CURRENT POSITION: Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the University of Pennsylvania (since August 2016).
EDUCATION: In July 2016, I received my Ph.D. in Behavioral Decision Research from the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Before that, I earned a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and a Master of Health Administration at Cornell University.
RESEARCH SUMMARY
In my work, I draw from both psychology and economics to provide insight into human judgment and decision-making, in domains that are especially relevant for individuals and managers in organizations.
I have developed a theory to explain how the exchange of “credit” and “blame” through communication affects emotional and behavioral responses to situations as well as attributions of character. My work has demonstrated that failing to thank can harm both personal and working relationships, and furthermore, that people underestimate the value of thanking and apologizing to others.
Additionally, I also examine how and when people are willing to reveal information to manage the impression they make on others, even in one-shot interactions with no reputational consequences. We find that people are often willing to pay to reveal information in such situations, and that people are even willing to reveal negative information.
At the Risk Center, I have extended my work into the domain of risk perception and communication. Specifically, I investigate how the framing of probabilities over different time horizons affects people’s willingness to take risk-mitigating actions.
