Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
chauds [at] chicagobooth [dot] edu
Google Scholar // SSRN // OSF // LinkedIn // HOPE LAB
I study how people navigate social interactions and relationships with others by examining patterns in how people use language and speech acts when they communicate with one another. In some cases, I apply the lens of game theory to better understand how people subtly coordinate (or fail to coordinate) in conversations. I'm interested in the downstream consequences these behaviors have in contexts important for organizations like conflict management, negotiations, teamwork, and customer satisfaction.
Some questions I'm currently interested in include:
How do the dynamics of apologizing change when blame is mutual instead of unilateral?
Why is thanking close others seen as rude or aversive in some cultures?
Can signaling self-awareness through speech help low-credibility speakers self-promote better?
What linguistic features of apologies are necessary for people to recognize an utterance as an apology?
In responses to customer reviews, do managers need to apologize to make readers satisfied with their response?
PUBLICATIONS * Denotes student co-author
Wang, J.*, Chaudhry, S.J., & Koch, A. (2023) “Reminders Undermine Impressions of Genuine Gratitude.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pspi0000442
Yu, J.* & Chaudhry, S.J. (2023) “‘Thanks, but no thanks’: Gratitude Expression Paradoxically Signals Distance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pspi0000435
Molnar, A., Chaudhry, S.J., & Loewenstein, G. (2023) “’It’s not about the money. It’s about sending a message!’: Avengers Want Offenders to Understand the Reason for Revenge,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 174, 104207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104207
Chaudhry, S.J. & Wald, K.A.* (2022) “Overcoming listener skepticism: Costly signaling in communication increases perceived honesty,” Current Opinion in Psychology, 101442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101442
Chaudhry, S.J., Hand, M., & Kunreuther, H. (2021) “Broad bracketing for low probability events,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 61(3), 211-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11166-020-09343-4
Robinson, P.J., Botzen, W.J.W., Kunreuther, H., & Chaudhry, S.J. (2021) “Default Options and Insurance Demand,” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 183, 39-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.12.017
Chaudhry, S.J. & Loewenstein, G. (2019) “Thanking, apologizing, bragging, and blaming: Responsibility exchange theory and the currency of communication.” Psychological Review, 126(3), 313-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rev0000139
Chaudhry, S.J. & Klinowski, D. (2016) “Enhancing autonomy to motivate effort: An experiment on the delegation of contract choice.” in Sebastian J. Goerg, John R. Hamman (ed.) Experiments in Organizational Economics (Research in experimental economics, vol 19). Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.141-157. [link]
Bhatia, S. & Chaudhry, SJ. (2013). The dynamics of anchoring in bidirectional associative memory networks. In Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1899-1904). [link]
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
“‘Ignorance can be Trustworthy: The Effect of (Social) Self-Awareness on Trust” (with Kristina A. Wald*). Revise & Resubmit at JPSP.
“The Credibility Dilemma: When a (Perceived) Lack of Credibility Can Make a Boast More Believable” (with Kristina A. Wald* and Jane Risen). Revise & Resubmit at OBHDP.
“I’m sorry if you are: The risk of apologizing first and other unique dynamics in resolving two-sided conflicts” (with Valeria Burdea). Under Review. Working paper available at PsyArXiv: https://psyarxiv.com/yuvbw
“The Downside of Generosity: When Giving More Undermines Social Connection” (with Minkwang Jang* and Ayelet Fishbach). (Manuscript available upon request.)
“The Language of Apologies in Customer Reviews” (with Akshina Banerjee* and Linhui Wu*). Data collection.
“To apologize, blame, or both? How the interaction of relational and informational motives impacts reconciliation after conflict” (with Eva Chen*). data collection.
“The Lesser of Two Evils: Revealing the Choice Set to Signal Good Intentions” (with Andras Molnar). Available at PsyArXiv: http://dx.doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8sdme
MEDIA COVERAGE
"'Thank you' can be a loaded phrase," Chicago Booth Review, February 22, 2024.
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/thank-you-can-be-loaded-phrase
"Line of inquiry: Shereen Chaudhry on why we hesitate to apologize," Chicago Booth Review, March 30, 2023. https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/line-inquiry-shereen-chaudhry-why-we-hesitate-apologize
"What prevents us from saying sorry," Chicago Booth Review, November 30, 2022. https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/what-prevents-us-from-saying-sorry?sc_lang=en
"What revenge seekers are really after," Chicago Booth Review, June 17, 2020. https://review.chicagobooth.edu/behavioral-science/2020/article/what-revenge-seekers-are-really-after
"More people will buy insurance if you reframe the odds," Chicago Booth Review, March 17, 2020. https://review.chicagobooth.edu/marketing/2020/article/more-people-will-buy-insurance-if-you-reframe-odds
"When saying ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘thank you’ makes a big difference," Chicago Booth Review, Sept 26, 2019. https://review.chicagobooth.edu/behavioral-science/2019/article/when-saying-i-m-sorry-and-thank-you-makes-big-difference