SELECTED ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

I am passionate about conducting rigorous, impactful, and replicable research. I aim to both contribute to organizational behavior theory as well as provide actionable insights for employees in organizations.

It’s the Journey, Not Just the Destination: Conveying Interpersonal Warmth in Written Introductions

This research examines how self-promotion conducted by relatively higher ranked individuals affects observers’ affect and motivation. We developed and tested the idea of a Self-Promotion Boost—superior self-promoters inspire lower ranked observers by sharing achievement-related information that reflects opportunities to succeed in relevant domains, eliciting high-activation positive affect and greater motivation. Results from nine experimental studies (total N = 2,599) revealed that (1) interactions involving self-promotion by superiors (vs. peers or subordinates) lead observers to report greater experiences of high-activation positive affect (e.g., hope, inspiration), whereas peers and subordinates (vs. superiors) generate greater high-activation negative affect. (2) The positive effects of superiors’ self-promotion go above and beyond effects elicited by superiors in interactions devoid of self-promotion. (3) Observers’ inferences of self-promoters’ earned success mediate the relationships between self-promoter rank and observer high-activation positive and negative affect. (4) High-activation positive affect elicited by superiors in turn leads to greater observer-reported motivation. Finally, (5) we found support for our theory that these effects are strengthened when observers view the self-promoting superiors as role models: Superiors elicit high-activation positive affect when they (a) are admired and respected by observers, (b) communicate what observers deem to be achievable successes, and (c) share accomplishments relevant to observers’ own domain of success. Our findings illustrate the positive effects self-promotion can have on observers of this behavior, and how this behavior can consequently bolster observer motivation. We discuss implications for the literature on self-promotion, social comparison, and social motivation.

With Ovul Sezer (Cornell University) and Nadav Klein (INSEAD)

Published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2023, Volume 177.

The Self-Promotion Boost: Positive Consequences for Observers of High-Rank Self-Promoters

This research examines how self-promotion conducted by relatively higher ranked individuals affects observers’ affect and motivation. We developed and tested the idea of a Self-Promotion Boost—superior self-promoters inspire lower ranked observers by sharing achievement-related information that reflects opportunities to succeed in relevant domains, eliciting high-activation positive affect and greater motivation. Results from nine experimental studies (total N = 2,599) revealed that (1) interactions involving self-promotion by superiors (vs. peers or subordinates) lead observers to report greater experiences of high-activation positive affect (e.g., hope, inspiration), whereas peers and subordinates (vs. superiors) generate greater high-activation negative affect. (2) The positive effects of superiors’ self-promotion go above and beyond effects elicited by superiors in interactions devoid of self-promotion. (3) Observers’ inferences of self-promoters’ earned success mediate the relationships between self-promoter rank and observer high-activation positive and negative affect. (4) High-activation positive affect elicited by superiors in turn leads to greater observer-reported motivation. Finally, (5) we found support for our theory that these effects are strengthened when observers view the self-promoting superiors as role models: Superiors elicit high-activation positive affect when they (a) are admired and respected by observers, (b) communicate what observers deem to be achievable successes, and (c) share accomplishments relevant to observers’ own domain of success. Our findings illustrate the positive effects self-promotion can have on observers of this behavior, and how this behavior can consequently bolster observer motivation. We discuss implications for the literature on self-promotion, social comparison, and social motivation.

With Andy Yap (INSEAD)

Published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2024, Volume 126, Issue 2.

When Brokers Don’t Broker: Mitigating Referral Aversion in Third-Party Help Exchange

Help exchange—whether for technical solutions, career advice, socioemotional support, or scarce resources—constitutes the very fabric of productive organizational life. Yet, a growing body of research has documented various ways in which help requesters and requestees misperceive each other, undermining their chances of giving and receiving help. So far, this line of research has focused on dyadic exchange and paid limited attention to triadic exchange involving third parties. To close this gap, the present research examines misperceptions that hinder requestees from offering referrals to potentially more willing or capable third parties. Six experiments (n = 2863) demonstrate what we term referral aversion, stemming from concerns about what offering unsolicited referrals instead of direct help might signal to requesters. Because of referral aversion, requestees overestimate how negatively requesters will react to unsolicited referrals versus (solicited or unsolicited) direct help. We also propose a simple intervention to mitigate referral aversion: making a generalized rather than personalized help request (i.e., asking for help from “you or someone you know” rather than “you”). In a field experiment (n = 541), participants who made generalized help requests to peers on a problem-solving task received higher quality help from both requestees and third parties, suggesting that seeking third-party help can promote help exchange in multiple ways. Altogether, these studies draw critical attention to the growing recognition that the process of reaching and connecting third parties is hardly automatic or frictionless and open new lines of inquiry on how to promote third party help exchange.

With Yejin Park (NYU Stern) and Ko Kuwabara (University of Kentucky)

Published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2024, Volume 180.

The Attractiveness Advantage at Work: A Cross-Disciplinary Integrative Review

Compared with people of average attractiveness, the highly attractive earn roughly 20 percent more and are recommended for promotion more frequently. The dominant view of this “attractiveness advantage” is one of taste-based discrimination, whereby attractive individuals are preferred without justification in economic productivity. We conduct a comprehensive review of research on attractiveness discrimination, finding relatively more evidence that this phenomenon constitutes, to some extent, statistical (as opposed to solely taste-based) discrimination, in which decision makers assume that attractive people are more competent and discriminate based on instrumental motives. We then review research that speaks to whether decision makers might be correct in assuming that attractive workers are more productive, finding that the attractive possess a slight advantage in human and a notable advantage in social capital. We finally review studies evaluating whether an advantage exists beyond that explained by capital differences. We find that the current body of work provides inconclusive evidence of taste-based but relatively more conclusive evidence of statistical discrimination processes. Our integrative view suggests how attractiveness biases can be detected more effectively, and points to key directions for future research on the sources of the attractiveness advantage. We conclude by discussing the promise of an integrative approach to understanding other achievement gaps, such as those on the basis of gender, race, and social class.

With Marko Pitesa (Singapore Management University) and Stefan Thau (INSEAD)

Published in the Academy of Management Annals, 2020, Volume 14, Issue 2.

Professions, Honesty, and Income

Professional choices influence valued outcomes such as income, life satisfaction, and social status. However, public opinion polls consistently illustrate that an individual's profession also influences how honest one is perceived to be, and people are motivated to see themselves as honest for many reasons. Why would people choose professions that do not confer them with the benefits of honesty? Survey data reveals honesty perceptions to positively correlate with a profession's conferred prestige (i.e., perceived value to society) and negatively correlate with a profession's annual income. The tradeoff between income and honesty perceptions suggests a wage differential mechanism—employees may maintain a positive self-concept through increased income which compensates for costs incurred by working in a profession characterized by low honesty.

With Stefan Thau (INSEAD)

Published in Current Opinion in Psychology, 2022, Volume 47.

Behavioral Insights for Minimizing Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Social distancing is a necessary policy with an unfortunate name. Although maintaining geographical, or physical, distance from one another is important for slowing the spread of COVID-19, people should strive to maintain social connections even while physically apart. That is because the lack of connection and the attendant loneliness that can result from physical distancing are not benign: loneliness can impair well-being and harm health. In this article, we review evidence demonstrating the ill effects of loneliness and summarize actions that psychological science suggests can enhance social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic despite physical distancing. We also discuss ways that governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations can help motivate people to adopt these actions. Efforts to mitigate the medical risks of COVID-19 should not have to exacerbate the public health problem of loneliness.

With Benjamin Rogers (UNC Chapel Hill), Ovul Sezer (Cornell University), and Nadav Klein (INSEAD)

Published in Current Opinion in Psychology, 2022, Volume 47.

Does that Pose Become You? Testing the Effect of Body Postures on Self-Concept

Self-concept expansion predicts a range of adaptive outcomes. An intriguing possible cause of self-concept expansion is the posing of one’s body expansively, that is, “power posing.” In Study 1 (N = 65), we found that body expansion had an effect, of moderate magnitude (d = 0.58), on self-concept size in college women as measured by the Twenty Statements Test. Participants who were randomly assigned to hold expanded poses (vs. contracted) – under the guise of a cover story about holding different body positions to test the accuracy of wireless electrodes – wrote significantly more self-statements than those who assumed contracted positions. In pre-registered Study 2 we tested whether this finding was replicable and extended this research by aiming to characterize the process by which it occurred. One hundred and twenty-eight women students were randomly assigned to hold either expanded or contracted postures. They completed surveys measuring two general classes of potential mediators (“broaden-and-build” and “narrow-and-disrupt”), body self-objectification as a moderator, and four indices of self-concept size. Posture was not found to affect self-concept size, nor was it moderated by self-objectification. Though there was no effect on self-expansion, in exploratory analyses, assigned posture affected one of the broaden-and-build measures: psychological flexibility. Results of Study 2 could indicate that a mere two minutes of holding an expanded versus contracted body posture is not enough to induce changes in self-concept size; lack of main effects could in addition be due to a range of unmeasured confounders and/or the fragile and transient nature of the effect.

With Benita Jackson (Smith College), Laura Smart Richman (Duke University), Onawa LaBelle (University of Michigan), and Nicolas Rohleder (Brandeis University)

Published in Current Results in Social Psychology, 2017, Volume 2, Issue 1.

PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED PUBLICATIONS

Why Telling Your Story Beats Listing Your Wins

Published in IE Insights

A Simple Phrase for Getting Better Help

With Ko Kuwabara (University of Kentucky) and Yejin Park (NYU Stern)

Published in INSEAD Knowledge

Braggy Bosses Can Boost Their Teams

With Andy Yap (INSEAD)

Published in INSEAD Knowledge

We Love Bosses Who Brag About Their Accomplishments at Work—And Loathe Colleague Who Do the Same, Surprising New Research by INSEAD Shows

With Andy Yap (INSEAD)

Published in Fortune

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Kindness at Work

With Ovul Sezer (Cornell University) and Nadav Klein (INSEAD)

Published in Harvard Business Review