You can also view my webvita here
Motivated Reasoning (What is motivated reasoning?)
Ditto, P. H. (in press). Passion, reason, and necessity: A quantity of processing view of motivated reasoning. In T. Bayne & J. Fernandez (Eds.), Delusion, self-deception, and affective influences on belief formation. New York: Psychology Press.
Lench. H. C., & Ditto, P. H. (in press). Automatic optimism: Biased use of base rate information for positive and negative events. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Ditto, P. H., Pizarro, D. A., Epstein, E. B., Jacobson, J. A., & MacDonald, T. K. (2006). Visceral influences on risk taking behavior. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 19, 99-113.
Ditto, P. H., Munro, G. D., Apanovich, A. M., Scepansky, J. A., & Lockhart, L. K. (2003). Spontaneous skepticism: The interplay of motivation and expectation in responses to favorable and unfavorable medical diagnoses. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1120-1132.
Ditto, P. H., Scepansky, J. A., Munro, G. D., Apanovitch, A. M., & Lockhart, L. K. (1998). Motivated sensitivity to preference-inconsistent information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 53-69.
Ditto, P. H., & Boardman, A. F. (1995). Perceived accuracy of favorable and unfavorable psychological feedback. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 137-157.
Lopez, D. F., Ditto, P. H., & Waghorn, K. C. (1994). Valenced social information and the temporal location of thought. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 443-456.
Ditto, P. H., & Lopez, D. F. (1992). Motivated skepticism: Use of differential decision criteria for preferred and nonpreferred conclusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 568-584.
Ditto, P. H., Jemmott, J. B. III, & Darley, J. M. (1988). Appraising the threat of illness: A mental representational approach. Health Psychology, 7, 183-200.
Political & Moral Reasoning (Topic Explanation)
Munro, G. D., & Ditto, P. H. (1997). Biased assimilation, attitude polarization, and affect in the processing of stereotype-relevant scientific information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 636-653.
Pizarro, D. A., Uhlmann, E. L., Tannenbaum, D., & Ditto, P. H. (2007t). The motivated use of moral principles. (Revised version of working paper will be posted soon).
End-of-Life Decision Making (Topic Explanation)
Sharman, S. J., Garry, M., Jacobson, J. A., Loftus, E. F., & Ditto, P. H. (in press). False memories for end-of-life decisions. Health Psychology.
Zettel, L. A., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., & Smucker, W. D. (in press). Actual and perceived gender differences in the accuracy of surrogate decisions about life-sustaining medical treatment. Death Studies.
Ditto, P. H. (2006). What would Terri want? On the psychological challenges of surrogate decision making. Death Studies, 30, 135-148.
Ditto, P. H. (2006). Self-determination, substituted judgment and the psychology of advance medical decision making. In J. L. Werth & D. Blevins (Eds.), Psychosocial issues near the end of life: A resource for professional care providers (pp. 89-109). Washington D. C.: APA Press.
Ditto, P. H., Jacobson, J. A., Smucker, W. D., Danks, J. H., & Fagerlin, A. (2006). Context changes choices: A prospective study of the effects of hospitalization on life-sustaining treatment preferences. Medical Decision Making, 26, 313-322.
Ditto, P. H., Hawkins, N. A., & Pizarro, D. A. (2005). Imagining the end of life: On the psychology of advance medical decision making. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 475-496.
Hawkins, N. A., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. A., & Smucker, W. D. (2005). Micromanaging death: Process preferences, values, and goals in end-of-life medical decision making. The Gerontologist, 45, 107-117.
Ditto, P.H., & Hawkins, N. A. (2005). Cancer decision making near the end of life. Health Psychology, 24, S63-S70.
Ditto, P. H., Smucker, W. D., Danks, J. H., Jacobson, J. A., Houts, R. M., Fagerlin, A., Coppola, K. M., & Gready, R. M. (2003). The stability of older adults' preferences for life-sustaining medical treatment. Health Psychology, 22, 605-615.
Fagerlin, A., Ditto, P. H., Hawkins, N. A., Schneider, C. E., & Smucker, W. D. (2002). The use of advance directives in end-of-life decision making: Problems and possibilities. American Behavioral Scientist, 46, 268-283.
Houts, R. M., Smucker, W. D., Jacobson, J. A., Ditto, P. H., & Danks, J. H. (2002). Predicting elderly outpatients' life-sustaining treatment preferences over time: The majority rules. Medical Decision Making, 22, 39-52.
Lockhart, L. K., Bookwala, J., Fagerlin, A., Coppola, K. M., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., Smucker, W. D. (2001). Older adults’ attitudes toward death: Links to perceptions of health and concerns about end-of-life issues. Omega, 43, 331-347.
Fagerlin, A., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., Houts, R., & Smucker. W. D. (2001). Projection in surrogate decisions about life-sustaining medical treatment. Health Psychology, 20, 166-175.
Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., Smucker, W. D., Bookwala, J., Coppola, K. M., Dresser, R., Fagerlin, A., Gready, R. M., Houts, R., Lockhart, L. K., & Zyzanski, S. (2001). Advance directives as acts of communication: A randomized controlled trial. Archives of Internal Medicine, 161, 421-430.
Coppola, K. M., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., & Smucker, W. D. (2001). Accuracy of primary physicians' and hospital-based physicians' predictions of elderly outpatients' treatment preferences with and without advance directives. Archives of Internal Medicine, 161, 431-440.
Bookwala, J., Coppola, K. M., Fagerlin, A., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., Smucker, W. D. (2001). Gender differences in preferences for life-sustaining medical treatments among community- dwelling older adults. Death Studies, 25, 127-149.
Smucker, W. D., Houts, R., Danks, J. H., Ditto, P. H., Fagerlin, A., & Coppola, K. M. (2000). Modal preferences predict elderly patients' life-sustaining treatment choices as well as patients' chosen surrogates. Medical Decision Making, 20, 271-280.
Gready, R. M., Ditto, P. H., Danks, J. H., Coppola, K. M., Lockart, L. K., & Smucker, W. D. (2000). Actual and perceived stability of preferences for life-sustaining treatment. Journal of Clinical Ethics, 11, 334-346.
Coppola, K. M., Bookwala, J., Ditto, P. H., Lockhart, L. K., Danks, J. H., & Smucker, W. D. (1999). Elderly adults’ preferences for life-sustaining treatments: The role of impairment, prognosis, and pain. Death Studies, 23, 617-623.
Coppola, K. M., Danks, J. H., Ditto, P. H., & Smucker, W. D. (1998). Perceived benefits and burdens of life-sustaining treatments in elderly adults, physicians, and young adults. Journal of Ethics, Law, and Aging, 4, 3-13.
Ditto, P. H., Druley, J. A., Moore, K. A., Danks, J. H, & Smucker, W. D. (1996). Fates worse than death: The role of valued life activities in health state evaluations. Health Psychology, 15, 332-343.
Moore, K. A., Danks, J. H., Ditto, P. H., Druley, J. A., Townsend, A. & Smucker, W. D. (1994). Patient understanding of a physician-initiated advance directive discussion. Archives of Family Medicine, 3, 1057-1063.
Druley, J. A., Ditto, P. H., Moore, K. A., Danks, J. H., Townsend, A., & Smucker, W. D. (1993). Physicians' predictions of elderly outpatients' preferences for life-sustaining treatment. Journal of Family Practice, 37, 469-475.
Smucker, W. D., Ditto, P. H., Moore, K. A., Druley, J. A., Danks, J. H., & Townsend, A. (1993). Elderly outpatients respond favorably to a physician-initiated advance directive discussion. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 6, 473-482.
Illness Cognition & Behavior (Topic Explanation)
Ditto, P. H., & Croyle, R. T. (1995). Understanding the impact of risk factor test results: Insights from a basic research program. In R. T. Croyle (Ed.), Psychosocial effects of screening for disease prevention and detection (pp. 144-181). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ditto, P. H., Moore, K. A., Hilton, J. L., & Kalish, J. R. (1995). Beliefs about physicians: Their role in health care utilization, satisfaction, and compliance. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17, 23-48
Ditto, P. H., & Hilton, J. L. (1990). Expectancy processes in the health care interaction sequence. Journal of Social Issues, 46, 97-124.
Croyle, R. T., & Ditto, P. H. (1990). Illness cognition and behavior: An experimental approach. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 13, 31-52.
Ditto, P. H., & Jemmott, J. B. III (1989). From rarity to evaluative extremity: Effects of prevalence information on evaluations of positive and negative characteristics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 16-26.
Jemmott, J. B. III, Croyle, R. T., & Ditto, P. H. (1988). Commonsense epidemiology: Self-based judgments from laypersons and physicians. Health Psychology, 7, 55-73.
Jemmott, J. B. III, Ditto, P. H., & Croyle, R. T. (1986). Judging health status: Effects of perceived prevalence and personal relevance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 899-905.