Publications

Purchase

February 2014
Article

'Last-place Aversion': Evidence and Redistributive Implications

By: Ilyana Kuziemko, Ryan W. Buell, Taly Reich and Michael Norton

We present evidence from laboratory experiments showing that individuals are "last-place averse." Participants choose gambles with the potential to move them out of last place that they reject when randomly placed in other parts of the distribution. In... View Details

Keywords: Income; Rank and Position; Attitudes

October 2012
Article

The Preference for Potential

By: Zakary L. Tormala, Jayson Jia and Michael I. Norton

When people seek to impress others, they often do so by highlighting individual achievements. Despite the intuitive appeal of this strategy, we demonstrate that people often prefer potential rather than achievement when evaluating others. Indeed, compared with... View Details

Keywords: Preferences; Persuasion; Uncertainty; Risk and Uncertainty; Performance Expectations; Attitudes

Profile

Jeremy King

silver medalist, Travis Mayer." In summary of his HBS experiences, Jeremy says, "my eyes have been opened to the business world well beyond my experience in consulting and investment banking. What I've learned has made me confident that, with the right View Details

2022
Working Paper

Beliefs about Gender Differences in Social Preferences

By: Christine L Exley, Oliver P. Hauser, Molly Moore and John-Henry Pezzuto

While there is a vast (and mixed) literature on gender differences in social preferences, little is known about believed gender differences in social preferences. This paper documents robust evidence for believed gender differences in social preferences. Across a wide... View Details

Keywords: Social Preferences; Gender; Behavior; Attitudes; Values and Beliefs

2021
Working Paper

Most Individuals Prefer to Compromise among Competing Normative Principles of Taxation

By: Itai Sher and Matthew C. Weinzierl

We use a novel survey to gather direct and indirect evidence on how individuals reconcile their simultaneous support for opposing normative principles when forming their policy preferences. Our evidence suggests that, when choosing policy, a minority (approximately... View Details

Keywords: Normative Principles; Taxation; Policy; Attitudes; Measurement and Metrics

SSRN

2017
Working Paper

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman

We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Attitudes; Perspective; Behavior

March–April 2015
Article

Why We Think We Can't Dance: Theory of Mind and Children's Desire to Perform

By: Lan Nguyen Chaplin and Michael I. Norton

Theory of Mind (ToM) allows children to achieve success in the social world by understanding others' minds. A study with 3–12 year olds, however, demonstrates that gains in ToM are linked to decreases in children's desire to engage in performative behaviors associated... View Details

Keywords: Theory Of Mind; Self-Esteem; Behavior; Attitudes; Performance; Cognition and Thinking

2011
Chapter

Honest Rationales for Dishonest Behavior

By: F. Gino and S., Ayal

Keywords: Ethics; Attitudes; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior

February 1995
Case

James Cranfield

By: John J. Gabarro and Andrew P. Burtis

Describes the attitudes, feelings, and perceptions of the manager who will conduct the performance appraisal interview. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Attitudes; Perspective; Emotions

Educators

Purchase

05 Sep 2012
What Do You Think?

Will Business Management Save US Health Care?

industries hire for attitude and train for skills. Regardless of whether it worked elsewhere, they were sure that it didn't apply to health care, where people want the best in skills whether as providers, recipients, or hospital... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

product categories, or stores. Some are even changing long-held attitudes toward consumption. To many folks, filling the home with more stuff or keeping up with the Joneses is no longer appealing. As a result, the degree of uncertainty in... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

2010
Working Paper

Introductory Reading for Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model

By: Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron and Kari L. Granger

This paper is the sixth of six pre-course reading assignments for an experimental leadership course developed by the authors over five years (2004-2008) at the U. of Rochester Simon School of Business working with students, alumni, executives, and faculty from various... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Curriculum and Courses; Strategy; Performance Capacity; Attitudes; Behavior; United States; Netherlands; Texas

SSRN

2008
Book

Hedgehogs and Foxes: Character, Leadership, and Command in Organizations

By: Abraham Zaleznik

In this compelling look at charismatic leaders and their leadership styles, Abraham Zaleznik asserts that leaders are either "hedgehogs," who view leadership as a single-minded track driven by unwavering rules, or "foxes," who assess and re-evaluate their... View Details

Keywords: Attitudes; Leadership Style; Government and Politics; Power and Influence; Innovation and Invention

Purchase

26 May 2016
News

W. James McNerney Jr., MBA 1975

consistently producing strong financial results. “I believe you have to approach things positively. It’s all about the attitude you bring. If you obsess on obstacles, you’ll find obstacles.” “I believe you have to approach things... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Air Transportation; Transportation

Profile

Juliane Schwetz

entrepreneurship, I really got interested in the idea. I realized entrepreneurship is nothing for me to be afraid of. My attitude and personality are actually very complementary to an environment where people have a passion to work.” View Details

07 Oct 2016
Blog Post

Attending Peek Weekend

therefore, you should feel confident and qualified to apply regardless of the extent of your current business knowledge. I would say that a positive attitude and a strong desire to learn are better indicators of potential for success in... View Details

17 Nov 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Are Optimists or Pessimists Better Leaders?

Editor's note: This is part of a series of occasional columns on managing the family business written by Senior Lecturer John A. Davis. Optimism and pessimism are strong, stable traits that reflect our coping strategies. We live in an uncertain world. To cope with... View Details

September 2018
Article

When and Why Randomized Response Techniques (Fail to) Elicit the Truth

By: Leslie K. John, George Loewenstein, Alessandro Acquisti and Joachim Vosgerau

By adding random noise to individual responses, randomized response techniques (RRTs) are intended to enhance privacy protection and encourage honest disclosure of sensitive information. Empirical findings on their success in doing so are, however, mixed. In nine... View Details

Keywords: Truth-telling; Lying; Privacy; Information Disclosure; Survey Research; Surveys; Attitudes; Behavior

2010
Working Paper

A 'Value-Free' Approach to Values (PDF File of PowerPoint Slides)

By: Michael C. Jensen and Werner Erhard

We argue here that the three factors we identify as constituting the foundation for being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership can also be seen as "A 'Value-Free' Approach to Values" that proves to be very effective in allowing students to acquire the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Attitudes; Values and Beliefs