About
Randy McCarthy is an Assistant Professor at Northern Illinois University specializing in social psychology. His research centers on interpersonal dynamics, particularly everyday prosocial behaviors and cognitive explanations of social interactions, within the university's psychology-focused academic structure.
Dr. McCarthy investigates two primary research programs: first, the role of "every day" prosocial behaviors—including apologies, compliments, and social support—in fostering social connection and well-being; second, how individuals explain social interactions, with emphasis on interpersonal transgressions, regret, and desires for apologies. His experimental work reveals critical asymmetries in how perpetrators versus victims process aggressive behaviors, demonstrating that folk explanations significantly influence emotional responses and reconciliation attempts. This research bridges theoretical social cognition with practical applications for conflict resolution and relationship maintenance.
His recent publications (2022-2024) demonstrate methodological innovation through large-scale collaborations like the Psychological Science Accelerator's global pandemic response dataset and the Many Kinks Project's BDSM research. These works span aggression studies, prosocial behavior analysis, and research transparency frameworks, with recurring themes in victim-perpetrator dynamics, open-data practices, and cross-cultural psychological phenomena. Notable contributions include multi-site validations of aggression paradigms and novel examinations of how justification processes differ between transgression roles.
Dr. McCarthy actively participates in transformative psychological science initiatives that prioritize reproducibility and global collaboration. His involvement in projects like the Collaborative Replication and Education Project and StudySwap demonstrates commitment to open science practices, while his methodological publications on coding transparency address critical validity concerns in qualitative-to-quantitative research translation. These efforts collectively advance psychological science through rigorous, transparent, and collaborative frameworks.
