Kaitlin Woolley (on leave)

Biography

Kaitlin Woolley is an associate professor of marketing at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where she studies questions related to consumer behavior and decision-making. Her particular expertise is within the realm of goal pursuit and motivation. Her research examines the psychological factors separating the goals consumers achieve from the goals they fail at. By uncovering new insights into the processes affecting goal pursuit, she develops and demonstrates the efficacy of interventions to increase consumers' motivation.

Woolley's research is published in top journals in marketing and psychology, including the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Science. Her work is regularly featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and NPR. Woolley has won several awards and honors for her research, including the Early Career Award from the Society for Consumer Psychology, the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, and the Young Scholar Award from the Marketing Science Institute.

Woolley currently serves on the Editorial Review Boards for the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing Research. She is a two-time recipient of the Journal of Consumer Research's Outstanding Reviewer Award.

At Johnson, Woolley connects with MBA students in teaching the core marketing course and an elective on customer insights. She earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in psychology from Cornell University. Her MBA and PhD are from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Selected Publications

• Stillman, Paul; Woolley, Kaitlin. "Undermining Desire: Reducing Unhealthy Choices by Highlighting Short-Term (vs. Long-Term) Costs"Journal of Consumer Research. 50.3 (2023): 554-575
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Kupor, Daniella; Liu, Peggy. "Does Company Size Shape Product Quality Inferences? Larger Companies Make Better High-Tech Products, but Smaller Companies Make Better Low-Tech Products"Journal of Marketing Research. 60.3 (2023): 425-448
• Giurge, Laura; Woolley, Kaitlin. "Working During Non-Standard Work Time Undermines Intrinsic Motivation"Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 170 (2022): 104134
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Fishbach, Ayelet. "Motivating Personal Growth by Seeking Discomfort"Psychological Science. 33.4 (2022): 510-523
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Sharif, Marissa. "Down a Rabbit Hole: How Prior Media Consumption Shapes Subsequent Media Consumption"Journal of Marketing Research. 59.3 (2022): 453-471
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Sharif, Marissa. "Incentives Increase Relative Positivity of Review Content and Enjoyment of Review Writing"Journal of Marketing Research. 58.3 (2021): 539-558
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Liu, Peggy. "How You Estimate Calories Matters: Calorie Estimation Reversals"Journal of Consumer Research. 48.1 (2021): 147-168
• Lopez, Jessica; Woolley, Kaitlin; McGill, Ann. "A preference for preference: Lack of subjective preference evokes dehumanization"Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 164 (2021): 52-67
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Risen, Jane. "Hiding from the Truth: When and How Cover Enables Information Avoidance"Journal of Consumer Research. 47.5 (2021): 675-697

Awards and Honors

• Early Career Award (2022) Society for Consumer Psychology
• Rising Star (2021) Association for Psychological Science
• MSI Young Scholars Award (2021) Marketing Science Institute
• Outstanding Reviewer Award (2020) Journal of Consumer Research

Academic Degrees

• PhD Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 2017
• MBA Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 2017
• BA Cornell University, 2012

In the News

• May 03, 2022 Why You Should Think Twice About Wanting to Work on Weekends
• March 29, 2022 Leaving your comfort zone inspires motivation, growth
• May 10, 2022 Kaitlin Woolley on goal-setting and motivations