Research

Why do people sometimes fail to pursue offers, even when those offers to to have only upside? From consumers turning down (free) products to nonprofit organizations turning down (free) donations, Emily’s research documents how consumers make cost-benefit trade-offs, and how these trade-offs influence consumer decision-making. 

For example, Emily shows that consumers engage in opportunity neglect—rejecting low-probability opportunities even when these come with no objective costs—due to the subjective costs of taking their chances (e.g., being disappointed). In another paper, Emily examines the potentially damaging evaluations nonprofit institutions face when receiving donations from tainted donors. Although society is arguably better off when money moves from tainted donors to nonprofits, consumers sometimes penalize such nonprofits, viewing them as less moral and less trustworthy, and donating less to them. In her research, Emily also develops interventions, to bring to mind the benefits—rather than the costs—of the options at hand.

Emily collaborates with researchers around the world, including Mike Norton (HBS), Leslie John (HBS), Liz Keenan (HBS), George Loewenstein (CMU), Joachim Vosgerau (Bocconi), Kate Barasz (ESADE), Irene Scopelliti (City University), and Peter Ubel (Duke University).