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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(253)
- News (34)
- Research (205)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (78)
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- 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
Tormala, Zakary L., Jayson Jia, and Michael I. Norton. "The Preference for Potential." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 103, no. 4 (October 2012): 567–583.
- Article
Brand (In)fidelity: When Flirting with the Competition Strengthens Brand Relationships
By: Irene Consiglio, Daniella Kupor, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
We document the existence and consequences of brand flirting: a short-lived experience in which a consumer engages with and/or indulges in the alluring qualities of a brand without committing to it. We propose that brand flirting is exciting and that when consumers... View Details
Consiglio, Irene, Daniella Kupor, Francesca Gino, and Michael I. Norton. "Brand (In)fidelity: When Flirting with the Competition Strengthens Brand Relationships." Journal of Consumer Psychology 28, no. 1 (January 2018): 5–22.
- 15 Oct 2008
- First Look
First Look: October 15, 2008
is comprised of an extensive collection of Harvard Business School cases devoted to information technology. Learning (Not) to Talk About Race: When Older Children Underperform in Social Categorization Authors:Evan P. Apfelbaum, Kristin Pauker, Nalini Ambady, Samuel R.... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- July 2021
- Article
Consumers—Especially Women—Avoid Buying from Firms with Higher Gender Pay Gaps
By: Tobias Schlager, Bhavya Mohan, Katherine DeCelles and Michael I. Norton
We document a unique driver of consumer behavior: the public disclosure of a firm’s gender pay gap. Four experiments provide causal evidence that when firms are revealed to have gender pay gaps, consumers are less willing to pay for their goods, a reaction driven by... View Details
Keywords: Pay Gap; Perceived Wage Fairness; Purchase Intention; Gender; Wages; Fairness; Perception; Consumer Behavior
Schlager, Tobias, Bhavya Mohan, Katherine DeCelles, and Michael I. Norton. "Consumers—Especially Women—Avoid Buying from Firms with Higher Gender Pay Gaps." Special Issue on Consumer Psychology for the Greater Good. Journal of Consumer Psychology 31, no. 3 (July 2021): 518–531.
- Article
Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness
By: Melanie Rudd, Jennifer Aaker and Michael I. Norton
Across six field and laboratory experiments, participants assigned a more concretely-framed prosocial goal (e.g., making someone smile or increasing recycling) felt happier and reported creating greater personal happiness after performing a goal-directed act of... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Goal Framing; Affective Forecasting; Goals and Objectives; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
Rudd, Melanie, Jennifer Aaker, and Michael I. Norton. "Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 54 (September 2014): 11–24.
- October 2012
- Article
Giving Time Gives You Time
By: Cassie Mogilner, Zoe Chance and Michael I. Norton
Four experiments reveal a counterintuitive solution to the common problem of feeling that one does not have enough time: giving some of it away. Although people's objective amount of time cannot be increased (there are only 24 hours in a day), this research... View Details
Keywords: Time Perception; Well-being; Volunteering; Prosocial Behavior; Helping; Time Management; Welfare
Mogilner, Cassie, Zoe Chance, and Michael I. Norton. "Giving Time Gives You Time." Psychological Science 23, no. 10 (October 2012): 1233–1238.
- Article
From Wealth to Well-Being? Money Matters, but Less than People Think
By: Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton and Elizabeth W. Dunn
While numerous studies have documented the modest (though reliable) link between household income and well-being, we examined the accuracy of laypeople's intuitions about this relationship by asking people from across the income spectrum to report their own... View Details
Aknin, Lara B., Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn. "From Wealth to Well-Being? Money Matters, but Less than People Think." Journal of Positive Psychology 4, no. 6 (2009): 523–527.
- November 2022
- Article
Opportunity Neglect: An Aversion to Low-probability Gains
By: Emily Prinsloo, Kate Barasz, Leslie K. John and Michael I. Norton
Seven preregistered studies (N = 2,890) conducted in the field, lab, and online document opportunity neglect: a tendency to reject opportunities with low probability of success, even when they come with little or no objective cost (e.g., time, money,... View Details
Prinsloo, Emily, Kate Barasz, Leslie K. John, and Michael I. Norton. "Opportunity Neglect: An Aversion to Low-probability Gains." Psychological Science 33, no. 11 (November 2022): 1857–1866.
- 2025
- Working Paper
A Preference for Revision Absent Improvement
By: Ximena Garcia-Rada, Leslie K. John, Ed O’Brien and Michael I. Norton
People regularly encounter revised stimuli (e.g., revised versions of products, new editions of
books, tweaked recipes, and technological updates). In principle, a world of constant revision
should benefit people by affording them the most up-to-date offerings. In... View Details
Keywords: Product Change; Versioning; Expectancy Effects; Heuristics; Intuitive Processing; Product Marketing; Change; Perception; Consumer Behavior
Garcia-Rada, Ximena, Leslie K. John, Ed O’Brien, and Michael I. Norton. "A Preference for Revision Absent Improvement." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-087, February 2019. (Revised April 2025.)
- Article
Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy
By: Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
Self-presentation is a fundamental aspect of social life, with myriad critical outcomes dependent on others’ impressions. We identify and offer the first empirical investigation of a prevalent, yet understudied, self-presentation strategy: humblebragging. Across nine... View Details
Keywords: Humblebragging; Impression Management; Self-presentation; Interpersonal Perception; Competence; Liking; Sincerity; Behavior; Perception; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Characteristics
Sezer, Ovul, Francesca Gino, and Michael I. Norton. "Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 114, no. 1 (January 2018): 52–74.
- 2009
- Working Paper
Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior
By: Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton and Elizabeth W. Dunn
While lay intuitions and pop psychology suggest that helping others leads to higher levels of happiness, the existing evidence only weakly supports this causal claim: Research in psychology, economics, and neuroscience exploring the benefits of charitable giving has... View Details
Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Research; Behavior; Happiness; Motivation and Incentives
Anik, Lalin, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn. "Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 10-012, August 2009.
- 26 Nov 2013
- First Look
First Look: November 26
Thinking-Not Feeling-Jobs By: Waytz, Adam, and Michael I. Norton Abstract—Technological innovations have produced robots capable of jobs that,... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- February 2011
- Article
It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties
By: Lara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton
Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak... View Details
Aknin, Lara B., Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn, and Michael I. Norton. "It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties." PLoS ONE 6, no. 2 (February 2011): e17018.
- 14 Mar 2017
- First Look
First Look at New Research, March 14
in U.S. and international samples. Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy By: Sezer, Ovul, Francesca Gino, and Michael View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- May 2017
- Article
Agent-based Modeling: A Guide for Social Psychologists
By: Joshua Conrad Jackson, David Rand, Kevin Lewis, Michael I. Norton and Kurt Gray
Agent-based modeling is a longstanding but underused method that allows researchers to simulate artificial worlds for hypothesis testing and theory building. Agent-based models (ABMs) offer unprecedented control and statistical power by allowing researchers to... View Details
Jackson, Joshua Conrad, David Rand, Kevin Lewis, Michael I. Norton, and Kurt Gray. "Agent-based Modeling: A Guide for Social Psychologists." Social Psychological & Personality Science 8, no. 4 (May 2017): 387–395.
- 15 Feb 2014
- Conference Presentation
Men as Cultural Ideals: How Culture Shapes Gender Stereotypes
By: Amy Cuddy, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Peter Glick and Michael I. Norton
Four studies test whether cultural values moderate the content of gender stereotypes, such that male stereotypes more closely align with core cultural values (specifically, individualism vs. collectivism) than do female stereotypes. In Studies 1 and 2, using different... View Details
Cuddy, Amy, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Peter Glick, and Michael I. Norton. "Men as Cultural Ideals: How Culture Shapes Gender Stereotypes." Paper presented at the 15th Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, February 15, 2014.
- 06 Dec 2011
- First Look
First Look: Dec. 6
case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/712004-PDF-ENG The Pepsi Refresh Project: A Thirst for Change Michael I. Norton and Jill AveryHarvard... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- Article
Dying Is Unexpectedly Positive
By: Amelia Goranson, Ryan S. Ritter, Adam Waytz, Michael I. Norton and Kurt Gray
In people’s imagination, dying seems dreadful; however, these perceptions may not reflect reality. In two studies, we compared the affective experience of people facing imminent death with that of people imagining imminent death. Study 1 revealed that blog posts of... View Details
Keywords: Death; Language; LIWC; Positivity; Affective Forecasting; Open Materials; Perspective; Attitudes
Goranson, Amelia, Ryan S. Ritter, Adam Waytz, Michael I. Norton, and Kurt Gray. "Dying Is Unexpectedly Positive." Psychological Science 28, no. 7 (July 2017): 988–999.
- 04 Jun 2013
- First Look
First Look: June 4
Emotional Benefits of Prosocial Spending By: Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, Ashley V. Whillans, Adam M. Grant, and Michael I. Norton... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne