ever noticed that having kids makes some people more conservative? Data from nearly half a million people suggests it's probably not in your head.

We Thought Conservatives Saw the World as More Dangerous, We Were Wrong

For decades, research showed that conservatives see the world as a more dangerous place. Our new research shows otherwise.

What Are Your 3 Deepest Beliefs About the World?

Scientists mined data—from Twitter to Shakespeare—and found 3 beliefs at the core of worldview.

Should We Teach Kids That the World Is Dangerous?

Many parents aim to teach their kids the world is a bad place, but, on average, seeing the world as bad is tied to being less successful, less healthy, and deeply unhappy.