Eugene Caruso

Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and Behavioral Decision Making

About

Eugene Caruso’s interest in the psychology of judgment and decision making developed as an undergraduate at Princeton University. Caruso began his career in customer research with the marketing firm Digitas, analyzing the decision making habits of consumers, and returned to academia to earn a Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University. His dissertation explored some differences in how people perceive events that have already happened in the past compared to those that will happen in the future, with an emphasis on understanding the implications of these differences for moral and ethical decision making. The theme that persists in his research is a fascination with how two or more people who are looking at the same information, or the same seemingly objective facts, can come to very different conclusions. Prior to joining the UCLA Anderson faculty, Caruso was an associate professor in the Behavioral Science program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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13 Articles

Two columns of three different menu price plans for internet services. Research Brief / Nudges

A Common Marketing Nudge Can Foster Consumer Distrust

Placing an inferior ‘decoy’ option in a menu of choices can trigger people to take their business elsewhere

Aerial view of marathon city runners. One person leading marathon. Research Brief / Forecasting

Experts Struggle to Accurately Forecast Societal Change

On COVID-19’s impacts, social scientists’ predictions weren’t much better than those of laypeople

MRI Brain Axial views .to evaluate brain tumor. Research Brief / Ethics

‘They Were Already Inside My Head To Begin With’

The ethics of asking brain surgery patients to allow unrelated research while on the operating table

A hospital hallway full of mediical personnel and patients Research Brief / Health Care

Exhausted Doctors Less Likely to Prescribe Pain Meds

At the end of a night shift, empathy for patients’ hurting seems diminished

Line of bananas in order of ripeness Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

Gesturing Left to Right for Passage of Time Occurs by Age 6

Cultural norms — reading and the calendar — affect native English-speakers’ motioning constructs

An illustration of people with center character wearing a cape Feature / Workplace

Collaboration’s Downside: Individuals Take Too Much Credit

Not just the office jerk. Even good colleagues overclaim. Managing around this destructive dynamic isn’t straightforward

Illustration of a European football game Research Brief / Ethics

Is a Bad Deed That Goes Unpunished Less Bad?

In experiments, immorality and harm are deemed more extreme merely because an act was punished

Illustration of salary men Research Brief / Compensation

Employees Are OK with Unequal Pay — If They Have a Say in It

Workers involved in compensation decisions might accept a co-worker’s better deal if management didn’t unilaterally decide

A girl smiling in front of a calendar Research Brief / Bias

Future Bias Is Present by Middle School

By age 10 or earlier, kids are putting more weight on the future than the past — just like adults

Line chart with hearts Research Brief / Time

Our Envy of Prospective Events Is Greater Than of Those Past

That’s helpful information in a social media world filled with friends who do enviable things

Police body cam point of view Feature / Public Policy

Do Body Cams Give Police an Unintended Break?

Video from officer-worn cameras is judged less negatively than footage captured on dashboard cameras

Illustration of a comic Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

The Surprising Power of Giving Up Choice Control

Abdicating a decision to someone else is viewed as an act of generosity that is handsomely rewarded

Illustration of two men with one crossing his fingers behind his back Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

Being Biased against Friends to Appear Unbiased

If the boss is your friend, and compensation decisions are public, a bonus you’d get on merit might not be forthcoming