Robert J. MacCoun has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to conduct outstanding scientific work in the domains of individual judgment and small-group processes. His extraordinary research has also extended into issues related to public policy and politically sensitive topics, including illegal drug use, gays in the military, and tort law, as well as the ways that biases can color how scientists and lay people interpret evidence.

MacCoun’s pioneering book Drug War Heresies: Learning From Other Vices, Times, and Places (with economist Peter Reuter) is among the most influential analyses that exist on the subjects of drug legalization, and it is widely cited by individuals on both sides of the policy debate.