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How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

by Michael Blanding

People need all kinds of relationships to thrive: partners, acquaintances, colleagues, and family. Research by Michael Norton and Alison Wood Brooks offers new reasons to pick up the phone and reconnect with that old friend from home.

Latest Isn’t Always Greatest: Why Product Updates Capture Consumers

by Michael Blanding

Consumers can't pass up a product update—even if there's no improvement. Research by Leslie John, Michael Norton, and Ximena Garcia-Rada illustrates the powerful allure of change. Are we really that naïve?

Rituals at Work: Teams That Play Together Stay Together

by Kristen Senz

Rituals—even seemingly silly ones—help employees bond and add meaning to their work, says research by Michael Norton, Francesca Gino, and colleagues. After two years of pandemic disruption, who wouldn't welcome a workday pick-me-up? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

A New Way to Cut Credit Card Debt: Pay Off One Purchase at a Time

by Kristen Senz

Letting credit card customers pay back specific purchases encourages borrowers to go beyond the minimum, says research by Michael Norton and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

'Repayment-by-Purchase' Helps Consumers to Reduce Credit Card Debt

by Grant E. Donnelly, Cait Lamberton, Stephen Bush, Zoe Chance, and Michael I. Norton

Many consumers fail to pay off credit card debt each month and suffer financial consequences. Repayment-by-purchase, allocating payment toward specific purchases on a credit card bill, helps consumers gain a sense of progress and control over credit card debt.

Consumers Punish Firms that Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19

by Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty, and Michael Norton

In the wake of COVID-19, firms announced both employee furloughs and (typically small) CEO wage cuts. This research shows that firms’ treatment of employees matters far more to consumers than executive pay cuts.

Spreading the Health: Americans' Estimated and Ideal Distributions of Death and Health(care)

by Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton

Across varying political ideologies and income levels, Americans both underestimate the current extent of inequality of mortality and healthcare, and prefer each to be more equally distributed.

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

by Dina Gerdeman and Danielle Kost

Pandemic uncertainty doesn't have to spell doom. Happiness experts at Harvard Business School offer these research-based strategies for managing stress. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells

by Dina Gerdeman

Just how far will women go to avoid products labeled "for women?" Research by Leslie K. John and colleagues explores why gender marketing usually offends the very people a company is trying to attract. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Rituals Strengthen Couples. Here’s Why They’re Good for Business, Too

by Dina Gerdeman

Couples with deliberate rituals feel more satisfied with their relationships, says research by Michael I. Norton and Ximena Garcia-Rada. Can businesses benefit? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Is the Digital Age Making Us Petty?

by Kristen Senz

Mobile payment apps help us keep track of shared costs but may also frustrate personal relationships. Research into perceived pettiness by Tami Kim, Ting Zhang, and Michael I. Norton. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

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.

Shaky Business: How Handshakes Win Negotiations

by Michael Blanding

A handshake before a negotiation can have a surprisingly strong effect on the outcome, according to Michael Norton, Francesca Gino, and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

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; 0 Comments.

Amount and Diversity of Digital Emotional Expression Predicts Happiness

by Laura Vuillier, Alison Wood Brooks, June Gruber, Rui Sun, Michael I. Norton, Matthew James Samson, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Paul Piff, Sarah Fan, Jordi Quoidbach, Charles Gorintin, Pete Fleming, Arturo Bejar, and Dacher Keltner

Emoticons might seem trivial because they require just the tap of a finger, but this study shows how emoticons make a difference in overall emotion expression. People use emoticons to highlight the emotions they intend to convey, and emoticons also serve as predictors—and causes—of happiness and well-being.

Backhanded Compliments: How Negative Comparisons Undermine Flattery

by Ovul Sezer, Alison Wood Brooks, and Michael I. Norton

Backhanded compliments seem like praise but can leave a sting. This study explores the psychology of backhanded compliments. Flatterers deploy backhanded compliments to garner liking while conveying social status. Recipients view praise of this kind as strategic put-downs and penalize would-be flatterers even as the backhanded compliment undermines their motivation and perseverance.

Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores

by Dina Gerdeman

In an age of time scarcity, buying our way out of the negative moments in the day is an important key to happiness, according to research by Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, and Rene Bekkers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 15, 2017

Sean Silverthorne

You’ll come around ... Is a deeply religious business culture ready for an acquisition? ... How historians should look at emerging markets

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 1

Sean Silverthorne

The surprising consequences of brand flirtation ... Is the Watson strategy working at IBM? ... What managers owe society.