Featured Work

1. 

   Using People's Irrationality To Do Good

   A wide range of decision phenomena that are typically viewed as errors – including the default bias, loss aversion, and impulsivity – can be exploited to devise interventions to help people accomplish their goals. This talk will present innovative ways in which this idea has been applied to help people live healthier lives.
2. 

   The Impact of Relative Standards on the Propensity to Disclose

   Two sets of studies illustrate the comparative nature of disclosure behavior.  The first set investigates how divulgence is affected by signals about others’ readiness to divulge. The second set of studies suggests that divulgence is anchored by the initial questions in a survey; people are particularly likely to divulge when questions are presented in decreasing order of intrusiveness. This research helps understand how consumers’ propensity to disclose is affected by continual streams of requests for personal information, and by the equally unavoidable barrage of personal information about others.

Research Summary

1. Research Summary

   Current Research

   by Leslie K. John

   Marketing and Public Policy

   Professor John uses behavioral decision theory and both laboratory and field studies to investigate questions that are at the intersection of marketing and public policy. Specifically, she asks how firms’ behavior and policy initiatives interact to affect consumer well-being. Within this arena, she has developed three research streams.

   Consumer privacy

   As people spend more time shopping, gaming, and socializing online – and as data gathering technology has become more sophisticated – consumer privacy has become an ever more important issue. Gathering consumer data creates marketing opportunities for firms, but surrendering this information can be perilous for consumers. Professor John has examined why and in what situations consumers are willing to divulge sensitive personal information, highlighting a tension between their best interests and marketers’ motivations. She is interested in developing ways to deal with personal information that are beneficial to firms and consumers alike.

   Consumer health

   Escalating health care costs have focused attention on changing unhealthy but modifiable behaviors. Tobacco use, obesity, and alcohol abuse together account for nearly one-third of all deaths in the United States. Professor John has demonstrated that it is possible to exploit people’s decision biases, such as overconfidence and aversion to financial loss, to help them adopt more healthy behaviors.

   Professional dishonesty

   In her newest stream of research, Professor John is studying dishonesty in the workplace, building on mounting evidence that it cannot be fully explained by a rational, cost-benefit perspective.

Awards & Honors

1. Leslie K. John: Awarded a 2009 Center for Behavioral Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon Small Grant for "Social Exclusion & Self-Disclosure."

2. Leslie K. John: Awarded a 2009 Center for Behavioral Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon Small Grant for "Survey of Questionable Research Practices."

3. Leslie K. John: Awarded a 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Grant for "Financial Incentives for Weight Loss" ($70,000) with Kevin Volpp (PI) and George Loewenstein.

4. Leslie K. John: Awarded a 2007 Research Grant from the NICHD Population Studies Center, NIA Population Aging Research Center, and the Pension Research Council of Wharton at University of Pennsylvania for “Financial Incentives for Weight Loss” ($30,000) with Kevin Volpp (PI) and George Loewenstein.

5. Leslie K. John: Awarded a 2007 Hewlett Foundation Research Grant for "Financial Incentives for Weight Loss" ($28,000) with Kevin Volpp (PI) and George Loewenstein.

In the News