Vladas Griskevicius joined the faculty of the Carlson School's marketing department as an assistant professor in 2008 after earning his PhD in social psychology at Arizona State University.  Griskevicius' prolific research has made him an expert in the area of evolutionary consumer behavior, which utilizes theoretical principles from evolutionary biology to study consumers' often unconscious preferences, decision processes, and behavioral strategies.  His work on conspicuous product displays and donations as a mating strategy has been recognized by the Society for Consumer Psychology and reported in The Economist.  Additionally, his research on the influence of emotions on desire for uniqueness and conformity was lauded by the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, the New York Times has covered his study of conforming to social norms, and his work has been published in top-tier marketing and psychology journals.

• Evolutionary biology and consumer behavior
• Psychology of status competition and mating
• Conspicuous consumption, charity, and altruism
• Influence of specific positive emotions on behavior
• Persuasion, advertising, and peer influence

Full List of Publications

Selected Recent Publications:

• "Fear and Loving in Las Vegas: Evolution, Emotion, and Persuasion," V. Griskevicius, N.J. Goldstein, C.R. Mortenson, J. M Sundie, R.B. Cialdini, and D. T. Kenrick, Journal of Marketing Research (forthcoming).
  
  
• "Normative Social Influence is Underdetected," J.M. Nolan, P.W. Schultz, R. B. Cialdini, N.J. Goldstein, and V. Griskevicius, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (July 2008).
  
  
• "A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels," N.J. Goldstein, R.B. Cialdini, and V. Griskevicius, Journal of Consumer Research (forthcoming).
  
  
• "Applying (and Resisting) Peer Influence," V. Griskevicius, R.B. Cialdini, and N.J. Goldstein, Sloan Management Review (Winter 2008).
  
  
• "Blatant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption: When Romantic Motives Elicit Strategic Costly Signals," V. Griskevicius, J.M. Tybur, J.M. Sundie, R.B. Cialdini, G.F. Miller, and D. T. Kenrick, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2007).

Vladas Griskevicius CV

Selected Media

• March 17, 2008.  "Dos and Don'ts of Gentle Prodding," by Alex Mindlin, New York Times.
  
  
• December 6, 2007.  "Philanthroparties Catching On," by Judy Gerstel, The Toronto Star.
  
  
• August 2, 2007.  "Evolutionary Psychology: Blatant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption," in The Economist.
  

Recent Presentations

• February 2008, "The Many Shades of Rose-Colored Glasses: Positive Emotions and Persuasion," presented to teh Evoluationary Pre-Conference, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Albuquerque, NM.
  
  
• October 2007, "Blatant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption: When Romantic Motives Elicit Strategic Costly Signals," presented as part of a symposium on "Homo Consumicus: Emerging Research in Evolutionary Consumer Behavior," co-chaired by Griskevicius at the Association for Consumer Research Conference, Memphis, TN.
  
  
• October 2007, "Fear and Loving in Las Vegas: Evolution, Emotion, and Persuasion," presented as part of a symposium on "The Social Nature of Consumption," at the Association for Consumer Research Conference, Memphis, TN.
  
  

Selected Honors

• Best Competitive Paper Award from the Society for Consumer Psychology, 2007.
  
  
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2004-2007.

Vladas Griskevicius, Assistant Professor of Marketing

Carlson School of Management

University of Minnesota

321 Nineteenth Avenue South, Suite 3-150

Minneapolis, MN  55455-0438  USA

(612) 626-3793, fax (612) 624-8804

vladasg@umn.edu

Instructional Profile