The Science Behind Behavior

From consumer marketing to organizational behavior and much more.

Utpal Dholakia

How Price Endings Convey Different Meanings to Shoppers

Each price ending number has a unique symbolic value and affects beliefs of shoppers about the product and the seller.

3 Drawbacks of Spending Your Money on Experiences

Experiences can be mundane and unpleasant, & sometimes saving the money is more important for future welfare.

How Reflecting on Our Possessions Can Curb Impulse Buying

The reflection method provides a promising way of mentally “shopping the closet” and our findings show it quells the desire to buy.

How a Product’s Distinctiveness Entices Consumers to Buy

By targeting a basic motive, sellers can influence which item customers choose and how much they pay.

Five Ways You Can Become Less Financially Vulnerable

Each method provides a research-supported way to empower you and improve your financial situation.

4 Steps to Cultivate the Habit of Saving Money

Research suggests setting an emergency fund goal, saving every day, & making saved money visible.

Why (Most) Companies Should Avoid Taking Political Stances

Taking such positions alienates many employees and customers and shifts focus away from the main objectives.

Why People Should Stop Bragging on Social Media

Boast posts of professional accomplishments on social media have negative repercussions.

When High Prices Attract Consumers and Low Prices Repel Them

Price has informational value that equates high price with high quality, and low price with questionable quality.

Murders by White Supremacists Have Doubled: What's It Mean?

The headline obscures the fact that the actual numbers involved are very small.

How Should We Judge Milkshake Ducks?

Not with anger or scorn, but in a more nuanced manner.

Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Should Begin in December

Changing a bad habit or forming a new, virtuous one, requires advance preparation and trial and error.

How Our Personal Finances Can Make Us Happy

Financial well-being research focuses on security and stress-relief, but not on contentment or joy that we get from money.

Why People Who Have Less Give More

Every one of us can learn valuable lessons from the generosity and compassion of the poor.

Why Automating Retirement Savings May Not Be Enough

Participants in automatic retirement savings plans are saving at rates far less than the recommended percentages.

What Should Managers Do With Profitable Unethical Customers?

The answer depends on whether the manager subscribes to a deontological or teleological ethical perspective.

Can Unethical Customer Behavior Benefit Others?

Lawful yet unethical behaviors of customers can have positive effects and it raises interesting questions.

How Long Does Public Empathy Last After a Natural Disaster?

The empathy of bystanders peaks quickly, and within a few weeks, it has abated to baseline levels.

3 Tips to Donate Effectively After a Natural Disaster

Giving cash, staggering donations, and vetting the charities you give to will ensure your donation has a greater impact.

How Financially Vulnerable Are You?

The answer relies on a host of psychological & behavioral markers that indicate financial weakness.

Why Meticulously Made Decisions Motivate Us to Persist

Decision effort signals the task's worth, raises confidence & increases chances of succeeding.

What Is a “Good” Decision?

We often confuse the process of making decisions with its outcomes, leading to an incorrect understanding of what a good decision is.

Why Posted Prices Are Often Meaningless

There’s a significant gap between asked-for prices and what customers actually pay.

What Is Undisciplined Spending?

It’s a repeated, habitual pattern of three potentially harmful spending behaviors.

Why Eating Avocado Toast Can Set You Back Financially

It’s not eating avo-toast that matters so much as what the choice signifies.

Why Customers Often Don’t Get What They Want

It’s because companies & consumers define the concept of customer value differently.

In Defense of United Airlines

The fiasco of dragging a passenger off a plane needs more tempered reaction.

Paying Income Taxes Makes Us Happy

When we pay taxes, it triggers reward areas in our brain & is associated with greater well-being.

Why Are Indians Ashamed Of Their Happy Arranged Marriages?

The arranged marriage concept is associated with forced marriage & signals social ineptitude.

How Should You Decide Whether to Drive For Uber or Lyft?

The economics will vary dramatically depending on your incremental costs.

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