DREW WESTEN
PSYCHOLOGY/
PSYCHIATRY & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
(o) 404-727-7407
(c) 404-375-6639
dwesten@emory.edu
Drew Westen is director of clinical psychology at Emory University
and holds a joint appointment as a professor in the departments
of psychology, and psychiatry and behavioral science. Westen is
available to provide a psychological analysis of political issues,
including the psychology of voter behavior and the influence of
non-verbal communication on their decision-making.
Recent research by Westen has delved into the intersection of psychology
and politics. Experiments he has conducted have shown that people
overwhelmingly respond to candidates, advertisements, rhetoric and
other efforts to influence people's attitudes at a more subconscious,
emotional "gut" level than by conscious examination of
fact and figures.
"
Candidates who want to win elections need to find ways to assess
how to appeal to people emotionally as well as cognitively, and that
they would do well to use more indirect methods besides focus groups
to assess emotional responses that people may not themselves be able
to identify and describe," he says. "The data also suggests
that when we deal with an issue like what to do in Iraq or how to
handle reports that a candidate gropes women, for example, rather
than Democrats and Republicans simply distorting the data to fit
their wishes, we need to be aware of those processes so we as a public
can make better decisions."
For several years he was chief psychologist at Cambridge Hospital
in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard University Medical
School. Prior to joining Emory in 2002, he was at the Center for
Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. His other major
areas of research are personality disorders, eating disorders, emotion
regulation, unconscious processes, psychotherapy effectiveness and
adolescent psychopathology.
Westen has written more than 100 scientific papers and two books,
including an introductory psychology textbook now in its third edition.
For several years he was a commentator on psychology issues for "All
Things Considered" on National Public Radio. In addition to
his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan,
he also holds a graduate degree in social and political thought from
the University of Sussex in England.
B.A. (1980), Harvard University; M.A. (1981), University of Sussex;
Ph.D. (1985), University of Michigan.
