My Research
The human mind is capable of remarkable accomplishments, from figuring out ways to defy gravity to theorizing about approaches to cure once-fatal diseases. But it also can be swayed in the wrong direction, predictably, by seemingly irrelevant factors. My research examines imperfections of human judgment and behavior, as well as their consequences for individual, group, and organizational outcomes. My work focuses on three primary domains: social influence, ethics, and creativity. While different, these streams of research have shared the same overarching, long-term goal: to deepen our understanding of the predictable failures of the human mind and fill the gaps in our knowledge of the ways in which human judgments, decisions, and behavior can be improved, or at least nudged in the right direction.
Social Influence
My work in this first stream of research examines the psychology of social influence, or the way in which our thoughts and actions are affected by other people. Advice taking is one fruitful area in the study of social influence, as it requires people to weigh their own opinions and judgments against those of others. Before making an important decision - such as choosing an investment, launching a product, or selecting members for a new team - people often consult others for their opinions. Once they receive the advice, do they use it wisely? Over the years, my research on this topic has identified when and why people overweight bad advice, and when and why they discount good recommendations (e.g., Gino, 2006, 2008; Gino & Moore, 2007; Gino & Schweitzer, 2008). And as I collected more evidence demonstrating that we are often poor evaluators of our own opinions and those of others, I started to explore the question of whether we perform any better when it comes to giving or seeking advice.
Ethics and Moral Judgment
My work on ethical decision making and the psychology of moral judgment illustrates how even small factors can turn us away from our moral self. When and why do ordinary people cross ethical boundaries? And how can they routinely engage in dishonest acts without feeling guilty about their behavior? Do people cross ethical boundaries only for their own benefit? My reasearch addresses these questions in various contexts, using both laboratory and field data. The basic premise of this line of work is that even good people regularly engage in behavior that violates their own ethical principles, either because they do not realize they are behaving dishonestly (e.g., Gino & Bazerman, 2009), because they can't resist the temptation to act unethically (e.g., Mead, Baumeister, Gino, Schweitzer, & Ariely, 2009) or because they find effective ways to overlook or rationalize their choices (e.g., Shu, Gino, & Bazerman, 2009). Healthy work and social environments depend on the ability of leaders and employees alike to spread ethical norms and values, while reducing the attractiveness of unethical misconduct. I believe studying how managers and their organizations can best accomplish this goal is an important realm for my research in the years to come.
Creativity
My third stream of research focuses on creativity. My work in this area investigates how creativity at the individual and group level can be boosted, and how people often misjudge the beneficial effects of creativity-enhancing factors. For instance, one of my projects in this area examines the effects of learning from different types of experience and mental models on creativity, at both the individual (Miron-Spektor, Gino, & Argote, 2009) and group level (Gino, Argote, Miron-Spektor, & Todorova, 2009; Gino, Todorova, Miron-Spektor, & Argote, 2009). Some of this research has distinguished between the influence of prior experience with the task and prior experience with other members, a distinction that seems to have important consequences not only for creativity but also for performance and learning (Staats, Gino, & Pisano, 2009; Garvin, Edmondson, & Gino, 2008).