Research Lab
Our lab studies how people think about themselves and others, and how these perceptions shape consumer behavior. A central focus is the self—how identity and self-concept influence motivation, self-regulation, moral behavior, and responses to threats and stigma. We also examine humanization and dehumanization, exploring how perceptions of humanness, agency, and mental capacity shape responses to people, brands, objects, and emerging technologies such as generative AI. A third stream investigates consumer inference, asking how people use limited or imperfect cues to form judgments about products, people, and groups. Across these areas, our research seeks to understand the psychological processes that shape consumers’ judgments, choices, and goal-directed behavior.
Lab Members
Dongchan Lee
PhD Candidate, Northwestern University
I study consumer lay theories and inference-making, and how the resulting beliefs shape judgments of products, brands, and other people. My current work extends this to artificial intelligence, exploring how consumers judge the products it recommends, the brands that use it, and the people it depicts.
Lab Alums
Jessica
Assistant Professor, University of Oregon
Manisha Sanam
PhD Candidate, Northwestern University
Manisha Sanam
PhD Candidate, Northwestern University
I'm a second-year PhD student in consumer behavior, and my research broadly focuses on marketplace morality. My current work studies how stereotypes about low-income groups show up in the marketplace, and I'm also interested in understanding ethical and unethical consumer practices. Before starting my PhD at Kellogg, I did my MBA at IIT Madras, India, and spent a few years as a Business Analyst at Ford. I then made the switch to academia, spending two years as a research assistant at IIM Udaipur before joining Kellogg. Outside of work, I love reading, and I picked up tango as a PhD-era hobby. I also like dabbling in crafts like pottery once in a while.
Dongchan Lee
PhD Candidate, Northwestern University
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