Decisions and Psychological Ownership

Professor Suzanne Shu specializes in the areas of behavioral economics and decision research. She focuses primarily on consumer self-control problems, consumption timing issues, and financial decision making during retirement. Professor Shu and host Paul Witko discuss foundational concepts in behavioral economics, looking at choice architecture and the idea of “nudges”. She also shares research around personal health decisions and sticking to a fitness goal. Lastly, Professor Shu goes into detail about how to think about decumulation of assets in retirement and why it’s so important. Suzanne Shu is the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Professor Shu received a B.S. and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and then went on to receive both her MBA and Ph.D. in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. She is an NBER Faculty Research Fellow, holds a joint faculty appointment at the UCLA Medical School, and has been a visiting scholar for several years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Links from the Episode at presentvaluepodcast.com Faculty Page: Suzanne Shu "Beyond Nudges" Paper: Beyond Nudges: Tools of Choice Architecture Psychological Ownership Paper: Psychological ownership and affective reaction: Emotional attachment process variables and the endowment effect CRC Screening Paper: Application of Behavioral Economics Principles Improves Participation in Mailed Outreach for Colorectal Decumulation Paper: The Psychology of Decumulation Decisions During Retirement