Abigail Marsh
Psychologist and neuroscientist
Abigail Marsh is an American psychologist and neuroscientist at Georgetown University. She studies altruism and why people help others, and wrote The Fear Factor.
1 summary 16 min of listening
Born 1976
About Abigail Marsh
Abigail Marsh (born 1976) is a professor at Georgetown University, working in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program. She directs the Laboratory on Social and Affective Neuroscience. Much of her work looks at altruism and why people sometimes help others at a cost to themselves. She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University, then carried out postdoctoral work at the National Institute of Mental Health. Her research explores how people grasp the thoughts and feelings of others, what motivates them to help, and what stops them from doing harm. She uses brain imaging alongside behavioral, cognitive, genetic and pharmacological methods. Marsh has published more than 80 papers and has written articles for outlets including The Washington Post and Psychology Today. Her awards include the Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her book in our catalog is The Fear Factor.