C.V.

Blog

New research on humor in the workplace

Benign violation theory sighting in forthcoming research by Sam Yam and colleagues. Here is an article about it. What I like about this work is that it highlights both the risks and rewards of being funny at work: A leader who issues a steady drumbeat of ‘benign violations’ through his

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Beyond advertising: Marketing research on humor and consumer goals

The Journal of Consumer Research is publishing a paper that I wrote with Caleb Warren (University of Arizona) and Adam Barsky (University of Melbourne). We look beyond advertising research at ways humor has important effects on people’s lives. The abstract: Humor, Comedy, and Consumer Behavior Consumers regularly experience humor while

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Pitch Lab comes to the Leeds School of Business

The robots are coming. With that in mind, I have been incorporating communication, creativity, and charisma lessons into my marketing management course. Students are going to need those skills during the fourth industrial revolution. The Leeds School recently covered a comedy-inspired “pitch lab” that I recently hosted.  Here is an

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Leeds Business Insights comes to Denver (11/7)

Quick post: Last chance to RSVP for Leeds Business Insights event down in Denver tomorrow night (11/17/2017). Innovative research for real-world impact Leeds Business Insights is a series of speaking and networking engagements featuring today’s groundbreaking research that shapes tomorrow’s workplace. Come engage with your fellow alumni and our world-renowned faculty

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Nobel Prize inspired repost: Emotional Accounting

Inspired by Richard Thaler’s Nobel Prize in Economics, here are a couple of old posts about emotional accounting–research that complements his work on mental accounting: Emotional Accounting Part 1 (complementing mental accounting): My good friend Jonathan Levav and I published a paper in the Journal of Marketing Research that examines how people’s

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A note from a comedian

I occasionally receive emails from (real) people commenting on the benign violation theory. Sometimes the message is critical. And sometimes complimentary. I received this message from a comedian (who asked to remain anonymous). It’s a thoughtful take connecting the theory to comedy: Dear Dr. McGraw — What interests me most

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Creative PhD students

I am teaching a PhD seminar on consumer and managerial decision making. I have a schedule conflict with an upcoming class. So, I asked the students to come up with a useful way to spend that time (until I can get the class rescheduled). Their first suggestion was to engage

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Are “K” sounds funny?

      Comedians often believe that words with a “k” sounds makes things funnier. Just google “K sound comedy,” and you will see lots of posts about it. Grammar Girl even dedicated a post to it: The humor potential of the letter ‘k’ has been part of comic lore

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SOLO | Gordon Morris | Singles Advocacy
Podcast - Solo

Unmarried Equality

  This episode seeks to explore the singles advocacy movement with Gordon Morris, who is aiming to breathe new life into Unmarried Equality, a nonprofit

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Podcast - I'm Not Joking

Curtain Call

  Welcome to the final episode of I’M NOT JOKING. Comedian JD Lopez returns from Episode 1 to debrief and reflect on Peter’s experience building

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