Vicki Morwitz

I am a faculty member in the Marketing Department of the Stern School of Business where I hold the Harvey Golub Professor of Business Leadership. In 2014 I was named a Fellow of the Society for Consumer Psychology, and I have served on the Executive Board (2010-2013) and as President of the Society for Consumer Psychology (2011-2012). I am the co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research, and have served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Marketing Research, and on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and Marketing Letters.

My research largely falls into three different areas: (1) Using lab experiments and large scale field studies to examine the impact of making self-predictions on behavior. This research demonstrates that the mere act of being asked what one will do in the future can change future behavior. This happens because predicting what one will do in the future increases the salience of thoughts related to the behavior which can increase or decrease the future likelihood of engaging in the behavior, depending on the nature and valence of the thoughts. (2) Using lab experiments and auction studies to identify biases in how consumers process price information and how they set financial budgets. This research identifies biases in how consumers process surcharges when firms use partitioned or drip pricing, prices with 9-endings, free offerings, the accuracy of consumers’ price comparisons, and the accuracy of budgets consumers set for different time periods. (3) Using lab and field experiments, economic models, eye tracking, and single neuron studies in humans to examine the effectiveness of communications in the domains of public health and charitable giving. This research examines engagement with and the effectiveness of public service advertisements, the impact of food labels on consumption and feelings of satiety, and identifies communication methods non-profits can use to increase charitable giving when there are large numbers of recipients in need and for preparedness versus emergency appeals.