He specializes in morality and moral emotions. Heidt was born in New York and grew up in Scarsdale. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University in 1985, and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Then he studied cultural psychology at the University of Chicago. During his postdoctoral appointment, he won a Fulbright grant for three months of research in Orissa, India. In 1995 he received the post of assistant professor at the University of Virginia, where he worked until 2011. Heidt is the author of two books. Prospect Magazine included him in the list of global thinkers.