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Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

by Dina Gerdeman

Refusing to act on advice from a respected colleague or mentor can backfire and damage your working relationship, a new study says. Hayley Blunden explains the career implications of seeking counsel from others. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Calculators for Women: When Identity Appeals Provoke Backlash

by Tami Kim, Kate Barasz, Leslie John, and Michael Norton

With calculators targeted to women and laundry products aimed at men, examples of identity-based labeling—or “identity appeals”—abound in advertising and marketing. Five studies show when and why such identity appeals backfire. Identity appeals may fail equally whether they evoke negative or just milder stereotypes.

The Revision Bias

by Ximena Garcia-Rada, Leslie John, Ed O’Brien, and Michael I. Norton

Companies often release revised editions of books, director’s cuts of movies, and technological updates, on the assumption that revising products and services leads to better outcomes. Nine studies, however, document the revision bias: the tendency to prefer things that were revised, regardless of whether the revised versions are objectively better than their predecessors.

The Legacy of Boaty McBoatface: Beware of Customers Who Vote

by Michael Blanding

Companies that encourage consumers to vote online should be forewarned—they may expect more than you promise, according to research by Michael Norton, Leslie John, and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Warning: Scary Warning Labels Work!

by Dina Gerdeman

If you want to convince consumers to stay away from unhealthy diet choices, don't be subtle about possible consequences, says Leslie John. These graphically graphic warning labels seem to do the trick. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

5 Career-Related New Year’s Resolutions (and 5 Tips for Keeping Them)

by Carmen Nobel

Here are well-researched tips from Harvard Business School faculty to help you keep your career-related resolutions this year. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Beware the Lasting Impression of a 'Temporary' Selfie

by Rachel Layne

Some social media apps promise to delete your messages after they are read. The problem: The memory of your uninhibited behavior lingers. Research by Leslie K. John and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 17, 2017

Sean Silverthorne

Beware the lasting impression of a temporary selfie ... Competing against Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto film festivals ... Should a leading game developer sell out?

'Likes' Lead to Nothing—and Other Hard-Learned Lessons of Social Media Marketing

by Dina Gerdeman

A decade-and-a-half after the dawn of social media marketing, brands are still learning what works and what doesn't with consumers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

People Have an Irrational Need to Complete 'Sets' of Things

by Carmen Nobel

People are irrationally motivated to complete arbitrary sets of tasks, donations, or purchases—and organizations can take advantage of that, according to new research by Kate Barasz, Leslie John, Elizabeth Keenan, and Michael Norton. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

Sean Silverthorne

Advice for those seeking advice ... Should CEOs become social activists? ... What companies don’t know about location.

First Look at New Research, March 14

Sean Silverthorne

Is a Facebook 'like' worth anything? ... One company's Brexit strategy ... In Japan, 'womenomics' is a national priority.

5 New Year's Resolutions You Can Keep (With the Help of Behavioral Science Research)

by Carmen Nobel

As 2017 begins, we share some well-researched tips—based on the findings of behavioral economists at Harvard Business School—to help our readers keep some common New Year’s resolutions. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The 10 Most Popular 'Cold Call' Podcasts

Re: Multiple Faculty

As the year comes to a close, we revisit the Cold Call podcasts that attracted the most listeners in 2016. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Behavioral Economists Can Make You a Healthier Consumer and Smarter Marketer

by Amelia Kunhardt

Video What’s behind the decisions we make, especially when it comes to eating well and losing weight? Can companies motivate employees to make healthier decisions? Leslie John discusses "interventions" to help people make better decisions when it comes to their health. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

When Predicting Other People's Preferences, You're Probably Wrong

by Carmen Nobel

Marketers, job hunters and people looking for mates are all called upon to predict behavior—and many are probably wrong. The reason: We erroneously make assumptions about what others will like and dislike based on their previous choices, according to new research by Kate Barasz, Tami Kim, and Leslie John. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Key to Keeping Resolutions? Betting Against Yourself

Re: Leslie K. John

It’s been a few months since many of us made New Year’s resolutions. Have you stuck with yours? Professor Leslie John studies how to help people change bad habits (and reinforce good ones) by looking at what makes them tick. Here, she discusses stickK, an application that motivates people by forcing them to put skin in the game of self-improvement. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Role of Incentive Salience in Habit Formation

by Leslie John, Katherine L. Milkman, Francesca Gino, Bradford Tuckfield, and Luca Foschini

Obesity is a serious problem in the United States. One established way to increase individuals’ exercise is to provide incentives, but merely offering them is not enough to change behavior. A field experiment with users of a pedometer-tracking app showed that marketing the incentives matters: Incentives that included a marketing component produced significantly more behavior change and more lasting exercise habits than incentives without significant marketing.

The Surprising Benefits of Oversharing

by Michael Blanding

In a social media culture that encourages sharing of embarrassing information, revealing too much can benefit individuals but hurt businesses. New research papers from Leslie John and Michael Luca help explain why. Open for comment; 10 Comment(s) posted.

Deconstructing the Price Tag

by Dina Gerdeman

A new study by Bhavya Mohan, Ryan Buell, and Leslie John has an important conclusion for retailers: Explaining what it costs to produce a product can potentially increase its sales. Open for comment; 10 Comment(s) posted.