The heart of Dr. Forsyth's work is to build knowledge about why people feel, think, and act as they do. His research focuses on ethics, with a specific concentration on individual, group, and cultural differences in degree of idealism and relativism.

An authority on group dynamics -- whose text Group Dynamics is in its fifth edition -- he focuses on groups' reactions to success and failure and the interpersonal functions of groups, including small group decision making. He has studied influence, juries, mobs, crowds, clubs, cliques, and leadership. His broad interests include social behavior, leadership and group dynamics, and research methodology in the social sciences.

Dr. Forsyth joined the Jepson School faculty in 2005 after serving at Virginia Commonwealth University as a Professor in the Department of Psychology with a joint appointment in sociology.

A mark of the high level of his scholarship, he serves on numerous editorial boards for professional journals and is frequently quoted by the media. He has received a number of grants, fellowships, and awards for teaching including the State of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award.

A prolific and thoughtful writer, he is active in a number of scientific, honorary, and professional societies including the American Psychological Society, American Sociological Association, American Psychological Association (Divisions 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 49), Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Capital Area Social Psychological Association, Southeastern Society of Social Psychology, and the Society for the Advancement of Social Psychology.