Kurt Munz

When You Have to Assign Work No One Wants to Do Managers often try to generate buy-in for unwanted assignments by persuading, incentivizing, or softening the message—but these tactics can backfire. Research shows that what matters more than choice ...

New HBR insight on giving people the tasks no one wants—acceptance is what drives real buy-in. When employees see an assignment as final, fair, and partly within their control, they’re more likely to commit and perform well, even if it wasn’t their first choice. 🤝📈

hbr.org/2026/01/when...

“We weren’t designed to read, even though we do effortlessly and automatically.”

This remarkable property tells us a lot about brain plasticity, writes @tommyblanchard.bsky.social:

buff.ly/2OvUe3B

The Yale Center for Customer Insights is recruiting a postdoc. I was a postdoc there from 2018-2023 and highly recommend it—great mentors + unique hands-on experience doing research with companies + resources for independent research. Happy to answer any questions

apply.interfolio.com/179203

Podcasters Love YouTube. That’s Making Podcast Advertising Less Predictable. Ads that appear in video podcasts are alluring for visually-minded marketers but may perform worse on the whole than audio-only, according to a new study.

"Host-read podcast ads on YouTube are up to 25% less effective at driving purchases than in audio-only environments"
www.wsj.com/articles/pod...

The marketing department at Bocconi is now accepting applications to our PhD program!

Deadline: Jan. 15, 2026

Application info: www.unibocconi.it/en/programs/...

Program info: www.unibocconi.it/en/programs/...

Read this thread yesterday and I keep thinking back to it (which here is a testament to how interesting this work is!)

Sharing so others could keep thinking back to it too :D

@psychscience.bsky.social Submission site for Barcelona 2026 opens Oct. 30th!!! Join us in Spain for the first APS to be held outside the U.S. Many new ways to interact and to share psychological research being done around the world. www.psychologicalscience.org/conventions/...

Excited to announce our amazing lineup of speakers for the 2026 JDM preconference at SPSP!

Conference date: Feb 26th
Location: Chicago
Deadline to apply: Oct 23rd.

Application link: spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2026-p...

cc: @sdellavi.bsky.social, @hirshmansam.bsky.social, @vinisingh.bsky.social

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

I’d say that @stephencolbert.bsky.social is (with the lone exception of @maddow.msnbc.com) the most brilliant, humane person I’ve encountered in broadcasting. His mind works faster than anyone else’s at a level of sophistication that is unmatchable. Genuinely a generational talent.

Very disappointed that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is being cancelled. What a great show. What a great guy.

The AI Revolution in Marketing: How Technology is Reshaping Consumer Behavior Artificial intelligence is transforming how companies connect with their audiences. In marketing, AI-powered tools are becoming essential. From personalized ads

"AI in marketing is characterized by automation, data processing, and predictive capabilities."

See the AmericanReporter's piece on how AI is transforming consumer behavior.

The key? Moving from interruption to anticipation.

www.theamericanreporter.com/the-ai-revol...
#Marketing #AI

Two Psychologists Four Beers Episode 120: Transparent Replications (with Spencer Greenberg) Returning guest Spencer Greenberg joins the show to talk replications, what psychologist think of terror management theory (and other controversial topics), and a machine-learning tool he developed to...

Very interesting conversation

When Voices Defy Labels: The Hidden Challenge of Gender-Ambiguous Speech

https://kurtmunz.com/when-voices-defy-labels-the-hidden-challenge-of-gender-ambiguous-speech/

In extremely rare move, Harvard revokes tenure and cuts ties with star business professor An internal investigation had found that Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino’s research on why people lie and cheat was based on falsified data.

Harvard university’s top governing board, the Harvard Corporation, decided this month to revoke Francesca Gino’s tenure and end her employment at Harvard Business School www.wgbh.org/news/educati...

Cover of the Handbook of Social Psychology 6th edition 2025

Since 1954, "The Handbook of Social Psychology" has been the field’s most authoritative reference work, and today is the launch of the 6th edition with 50 new chapters by 100 leading scholars. Best news? The HSP is now an open-access public resource—free to read, download, and share. the-hsp.com

YouTube video by Bocconi University The sound of Bocconi

Bocconi has a nice new sound logo :)

Hear it at 3:05 if it doesn't take you there automatically.

youtu.be/fJY9YhhHHY8?...

If you are attending SCP in Vegas, consider joining our special session on Modalities and Consumer Behavior!

⏰ Saturday March 1, 11.30am (Grand Ballroom E).

Bocconi is hiring an assistant professor of marketing in consumer behavior.

Bocconi Marketing is hiring a rookie professor of consumer behavior. Apply by Feb 28. jobmarket.unibocconi.eu?id=747

On day 4, this is a new frontier

This is NOT cutting off new funds for research (see NIH review suspension)

These data were already out the door

It COSTS resources to yank it back

This is eliminating data access so we can’t see what is happening to us

Video: Opinion | How Tyranny Begins Tyranny doesn’t happen overnight. Take it from the people who missed the first signs.

I did a NYT video interview—along with voices from Hungary, Nicaragua, and Russia— about how repression works in authoritarian states.

www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...

I would caution people to stop relying on the Constitution as written to have any meaning other than what the people Trump put on the Supreme Court says it means.

"He can't do that" is not a useful response to the things he's going to do. The correct response is "Will the Court uphold that?"

More effective digital ads screw up your reading and reading comprehension.

This could seem obvious, but it also means one should bite their tongue before teasing anyone that prefers reading the news on paper vs. online.

LGR!

A BBC headline that reads "Donald Trump's inauguration moved indoors due to 'dangerous' cold"

Canada safe from invasion

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 The explosion of consumer-facing AI raise questions about who is more likely to adopt it. We examined how people’s knowledge of AI impact AI receptivity. Against most people’s expectations, it's not tech experts! And not for the reason you may be thinking🧵

Editorial: Improving Our Scientific Understanding of Consumer Behavior - Journal of Consumer Research “The Journal of Consumer Research is an anomaly in the ‘house of intellect’. Its primary objective is to serve as

The new incoming editorial team is now handling all initial submissions (revisions submitted through March 31 will continue to be handled by the prior team).

The introductory editorial from the new team is now posted on the JCR website:
consumerresearcher.com/editorial-im...

Eating in Designer Stores, Shopping on TikTok: Five Consumer Trends for 2025 In the coming year, marketers will reach shoppers through podcasts souped up with video and new sports like Major League Pickleball. But they will also have to address a massive distrust in online ove...

"Just over 30% of weekly podcast fans choose YouTube as the service they tune in with—more than any other single platform, including audio giant Spotify and podcast pioneer Apple"

www.wsj.com/articles/eat...

Ma dov’è la pizza napoletana?!