Kaitlin Woolley

Biography

Professor Kaitlin Woolley is an assistant professor of marketing at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Professor Woolley studies consumer motivation and goal pursuit, with a focus on understanding what consumers value when pursuing their goals and how to use this to increase goal persistence. She also researches the influence of goal conflict on consumer choice, and the role food consumption plays in social connection. Woolley's research has been published in journals and book chapters, including Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It has been featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, NPR, and Psychology Today.

At Johnson, Professor Woolley teaches the core marketing course and the consumer behavior course. Woolley earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in psychology from Cornell University. She earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Her PhD is in behavioral science from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Selected Publications

• Woolley, Kaitlin; Sharif, Marissa. "Incentives Increase Relative Positivity of Review Content and Enjoyment of Review Writing"Journal of Marketing Research. (forthcoming).
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Lopez, Jessica; McGill, Ann. "A preference for preference: Lack of subjective preference evokes dehumanization"Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 164 (2021): 52-67
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Liu, Peggy. "How You Estimate Calories Matters: Calorie Estimation Reversals"Journal of Consumer Research. (forthcoming).
• Sharif, Marissa; Woolley, Kaitlin. "The Effect of Categorization on Goal Progress Perceptions and Motivation"Journal of Consumer Research. 47.4 (2020): 608-630
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Risen, Jane. "Hiding from the Truth: When and How Cover Enables Information Avoidance"Journal of Consumer Research. (forthcoming).
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Fishbach, Ayelet; Wang, Ronghan. "Food Restriction and the Experience of Social Isolation"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 119.3 (2020): 657-671
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Fishbach, Ayelet. "Shared Plates, Shared Minds: Consuming from a Shared Plate Promotes Cooperation"Psychological Science. 30.4 (2019): 541-552
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Risen, Jane. "Closing Your Eyes to Follow Your Heart: Avoiding Information to Protect a Strong Intuitive Preference"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 114.2 (2018): 230-245
• Woolley, Kaitlin; Fishbach, Ayelet. "It's About Time: Earlier Rewards Increase Intrinsic Motivation"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 114.6 (2018): 877-890

Awards and Honors

• Rising Star (2021) Association for Psychological Science
• MSI Young Scholars Award (2021) Marketing Science Institute
• Outstanding Reviewer Award (2020) Journal of Consumer Research
• Cornell Center for Social Sciences Faculty Fellowship (2021) Cornell University
• Clifford H. Whitcomb Faculty Fellowship (2020) SC Johnson College of Business

Recent Courses

• NBA 6260 - Consumer Behavior
• NMI 5000 - Directed Reading & Research
• NCC 5030 - Marketing Management

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

• March 18, 2021 Should you make your preferences clear? Study suggests yes
• September 21, 2020 Goal Pursuit, Information Avoidance, and Social Connection Around Food
• July 22, 2020 Don't Work on Vacation. Seriously.