Ryan T. Howell Ph.D.

About

Dr. Ryan T. Howell is an Associate Professor of Psychology at San Francisco State University and a co-founder of BeyondThePurchase.Org. He received his Ph.D. in Personality Psychology from the University of California, Riverside (2005). He is the director of The Personality and Well-Being Lab at SFSU where their primary aim is to communicate to scientists and society about how development, personality, motivation, values, beliefs, forecasts, and community interact with a person's economic conditions and financial decision-making to influence experienced quality of life--from suffering to flourishing. He has authored more than 30 scholarly publications in a number of leading academic journals, including Psychological Bulletin, and his research has been covered in media outlets such as the Time magazine, the New York Times, PBS (this emotional life), Forbes, The Economist, Fast Company, Salon.com, AARP.com, CNN.com, FoxNews.com, and he has appeared on National Public Radio, Radio New Zealand, ABC 7 News. He has written extensively on happiness, psychological needs
satisfaction, experiential consumption, time perspectives, and money management.

Recent Posts

Happy Thanksgiving: The Benefits of Gratitude

Because one student wanted to conduct a happiness intervention, gratitude started spreading through my lab—everyone has been thanking everyone else. And, as you would expect, the entire lab seems authentically happier after we started our own gratitude intervention. This is a story about how developing a thesis project transformed my entire lab.

What Are the Best Ways to Save Money?

Happy people have a particular pattern they use to spend windfall money when their essentials are paid for. They take about 25% and save it or invest it. They take about 12% and give it to charities or religious organizations or gifts for other people – basically, pro-social spending. And they spend about 40% on life experiences.

Viral Values: How Do Personal Values Affect Behavior?

Everyday businesses are realizing that in order to prosper in today’s consumer-centric economy satisfying the psychological needs of their customers is vital to their financial success. For example, my friends at Zenzi are constantly touting the benefits of value-based marketing. But why, you may ask, are values so important?

What Causes Materialism in America?

Wealthy neighborhoods fuel materialistic desires. Individuals who live in affluent areas are more likely to spend compulsively and less likely to save.

Is Dorian Gray a tragic hero? (Re)defining Hedonism

Data collected from BeyondThePurchase.org shows that those who are willing to sacrifice for pleasure value thrill-seeking and physical pleasure. The more people enjoy eating tasty food, the more maladaptively they pursue pleasure. Interestingly, there is relationship between hedonistic tendencies and happiness; however, hedonists reported feeling anxious.

Data collected from BeyondThePurchase.org shows that those who are willing to sacrifice for pleasure value thrill-seeking and physical pleasure. The more people enjoy eating tasty food, the more maladaptively they pursue pleasure. Interestingly, there is relationship between hedonistic tendencies and happiness; however, hedonists reported feeling anxious.

What do personality traits tell us about consumer behavior?

While researchers can determine, quite easily, consumer behaviors from self-report data, it is almost impossible to get reliable data on why they buy what they do. How then can we predict why consumers make the decisions they make?

While researchers can determine, quite easily, consumer behaviors from self-report data, it is almost impossible to get reliable data on why they buy what they do. How then can we predict why consumers make the decisions they make?

What Kind of Moviegoer Are You?

There is a wide array of decisions associated with seeing a movie. These decisions affect our own personal experience as well as the profitability of movie production and promotion companies. Unfortunately predicting the success/failure of films has been a largely unsuccessful venture—making movie productions a risky investment.

There is a wide array of decisions associated with seeing a movie. These decisions affect our own personal experience as well as the profitability of movie production and promotion companies. Unfortunately predicting the success/failure of films has been a largely unsuccessful venture—making movie productions a risky investment.

Consumer Self-report Data: You Can Ask What But Not Why

Marketers are always seeking to understand how consumers perceive and connect with their product. In doing this, they are trying to find ways to improve the product, packaging, messaging, and promotion. Improvements in these areas lead to better sales. The question is, what is the best way to get this information?

Marketers are always seeking to understand how consumers perceive and connect with their product. In doing this, they are trying to find ways to improve the product, packaging, messaging, and promotion. Improvements in these areas lead to better sales. The question is, what is the best way to get this information?

Should Marketers Trust Consumer Self-Reports?

We are constantly finding ways to layer plausible explanations onto decisions we make throughout the course of our everyday lives. While these explanations allow us to weave a coherent story, often times the true reason for why we make a decision is obscured from our conscious awareness.

We are constantly finding ways to layer plausible explanations onto decisions we make throughout the course of our everyday lives. While these explanations allow us to weave a coherent story, often times the true reason for why we make a decision is obscured from our conscious awareness.

The Psychology of Money: How Our Emotions Affect What We Buy

Advertisements with the intent of eliciting emotional responses from the consumer have become embedded in our culture – from ‘Nothin’ Says Lovin’ Like Somethin’ in the Oven’ (Pillsbury) and ‘There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard’. But using emotional responses is not as straightforward as just presenting happy and cheery images.

Advertisements with the intent of eliciting emotional responses from the consumer have become embedded in our culture – from ‘Nothin’ Says Lovin’ Like Somethin’ in the Oven’ (Pillsbury) and ‘There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard’. But using emotional responses is not as straightforward as just presenting happy and cheery images.