Consumer Psychology - Publications - Faculty & Research

July–August 2021
Article

Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government

By: Ryan W. Buell, Ethan Porter and Michael I. Norton

Problem definition: As trust in government reaches historic lows, frustration with government performance approaches record highs. Academic/practical relevance: We propose that in co-productive settings like government services, peoples’ trust and... View Details

Keywords: Government Services; Behavioral Operations; Operational Transparency; Government Administration; Service Operations; Programs; Perception; Attitudes; Behavior; Trust

23 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative

the same cost and much higher benefits. And so, part of what marketing does is ask, "What's absolutely necessary to make this product attractive to consumers? Do we have to add all these bells and whistles? Or do consumers just... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons, Julia Hanna & Roger Thompson

31 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

Distressed Employees? Try Resilience Training

depression and anxiety can be reduced by coaching employees to increase their resilience, the ability to maintain good mental health despite psychological or physical setbacks. In fact, one study found that over a two-month period, a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

challenging, is achievable. Take HBS colleague Benjamin G. Edelman, an expert in online markets whose research focuses on consumer protection related to online businesses. “My research is made better by choosing questions that are... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

10 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why a Federal Rule on CEO Pay Disclosure May Get You In Trouble With Customers

check. In sheer terms of gaining favor among consumers, a firm with a high CEO-to-worker pay ratio must offer a substantial 50 percent discount to keep up with a firm that maintains a low pay ratio. This is among the key findings in the working paper Paying Up for Fair... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

11 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Neuroeconomics: Eyes, Brain, Business

field of neuromarketing, which uses brain-tracking tools to determine why consumers prefer some products over others. And there is neuroleadership, which applies neuroscience to management research. Looser is looking to integrate insights... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

12 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Creating Online Ads We Want to Watch

30-second consumer product advertisements. Out of 28 ads, 14 were chosen because they were decidedly provocative; the researchers expected them to evoke either joy or surprise in the viewers at different points in the brief plot. The... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

06 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Comparing Apples to Apples Online Leads To More Fruitful Sales

assistant professor in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School and an affiliate of Harvard’s Center for Brain Sciences, who studies the neural and psychological factors that underlie consumer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Advertising

15 May 2013
Research & Ideas

From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing

access to our favorite things will make us keep appreciating them); Buy Time (focusing on time over money yields wiser purchases); Pay Now, Consume Later (delayed consumption leads to increased enjoyment); and Invest in Others (spending... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael I. Norton

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

might serve the study of consumer behavior. An HBS professor since 1991, Zaltman's work actually cuts across a number of boundaries. He's a co-director (with Stephen M. Kosslyn, Professor of psychology at... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

Fixing Price Tag Confusion

says Groceries $88, Delivery $8? In a recent working paper titled "The Framing Effect of Price Format," HBS Associate Professor Luc Wathieu and coauthor Marco Bertini of the London Business School attempt to understand the consumer View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

19 Dec 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

New Year, New Habits

Good Habit Psychological nudges can be a cost-effective way for governments to get citizens to do the right thing. Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful Research at Harvard Business School takes a unique approach to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2016
Article

Buying to Blunt Negative Feelings: Materialistic Escape from the Self

By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Masha Ksendzova, Ryan Howell, Kathleen Vohs and Roy F. Baumeister

We propose that escape theory, which describes how individuals seek to free themselves from aversive states of self-awareness, helps explain key patterns of materialistic people’s behavior. As predicted by escape theory, materialistic individuals may feel dissatisfied... View Details

Keywords: Materialism; Escape; Self; Negative Emotions; Self-awareness; Emotions; Consumer Behavior; Identity; Motivation and Incentives

Citation

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23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

Each of these executives restored their people's confidence in themselves and in one another—a necessary antecedent to restoring investor or public confidence. They inspired and empowered their organizations to take new actions that could renew profitability. In short,... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

Roughly one in 66 women has a better chance of leaving the hospital alive if their doctor is also a woman. Behavioral Economists Can Make You a Healthier Consumer and Smarter Marketer Psychological... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

Why ‘Sleep on It’ No Longer Sounds Like Great Advice

believe that with all of these positive cognitive effects, you might also get benefits for decision making,” says Karmarkar, who conducted the research with UMass Amherst psychology professor Rebecca Spencer and Stanford Graduate School... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

24 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

Is Your iPhone Turning You Into a Wimp?

monitor? The answer may determine whether you'll play the wimp or the hero in your next office meeting. The body posture inherent in operating everyday gadgets affects not only your back, but your demeanor, reports a new experimental study entitled iPosture: The Size... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

11 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

E-Commerce Unplugged

Companies that spent decades understanding consumer-buying psychology traditionally assumed that specific products could satisfy discrete consumer needs. Now, they will need to define View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria & Marty Leestma

19 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Empathy: The Brand Equity of Retail

There's a famous line from the movie The Godfather, which is often repeated in corporate settings: "This is business, not personal." Ironically, though, that statement is actually bad business advice. During the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing (COER)... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

25 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 25, 2006

developed countries. Large emerging economies with little inward FDI include India and Turkey, despite the relaxation over the last two decades of the restrictions imposed on foreign firms between 1950 and 1980. This working paper explores why Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Publications