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Bella M. DePaulo

Bella M. DePaulo

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(This is just a brief summary. To learn more about me or my books, please visit www.belladepaulo.com.)

I am interested in the place of people who are single in society and in science. My first book on the topic, “Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After,” was published by St. Martin's Press in hardcover in 2006 and in paperback in 2007. My second book, "Single with attitude: Not your typical take on health and happiness, love and money, marriage and friendship" (2009) is a collection of 89 essays. Many of them first appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and online at Forbes, Psychology Today, and the Huffington Post.

For many years, I have also conducted research on the social psychology of deceiving and detecting deceit. In addition, I have written about nonverbal behavior, often from a self-presentational perspective. My 2009 short book, "Behind the door of deceit: Understanding the biggest liars in our lives," tells the stories of the most serious lies in people's lives, in a reader-friendly way. "The lies we tell and the clues we miss: Professional papers" (2009) is a collection of some of my papers on deception that I am asked about most often.

Online, I write the "Living Single" blog for Psychology Today and I am also a contributor to the Huffington Post.

I have received numbers honors and awards. They include a Research Scientist Development Award, a James McKeen Cattell Award, a National Science Foundation fellowship, and an Excellence in Research Award from the American Association for Single People (AASP), www.UnmarriedAmerica.org.

I have served as the Chair of the Academic Advisory Board for AASP. I have also participated in a variety of workshops, including one on the Science of Deception co-sponsored by the CIA, APA, and the RAND Corporation.

My research has been funded by grants from federal agencies such as NSF and NIMH, as well as from private foundations, such as the Marchionne Foundation.

My research and my points of view have been described in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Los Angeles Times and in magazines such as the New Yorker, Time, the New York Times Magazine, Business Week, U. S. News and World Report, Psychology Today, AARP Magazine, and Utne. I have appeared on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC (including the Today show), CNBC, PBS, The Discovery Channel, the BBC, and Lifetime.

My Visiting Professorship at the University of California, Santa Barbara is my only official university affiliation. (I seem to be a permanent visitor.) I am continuing my writing and research and occasionally offer workshops, seminars, and readings from my books. (Visit my personal website, www.belladepaulo.com, for more information.) I am also available to speak at your events.

Primary Interests:

  • Close Relationships
  • Communication, Language
  • Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Self and Identity
  • Sociology, Social Networks

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Video Gallery

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What No One Ever Told You About Single People (TEDx talk)

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    What No One Ever Told You About Single People (TEDx talk)


  • 51:27

    Redefining Home and Family in the 21st Century


  • 62:17

    Interview With Ann Althouse



Books:

Journal Articles:

  • Bond, C. F. Jr., & DePaulo, B. M. (2008). Individual differences in detecting deception. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 477-492.
  • Bond, C. F. Jr., & DePaulo, B. M. (2006). Accuracy of deception judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 214-234.
  • DePaulo, B. M., & Bell, K. L. (1996). Truth and investment: Lies are told to those who care. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 703-716.
  • DePaulo, B. M., Kashy, D. A., Kirkendol, S. E., Wyer, M. M., & Epstein, J. A. (1996). Lying in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 979-995.
  • DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 74-118.
  • DePaulo, B. M., & Morris, W. L. (2006). The unrecognized stereotyping and discrimination against people who are single. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 251-254.
  • DePaulo, B. M., & Morris, W. L. (2005). Singles in society and in science. Psychological Inquiry, 16, 57-83. (Target article)
  • Morris, W. L., Sinclair, S., & DePaulo, B. M. (2007). No shelter for singles: The perceived legitimacy of marital status discrimination. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 457-470.

Other Publications:

  • DePaulo, B. (2007). Single all the way. In D. Mapes (Ed.), Single state of the union. Seal Press.
  • DePaulo, B. M. (2004). The many faces of lies. In A. G. Miller (Ed.), The social psychology of good and evil: Understanding our capacity for kindness and cruelty (pp. 303-326). NY: Guilford.
  • DePaulo, B. M., Morris, W. L., & Sternglanz, R. W. (2009). When the truth hurts: Deception in the name of kindness. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Feeling hurt in close relationships (pp. 167-190). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bella M. DePaulo
P.O. Box 487
2451 Golden Gate Avenue
Summerland, California 93067
United States of America

  • Phone: (805) 565-9582
  • Fax: (805) 980-4316

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