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- 2021
- Article
Helping and Happiness: A Review and Guide for Public Policy
By: Lara B. Aknin and Ashley V. Whillans
Perhaps one of the most reaffirming findings to emerge over the past several decades is that humans not only engage in generous behavior, they also appear to experience pleasure from doing so. Yet not all acts of helping lead to greater happiness. Here, we review the...
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Aknin, Lara B., and Ashley V. Whillans. "Helping and Happiness: A Review and Guide for Public Policy." Social Issues and Policy Review 15 (2021): 3–34.
- August 2020
- Article
Does Spending Money on Others Promote Happiness? A Registered Replication Report
By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Jason Proulx, Iris Lok and Michael I. Norton
Research indicates that spending money on others—prosocial spending—leads to greater happiness than spending money on oneself (e.g., Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008, 2014). These findings have received widespread attention because they offer insight into why people engage...
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Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, Jason Proulx, Iris Lok, and Michael I. Norton. "Does Spending Money on Others Promote Happiness? A Registered Replication Report." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 119, no. 2 (August 2020).
- Article
Common Variants of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Do Not Predict the Positive Mood Benefits of Prosocial Spending
By: Ashley V. Whillans, Lara B. Aknin, Colin Ross, Lihan Chen and Frances S. Chen
Who benefits most from helping others? Previous research suggests that common polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) predict whether people behave generously and experience increases in positive mood in response to socially-focused experiences in daily...
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Keywords:
Prosocial Behavior;
Positivity;
Behavior Genetics;
Individual Differences;
Behavior;
Emotions;
Genetics;
Spending
Whillans, Ashley V., Lara B. Aknin, Colin Ross, Lihan Chen, and Frances S. Chen. "Common Variants of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Do Not Predict the Positive Mood Benefits of Prosocial Spending." Emotion 20, no. 5 (August 2020): 734–749.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Reflexivity in Credit Markets
By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson and Lawrence J. Jin
Reflexivity is the idea that investors' biased beliefs affect market outcomes, and that market outcomes in turn affect investors' beliefs. We develop a behavioral model of the credit cycle featuring such a two-way feedback loop. In our model, investors form beliefs...
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Greenwood, Robin, Samuel G. Hanson, and Lawrence J. Jin. "Reflexivity in Credit Markets." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 25747, April 2019.
- February 2019
- Article
Pettiness in Social Exchange
By: Tami Kim, Ting Zhang and Michael I. Norton
We identify and document a novel construct—pettiness, or intentional attentiveness to trivial details—and examine its (negative) implications in interpersonal relationships and social exchange. Seven studies show that pettiness manifests across different types of...
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Kim, Tami, Ting Zhang, and Michael I. Norton. "Pettiness in Social Exchange." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 148, no. 2 (February 2019): 361–373.
- Article
The Interplay Between Sharing Behavior and Beliefs About Others in Children During Dictator Games
By: Hernando Santamaría-García, María Luz González-Gadea, Rafael Di Tella, Agustín Ibáñez and Mariano Sigman
Previous studies in adults demonstrated that beliefs and sharing decisions in social scenarios are closely related. However, to date, little is known about the development of this relationship in children. By using a modified dictator game, we assessed sharing behavior...
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Keywords:
Dictator Game;
Altruism;
Generosity;
Development;
Conveniently Upset;
Behavior;
Values and Beliefs;
Perception;
Decision Making
Santamaría-García, Hernando, María Luz González-Gadea, Rafael Di Tella, Agustín Ibáñez, and Mariano Sigman. "The Interplay Between Sharing Behavior and Beliefs About Others in Children During Dictator Games." Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 166 (February 2018): 451–464.
- Article
Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy
By: Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
Self-presentation is a fundamental aspect of social life, with myriad critical outcomes dependent on others’ impressions. We identify and offer the first empirical investigation of a prevalent, yet understudied, self-presentation strategy: humblebragging. Across nine...
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Keywords:
Humblebragging;
Impression Management;
Self-presentation;
Interpersonal Perception;
Competence;
Liking;
Sincerity;
Behavior;
Perception;
Interpersonal Communication;
Personal Characteristics
Sezer, Ovul, Francesca Gino, and Michael I. Norton. "Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 114, no. 1 (January 2018): 52–74.
- July 31, 2017
- Editorial
Isolationism Is Killing the American Dream: Effective Global Leadership Requires Generosity, Inspiration and Openness
By: Nitin Nohria
Nohria, Nitin. "Isolationism Is Killing the American Dream: Effective Global Leadership Requires Generosity, Inspiration and Openness." Financial Times (July 31, 2017).
- Article
Both Selfishness and Selflessness Start with the Self: How Wealth Shapes Responses to Charitable Appeals
By: A.V. Whillans, E.M. Caruso and E.W. Dunn
Wealth is associated with differences in people's self-concepts. We propose that these self-concepts should define the types of appeals that are most effective at motivating generosity. Across three field studies, we randomly assigned participants to view an appeal for...
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Whillans, A.V., E.M. Caruso, and E.W. Dunn. "Both Selfishness and Selflessness Start with the Self: How Wealth Shapes Responses to Charitable Appeals." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 70 (May 2017): 242–250. (This publication was featured as an "Editor's Choice" at Science in January, 2017.)
- 2017
- Working Paper
The Importance of Unemployment Insurance as an Automatic Stabilizer
By: Marco Di Maggio and Amir Kermani
We assess the extent to which unemployment insurance (UI) serves as an automatic stabilizer to mitigate the economy's sensitivity to shocks. Using a local labor market design based on heterogeneity in local benefit generosity (defined as the percentage of household...
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Keywords:
Unemployment Insurance;
Automatic Stabilizers;
Bartik Shocks;
Aggregate Demand;
System Shocks;
Employment;
Balance and Stability;
Insurance;
Volatility;
Insurance Industry
Di Maggio, Marco, and Amir Kermani. "The Importance of Unemployment Insurance as an Automatic Stabilizer." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-009, July 2016. (Revise and Resubmit to American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics.)
- Article
Chris Argyris (1923–2013)
By: Amy C. Edmondson
Chris Argyris, a pioneer in the fields of organization development, organizational learning, and action science, passed away on November 16, 2013. Argyris was born in Newark, New Jersey, on July 16, 1923, to Greek immigrant parents, and grew up in Irvington, New...
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Edmondson, Amy C. "Chris Argyris (1923–2013)." American Psychologist 70, no. 5 (July–August 2015): 473.
- January 2015
- Article
Costly Third-party Punishment in Young Children
By: Katherine McAuliffe, Jillian J. Jordan and Felix Warneken
Human adults engage in costly third-party punishment of unfair behavior, but the developmental origins of this behavior are unknown. Here we investigate costly third-partypunishment in 5- and 6-year-old children. Participants were asked to accept (enact) or reject...
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Keywords:
Third-party Punishment;
Inequity Aversion;
Social Cognition;
Cooperation;
Fairness;
Behavior
McAuliffe, Katherine, Jillian J. Jordan, and Felix Warneken. "Costly Third-party Punishment in Young Children." Cognition 134 (January 2015): 1–10.
- Article
Give What You Get: Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella) and 4-Year-Old Children Pay Forward Positive and Negative Outcomes to Conspecifics.
By: Kristin L. Leimgruber, Adrian F. Ward, Jane Widness, Michael I. Norton, Kristina R. Olson, Kurt Gray and Laurie R. Santos
The breadth of human generosity is unparalleled in the natural world, and much research has explored the mechanisms underlying and motivating human prosocial behavior. Recent work has focused on the spread of prosocial behavior within groups through paying-it-forward,...
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Leimgruber, Kristin L., Adrian F. Ward, Jane Widness, Michael I. Norton, Kristina R. Olson, Kurt Gray, and Laurie R. Santos. "Give What You Get: Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella) and 4-Year-Old Children Pay Forward Positive and Negative Outcomes to Conspecifics." PLoS ONE 9, no. 1 (January 2014).
- 2014
- Article
Paying It Forward: Generalized Reciprocity and the Limits of Generosity
By: Kurt Gray, Adrian F. Ward and Michael I. Norton
When people are the victims of greed or recipients of generosity, their first impulse is often to pay back that behavior in kind. What happens when people cannot reciprocate, but instead have the chance to be cruel or kind to someone entirely different—to pay it...
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Gray, Kurt, Adrian F. Ward, and Michael I. Norton. "Paying It Forward: Generalized Reciprocity and the Limits of Generosity." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 143, no. 1 (February 2014): 247–254.
- September 2012
- Article
Vicarious Dishonesty: When Psychological Closeness Creates Distance from One's Moral Compass
By: F. Gino and A. Galinsky
In four studies employing multiple manipulations of psychological closeness, we found that feeling connected to another individual who engages in selfish or dishonest behavior leads people to vicariously justify the actions of this individual and to behave more...
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Gino, F., and A. Galinsky. "Vicarious Dishonesty: When Psychological Closeness Creates Distance from One's Moral Compass." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 119, no. 1 (September 2012): 15–26.
- June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
- Case
Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (A)
By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker
This case focuses on Kit Hinrichs, a 65-year-old partner at Pentagram, a privately owned multidisciplinary design firm. One of the world's most prestigious design firms, Pentagram was founded by five designers from different disciplines in London in the 1970s. By 2008,...
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Keywords:
Arts;
Business Offices;
Customer Relationship Management;
Design;
Leadership;
Personal Development and Career;
Groups and Teams;
Creativity;
Service Industry;
San Francisco
Hill, Linda A., and Emily Stecker. "Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (A)." Harvard Business School Case 408-127, June 2008. (Revised July 2008.)
- June 2008
- Supplement
Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (B)
By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker
This case focuses on Kit Hindrichs, a 65 year-old partner at Pentagram, a privately-owned multidisciplinary design firm. One of the world's most prestigious design firms, Pentagram was founded by five designers from different disciplines in London in the 1970s. By...
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Keywords:
Business Offices;
Design;
Managerial Roles;
Private Ownership;
Business and Shareholder Relations;
Partners and Partnerships;
Equality and Inequality;
London;
San Francisco;
New York (state, US)
Hill, Linda A., and Emily Stecker. "Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 408-128, June 2008.
- Article
Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
We study unemployment benefit provision when the family also provides social insurance. In the benchmark case, more generous State transfers crowd out family risk-sharing one-for-one. An extension gives the State an advantage in enforcing transfers through taxes...
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Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. "Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State." Economic Journal (Royal Economic Society) 112, no. 477 (February 2002): 481–503.
- 1998
- Working Paper
Some Evidence on the Optimal Welfare State Based on Subjective Data
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
It is often difficult to evaluate all the costs and benefits of the welfare state. This paper suggests an alternative approach based on surveys of citizen satisfaction with welfare programs. In the first part of the paper we estimate the level of unemployment benefits...
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- Research Summary
Wealth & Giving
While investigating the benefits of prosocial behavior, Professor Whillans came across a puzzling finding: the more money that people make, the less they donate to charity, proportionately speaking. Given that prosocial behavior can provide a key lever for...
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