Publications.

A case for fast science amidst calls for slow science

Witkower, Z. (2026)

Nature Human Behaviour.

Multi-modal measurement of shame in relation to perceived stress and avoidance coping in the context of recent HIV diagnosis

Batchelder, A.W, Glynn, T., Witkower, Z., Ruben, M., Traeger, L., Schargfer, H.S., Shin, H.J., Tracy, J.L., O'Cleirigh, C., & Moskowitz, J.(2026)

Journal of Health Psychology.

The interpersonal and intrapsychic functions of the pride expression

Tracy, J.L & Witkower, Z.,(2026)

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Human psychophysiology is influenced by physical touch with a “breathing” robot

Witkower, Z., Cang, L., Bucci, P., MacLean, K., & Tracy, J.L (2025)

Emotion

Notable coverage: Scientific American

Short-Term and Long-Term Mating Strategies Show Distinct Patterns of Attraction to Dominance and Prestige

Witkower, Z., & Rule, N. (2025)

Social Psychological and Personality Science

Smile variation leaks personality and increases the accuracy of interpersonal judgments

Witkower, Z., Tian, L., Tracy, J. L., & Rule, N. (2024)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Nexus, 3(9), 343-357.

The evolved nature of pride

Tracy, J. L., Mercadante, E., & Witkower, Z. (2024)

In L. Al-Shawaf & T. Shakelford (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Evolution and the Emotions. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.

AI Hyperrealism: Why AI faces are perceived as more real than human ones

Miller, E., Steward, B., Witkower, Z., Sutherland, C., Krumhuber, E., & Dawel, A. (2023)

Psychological Science, 34(12), 1390-1403.

-Top-10 most influential outputs ever published in Psych Science (Altmetric, 2026)

-APEX Award for Excellence in AI/Robotics writing and publishing

Nonverbal displays of dominance and prestige: Evidence for cross-cultural and early-emerging recognition

Witkower, Z., Hill, A. K., Koster, J., Pun, A., Baron, A., & Tracy, J. L. (2023)

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(2), 282-292.

Emotions do reliably co-occur with predicted facial signals: Comment on Durán and Fernandez-Dols (2021)

Witkower, Z., Rule, N. O., & Tracy, J. L. (2023)

Emotion, 23(3), 903-907.

Beyond the Fearful Ape Hypothesis: Humans are Also Supplicating and Appeasing Apes

Mercadante, E., Witkower, Z., Hohm, I., & Tracy, J. L. (2023)

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e72.

Registered Report: Social face evaluation: Ethnicity-specific differences in the judgement of trustworthiness of faces and facial parts

Schmidt, I., Witkower, Z., Götz, F., & Stieger, S. (2022)

Scientific Reports, 12(18311), 1-17.

Registered Report

Is a downwards head tilt a cross-cultural signal of dominance? Evidence for a universal visual illusion

Witkower, Z., Hill, A. K., Koster, J., & Tracy, J. L. (2022)

Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-7.

Top 100 Most Downloaded Psychology Papers in Scientific Reports (2022)

The chicken and egg of pride and social rank

Witkower, Z., Mercadante, E., & Tracy, J. L. (2021)

Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(2), 382-389.

Beyond face value: Evidence for the universality of bodily expressions of emotion

Witkower, Z., Hill, A. K., Koster, J., & Tracy, J. L. (2021)

Affective Science, 2(3), 221-229.

Can children recognize bodily expressions of emotion?

Witkower, Z., Tracy, J. L., Pun, A., & Baron, A. S. (2021)

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 45(4), 505-518.

The psychological structure, social consequences, function, and expression of pride experiences

Mercadante, E., Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2021)

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 39, 130-135.

Evidence for distinct facial signals of reward, affiliation, and dominance from both perception and production tasks

Martin, J. D., Wood, A., Cox, W. T. L., Sievert, S., Nowak, R., Gilboa-Schectman, E. G., Zhao, F., Witkower, Z., Langbehn, A. T., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2021)

Affective Science, 2(1), 14-30.

Two signals of social rank: Prestige and dominance are associated with distinct nonverbal displays

Witkower, Z., Tracy, J. L., Cheng, J. T., & Henrich, J. (2020)

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(1), 89-120.

-Cited in the United Nations Human Development Report (2021-2022)

How and why head position changes the perception of facial expressions of emotion

Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2020)

Emotion, 22(5), 931-944.

The evolution of pride and social hierarchy

Tracy, J. L., Mercadante, E., Witkower, Z., & Cheng, J. T. (2020)

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 62, 51-114.

We don’t make WEIRD faces: A brief history of emotion expression research in small-scale societies

Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2020)

Evolution and Human Behavior, 41(5), 454-455 [commentary].

How affect shapes status: Distinct emotional experiences and expressions facilitate social hierarchy navigation

Witkower, Z., Mercadante, E., & Tracy, J. L. (2020)

Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 18-22.

A facial action imposter: How head tilt influences perceptions of dominance from a neutral face

Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2019)

Psychological Science, 30(6), 893-906.

Bodily communication of emotion: Evidence for extra-facial behavioral expressions and available coding systems

Witkower, Z. & Tracy, J. L. (2018)

Emotion Review, 11(2), 184-193.

Breaking the link between provocation and aggression: The role of mitigating information

Barlett, C. P., Witkower, Z., Mancini, C., Saleem, M. (2016)

Aggressive Behavior, 42(6), 555-562.

Predicting cyberbullying frequency in emerging adults: A longitudinal analysis

Barlett, C. P., Chamberlin, K., Witkower, Z. (2016)

Aggressive Behavior, 43(2), 147-154.