Prof. Kevin Holmes Wins Cattell Sabbatical Award

The associate professor of psychology will spend the upcoming academic year continuing his studies of linguistic framing.

Kevin Holmes, associate professor of psychology, has been awarded a James McKeen Cattell Fund Fellowship. The award, designed to support the science and application of psychology, provides an extended sabbatical period for new research. Holmes, who’ll receive $40,000, is one of four recipients for the 2023–24 academic year. 

Holmes plans to spend his sabbatical preparing four manuscripts for publication and pursuing two new research projects, all exploring the relationship between language and thought. Most of these projects, Holmes explains in his award proposal, examine the psychology of what is called “linguistic framing”: how the manner in which a message is presented influences decision making.

One of the manuscripts Holmes plans to prepare is a comprehensive review and assessment of the psychology of linguistic framing, while the other three will be empirical reports co-written with Reed students on topics that include the role of syntax in shaping beliefs about social groups and the psycholinguistic properties of metaphorical compound words such as “hogwash” and “spitfire.”

Holmes will also carry out two research projects that build on ongoing work conducted with Reed students. The first will explore how pragmatic reasoning—in other words, the ability to read between the lines of a message—contributes to the persuasive power of language. The second will investigate the so-called “trans panic defense,” a legal strategy in which an assaultee’s gender identity is used to justify violent actions against them. In his proposal, Holmes writes that the latter project “will provide the first rigorous investigation of how the trans panic defense shapes public opinion, with implications for addressing increasing rates of violence against transgender people.” 

Holmes’s award letter notes that application reviewers were struck by the potential impact of his work, particularly on the trans panic defense. They were impressed, too, to see “an amazing CV” from a professor at a small college; the Cattell award often goes to faculty at much larger institutions.

Tags: Academics, Awards & Achievements, Professors, Research