Jan G. Voelkel
Morality. Leadership. Persuasion.
Incoming Assistant Professor
Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Cornell University
About
Jan G. Voelkel is an incoming Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Sociology at Cornell University. Currently, Jan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University.
Jan's research examines under what conditions people support leaders who promise moral change. Jan’s research has been published in journals, such as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Nature Human Behaviour. His research has been covered by media outlets, such as The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Die Zeit, and Der Tagesspiegel. Jan has won the Open Science Innovator Award, the Barbara and Sandy Dornbusch Award for Best Paper in Social Psychology, and the Centennial Teaching Assistant Award.
Before his dissertation work, Jan earned a Phd and a MA in Sociology from Stanford University, a MS in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Tilburg University, and a BS in Social Sciences from the University of Cologne. In his spare time, Jan enjoys moral dilemmas, plays racket sports, and plans political murder mystery parties.
Publications
Below you find a selection of papers.
Please find the full list of publications here.
Science
Voelkel, J. G.*, Stagnaro, M. N.*, Chu, J.*, Pink, S., Mernyk, J., Redekopp, C., Ghezae, I., 74 other authors, Druckman, J., Rand, D., & Willer, R.
Coverage:
New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic
Nature Human Behaviour
Voelkel, J. G., Chu, J., Stagnaro, M. N., Mernyk, J., Pink, S., Redekopp, C., Druckman, J., Rand, D., & Willer, R.
Coverage:
New York Times
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Corbett, C. M.*, Voelkel, J. G.*, Cooper, M., & Willer, R.
Coverage:
New York Times, LA Times
Media Covarage
Below you find a selection of media coverage of my research.
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Podcasts & Talks
Below you find a selection of podcast interviews and academic talks.
The Key to Democracy with Jan Voelkel
Ep 15: Psychologists discuss political persuasion w/ a Real Organizer! Jen Snyder of Red Bridge
Strengthening Democracy Challenge Workshop
Week 7: Open Science Fundamentals
Teaching
Changing existing social inequalities requires new leaders. The goal of my teaching is to equip students with the knowledge and analytical skills to recognize and question structural inequalities as well as lead efforts to achieve lasting social change.
The central tenets of my pedagogical approach are five principles. First, I aim to understand the students’ needs and goals. Second, I emphasize knowledge and skills in my teaching that students can use across different domains and careers. Third, I make important constructs more tangible by combining short lectures that focus on building intuitions, small-group exercises that foster exposure to diverse perspectives, and application to students’ own topics of interest. Fourth, I provide regular feedback and highlight areas for improvement. Finally, the trademark of my teaching approach is that I am willing to go above and beyond for my students, especially those who are motivated but struggle to master the course materials.