Dan M. Kahan
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law
(on leave, fall 2022)
Dan Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School. In addition to risk perception, his areas of research include criminal law and evidence.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Contact Information
- Room M14
- 203-432-8832
- dan.kahan@yale.edu
Faculty Assistant
Kris Krause
- J34
- 203-432-6586
- kris.krause@yale.edu
Education & Curriculum Vitae
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1989
B.A., Middlebury College, 1986
Courses Taught
- Criminal Law & Administration
- Evidence
- Supreme Court Advocacy
- The Science of Science Communication
- Law and Cognition
Dan Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School. In addition to risk perception, his areas of research include criminal law and evidence. Prior to coming to Yale in 1999, Professor Kahan was on the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court (1990-91) and to Judge Harry Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1989-90). He received his B.A. from Middlebury College and his J.D. from Harvard University.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
What We Know About the Women Who Vote for Republicans and the Men Who Do Not
The New York Times
An essay on the deepening gender gap in American voting cites a study by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law Dan M. Kahan.
Thursday, February 25, 2021
This Senator Has Got the Math Wrong About a $15 Minimum Wage
The New York Times
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law Dan Kahan’s scholarship is cited in a commentary about minimum wage in The New York Times.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Report by Dan Kahan Surveys Science Video Audiences
Research by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan has helped Northern California public radio station KQED learn more about its audiences.
Monday, July 15, 2019
The Counter-Intuitive Solution to Getting People to Care about Climate Change
The Conversation
Research by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan M. Kahan is cited in a commentary about psychology and climate change.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Project Based on Research by Dan Kahan Wins National Science Foundation Grant
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is among a team of scholars whose research initiative on engaging millennials in science media received a $2.7 million grant award from the National Science Foundation.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
The stories Fox News covers obsessively — and those it ignores — in charts
Vox
Scholarship by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is cited in an article about Fox News coverage and how it exploits the tendency for politics to overshadow logic in response to issues.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
We Should Teach All Students, in Every Discipline, to Think Like Scientists
Scientific American
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is mentioned in a commentary by Yale President Peter Salovey.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
9 essential lessons from psychology to understand the Trump era
Vox
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about the way people don’t make decisions based on facts.
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Universities Are Vital for Bridging the Science Gap
Scientific American
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is mentioned in a commentary by Yale president Peter Salovey.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
How Should We Respond to Sexual Harassment?
The New York Times
A study by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is cited in an article about sexual harassment.
Monday, August 7, 2017
What Are The Challenges Facing Science Communication?
Annenberg Public Policy Center
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan was interviewed along with the other editors of The Oxford Handbook of The Science of Science Communication.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Does doom and gloom convince anyone about climate change?
ScienceNews
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article on communicating about climate change.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Climate Change Is About to Remake the Insurance Industry
Fortune
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about the effect of climate change on the insurance industry.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
No regrets for Trump voters: The media needs to stop looking for buyer’s remorse
Salon
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about cognitive dissonance and Trump supporters.
Monday, May 15, 2017
“Motivated ignorance” is ruining our political discourse
Vox.com
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about political discourse.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Expert Psychology: The Power of Trust at Trial
National Law Review
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is cited in an article about expert testimony.
Monday, March 13, 2017
This Article Won’t Change Your Mind
The Atlantic
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in a feature article on partisanship.
Monday, February 20, 2017
It's human nature, and not social media, to blame for fake news
Daily News & Analysis (DNA)
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about the appeal of fake news.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Antidote for partisanship? In science, curiosity seems to work
A new study led by Professor Dan Kahan found that people who are curious about science are less polarized in their views on contentious issues than less-curious peers.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
How to Overcome Political Irrationality About Facts
The Atlantic
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an ] article about ways to overcome political irrationality. Similar articles appeared on Vox.com, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Psychology Today.
Friday, December 2, 2016
How to trump group-think in a post-truth world
Nature
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is interviewed about cognitive bias.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
How Economic Data is Kept Politics-Free
The New York Times
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about peoples’ belief in economic data released by the government.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Republicans Can Understand Science and Still Deny Climate Change
The Atlantic
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about public understanding of risk.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Researchers may have finally found an antidote to biased thinking about science
The Washington Post
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan and his research are cited in an article about science curiosity.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Climate change, Vancouver real estate, and the never-ending debate between communitarians and individualists
The Georgia Straight
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan has his research cited in an article about core beliefs.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
People’s views on climate change go hand in hand with their politics
The Economist
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about attitudes toward climate change.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
The power of slow thinking
The Boston Globe
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about the benefits of “slow thinking.”
Monday, February 23, 2015
Climate Science Literacy Unrelated to Public Acceptance of Human-Caused Global Warming
Deep public divisions over climate change are unrelated to differences in how well ordinary citizens understand scientific evidence on global warming, according to a new study published by Professor Dan Kahan.
Monday, February 23, 2015
You can change the minds of climate change skeptics. Here’s how.—A Commentary by Dan M. Kahan
The Washington Post
Dan M. Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Anti-Vaxxers Are Wrong About Why Autism Has Increased—But Don’t Tell Them That
New Republic
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan M. Kahan is quoted in an article about public perceptions of science and the anti-vaccination movement.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The term that actually makes climate change less political
The Washington Post
A study by Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan that examined how geoengineering, alongside more traditional climate solutions, affects people’s views of climate change, is discussed in an article.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Stop Paying Attention to Anti-Vaxxers Already!
The Daily Beast
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan M. Kahan is quoted in an article about how to combat the anti-vaccination movement.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Advent of geoengineering may help lower temperature of debate over climate change
Environmentalresearchweb.org
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about a recently released study on geoengineering and its effect on attitudes toward global warming. The Cultural Cognition Project at Yale is mentioned.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Professor Kahan Publishes Study on How Geoengineering Affects Climate Debate
Professor Dan Kahan and other scholars publish study showing that geoengineering has the potential to counteract political polarization over global warming.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Politicizing the Vaccination Fight Could Make Things Worse
New York Magazine
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan M. Kahan is quoted in a story about vaccines becoming an issue in upcoming elections.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Survey finds US public still supports science
Nature
Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Dan Kahan is quoted in an article about a survey released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Stanley Milgram Library Exhibit, Conference Will Examine his Legacy and Influence on Law and Social Psychology
The Lillian Goldman Law Library will feature a new exhibit on the work of former Yale University social psychologist Stanley Milgram on October 11, 2013.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Yale Study Concludes Public Apathy over Climate Change Unrelated to Science Literacy
A recent study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School concludes that public apathy over climate change is unrelated to science literacy.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Yale Law School Expands Legal Writing Instruction
Yale Law School has expanded its legal writing program in a number of innovative ways.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Cultural Cognition Project Study Examines Why “Scientific Consensus” Fails to Create Public Consensus
New research conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School concludes that people’s cultural values affect their acceptance of what most scientists believe.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Cultural Cognition Project Study Sheds Light on Reactions to HPV Vaccine
New research conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School concludes that people’s cultural values affect their risk perceptions of the human papillomavirus vaccine.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Prof. Dan Kahan Discusses Cultural Cognition Project Research in Journal Nature
In the latest issue of the journal Nature, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law Dan Kahan discusses research conducted by Yale Law School’s Cultural Cognition Project.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Nanotechnology “Culture War” Possible, Says Yale Study
Members of the public who learn about nanotechnology tend to become sharply polarized along cultural line as to its safety, according to a study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
YLS’s Cultural Cognition Project Finds Emotions and Values Shape Public Perception of Nanotechnology
A study by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School concludes that emotions and individual values influence the public’s perception of the risks and benefits of nanotechnology.
Friday, February 2, 2007
YLS Supreme Court Clinic Submits Merits Brief in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Case
On February 2, 2007, Yale Law School’s Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic filed a merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in a high-profile Establishment Clause case, Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation.