Dr. Jessica Tracy is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, a Sauder Distinguished Scholar and an Associate Editor at Affective Science. Her work is currently supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) insight grant.

Dr. Tracy is the author of the book Take Pride, where she reveals how our most misunderstood emotion—pride—has shaped our minds and our culture, and shows how we can harness its power.

Research interests include emotion, moral thinking, nonverbal expression, self-conscious emotions (e.g., pride, shame), narcissism, status and hierarchy, and trends in psychological science.

Dr. Tracy’s secondary research area is Health.

Tracy, J. L., Mercadante, E., Witkower, Z., & Cheng, J. T. (2020). The evolution of pride and social hierarchy. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 62, 51-114.

Witkower, Z., Tracy, J. L., Cheng, J. T., & Henrich, J. (2020). Two signals of social rank: Prestige and dominance are associated with distinct nonverbal displays. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118, 89-121.

Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2019). A facial action imposter: How head tilt influences perceptions of dominance from a neutral face. Psychological Science, 30, 893-906.

Tracy, J. L., Steckler, C., & Heltzel, G. (2019). The physiological basis of psychological disgust and moral judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116, 15-32.

Tracy, J. L., Steckler, C., Randles, D., & Mercadante, E. (2018). The financial cost of status signaling: Expansive postural displays are associated with a reduction in the receipt of altruistic donations. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39, 520-528.

Weidman, A. C., Cheng, J. T., & Tracy, J. L. (2018). The psychological structure of humility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 153-178.

Weidman, A. C., Steckler, C. M., & Tracy, J. L. (2017). The jingle and jangle of emotion assessment: Imprecise measurement, casual scale usage, and conceptual fuzziness in emotion research. Emotion, 17, 267-295.

Weidman, A. C., Tracy, J. L., & Elliot, A. J. (2016). The benefits of following your pride: Authentic pride promotes achievement. Journal of Personality, 84, 607-622.

Tracy, J. L. (2014). An evolutionary approach to understanding distinct emotions. Emotion Review, 6, 308-312. [target article].

Randles, D., & Tracy, J. L. (2013). Shamed into taking a drink? Nonverbal displays of shame predict relapse and worsening health among recovering alcoholics. Clinical Psychological Science, 1, 149-155.

Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., Foulsham, T., & Kingstone, A., & Henrich, J. (2013). Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 103–125.

Shariff, A. F., & Tracy, J. L. (2011). What are emotion expressions for? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 395-399.

Tracy, J. L., & Matsumoto, D. (2008). The spontaneous display of pride and shame: Evidence for biologically innate nonverbal displays. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 11655-11660.

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2008). The nonverbal expression of pride: Evidence for cross-cultural recognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 516-530.

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The psychological structure of pride: A tale of two facets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 506-525.

• Society for Personality and Social Psychology (2017)
• Association for Psychological Science Fellow (2016)
• Killam Faculty Research Prize (2011)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award (2010)
• Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award (2008)
• International Society for Self and Identity Outstanding Early Career Award