Background

A social and personality psychologist, Forsyth studies groups, leadership, ethical thought, and moral judgment. In addition to his general interest in group processes and psychological aspects of moral judgments, he explores empirically the psychological and interpersonal consequences of success and failure at the group and individual level, individual differences in ethical ideology, and perceptions of leaders. He was recognized as the Outstanding Group Psychologist by the American Psychological Association in 1996, the Award of Excellence from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002, the State of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award in 2002, and the Distinguished Educator Award from the University of Richmond in 2010. He has authored over 150 books, chapters, and articles on ethics, groups and related topics, and his work has appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, American Psychologist, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. His work has been supported by grants from the NIH, NSF, JPL/NASA, and SCHEV.  In 1996 he founded the journal Group Dynamics and served in 2008 as the president of Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy. He held the Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, at the University of Richmond from 2005 to 2022.

Academic Appointments

  • Professor emeritus, University of Richmond, 2022
  • Professor, Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Chair in Ethical Leadership, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond (2005-2021)
  • Professor, Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University (1989-2005)
  • Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas (1987)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University (1983-1989)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University (1978-1983)

Ethics Position Questionnaire website

Google Scholar profile page.

Amazon Author profile page.