Richard Petty, a professor in The Ohio State University Department of Psychology, has received the 2024 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association (APA), the organization announced in December. 

Given annually to three people since 1956, the prestigious award recognizes the career achievements of psychologists who have made “distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology.” Petty, a social psychologist, is being honored for his influential body of work on attitudes and persuasion, including the development of Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), a theory that explains how people process information and are influenced to change their minds. The other 2024 recipients are Nancy Eisenberg, a developmental psychologist at Arizona State University and Robert Knight, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It is a wonderful recognition for what I have done throughout my career,” Petty said, noting that the award also recognizes his mentorship of other researchers. “It makes me especially appreciative of all of my graduate student and faculty collaborators over the years, and all of the support provided by The Ohio State University and the Department of Psychology.”

In addition to a $1,000 cash prize, the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions includes recognition in the December issue of American Psychologist and the opportunity to publish a peer-reviewed commentary on an important contemporary topic in the field, Petty said. Drawing on insights from his own research, he wrote about the study of misinformation and how it might be integrated into a broader science of persuasion. 

“Getting people to accept any sort of claim (or its opposite) involves persuading them to do so,” he writes in the piece. “Whether the claim is about something that is true or false or something that is good or bad, changing an existing belief involves a process of influence.”

Petty said he is only the second active Ohio State psychology faculty member to receive the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. Emeritus Professor Marilynn Brewer, formerly the Ohio Eminent Scholar in social psychology, received the award in 2007. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, an affiliated faculty member appointed in the College of Medicine, was also named as a recipient in 2017. 

The American Psychological Association is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Its membership includes more than 157,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students.