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Gavel and scales of justice on a green-felted desk in front of bookshelves.
Feature: How U.S. Courts Privilege Conservative Policy Outcomes

Maya Sen assesses the institutional and compositional features of U.S. federal courts that tend to bias them toward conservative policy outcomes.

Map of the united states with a pin in the midwest.
Feature: The U.S. Place-Based Policy Supply Chain

Dani Rodrik and Gordon Hanson document how vertical policy supply chains distribute resources from federal and state governments to recipients at the local level.

Political leader speaks into a microphone at a podium with an advisor standing behind her.
Feature: How Does Shaming Human Rights Violators Abroad Shape Attitudes at Home?

Lotem Bassan-Nygate theorizes that by shaming human rights violators abroad, governments can improve their image at home but may encourage tolerance toward certain domestic violations.

Two people sit at a desk in front of a laptop with rows of filing cabinets behind them.
Feature: Thinking (about Peace Science) in Time

Erica Chenoweth speaks to colleagues in the peace science community, reflecting on the world events that have shaped their scholarship and how researchers might think about the current geopolitical moment.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

The role of positive emotion in harmful health behavior: Implications for theory and public health campaigns

Wang, Ke, Vaughan W. Rees, Charles A. Dorison, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "The role of positive emotion in harmful health behavior: Implications for theory and public health campaigns." PNAS 121.28 (July 1, 2024).

Feeling uncertain despite knowing the risk: Patients with OCD (but not controls) experience known and unknown probabilistic decisions as similarly distressing and uncertain

Jacoby, Ryan J., Abigail Szkutak, Jin Shin, Jennifer Lerner, and Sabine Wilhelm. "Feeling uncertain despite knowing the risk: Patients with OCD (but not controls) experience known and unknown probabilistic decisions as similarly distressing and uncertain." Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 39 (October 2023).

In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries

Dorison, Charles A., Jennifer S. Lerner, et al. "In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries." Affective Science 3 (September 2022): 577-602.

Staying the course: Decision makers who escalate commitment are trusted and trustworthy

Dorison, Charles A., Christopher K. Umphres, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Staying the course: Decision makers who escalate commitment are trusted and trustworthy." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 151.4 (April 2022): 960-965.

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Wang, Ke, Jennifer Lerner, et al. "A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic." Nature Human Behaviour 5.8 (August 2021): 1089–1110.

The rise of affectivism

Dukes, Daniel, Kathryn Abrams, Ralph Adolphs, Mohammed E. Ahmed, Andrew Beatty, Kent C. Berridge, Jennifer S. Lerner, et al. "The rise of affectivism." Nature Human Behaviour 5 (June 2021): 816-820.

The role of incidental affective states in appetitive risk behavior: A meta-analysis

Ferrer, Rebecca A., Jennifer M. Taber, Paschal Sheeran, Angela D. Bryan, Linda D. Cameron, Ellen Peters, Jennifer S. Lerner, Emily Grenen, and William M.P. Klein. "The role of incidental affective states in appetitive risk behavior: A meta-analysis." Health Psychology 39.12 (2020): 1109-1124.

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal
interventions on emotions during the COVID-19
pandemic

Wang, Ke, Amit Goldenberg, Charles A. Dorison, Jeremy K. Miller, Andero Uusberg, Jennifer S. Lerner, James J. Gross, et al. "A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic." Nature Human Behaviour 5 (July 2020): 1089-1110.

Emotion in Organizational Judgment and Decision Making

Dorison,Charles A., Joowon Klusowski, Seunghee Han, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Emotion in Organizational Judgment and Decision Making." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 49.1 (January-March 2020): 100702.

Sadness, but Not All Negative Emotions, Heightens Addictive Substance Use

Dorison, Charles A., Ke Wang, Vaughan W. Rees, Ichiro Kawachi, Keith M. M. Ericson, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Sadness, but Not All Negative Emotions, Heightens Addictive Substance Use." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (December 2019).

Towards a Conceptual Model of Affective Predictions in Palliative Care

Ellis, Erin M., Amber E. Barnato, Gretchen B. Chapman, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Jennifer S. Lerner, Ellen Peters, Wendy L. Nelson, Lynne Padgett, Jerry Suls, and Rebecca A. Ferrer. "Towards a Conceptual Model of Affective Predictions in Palliative Care." Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 57.6 (June 2019): 1151-1165.

Decision Science Meets National Security: A Personal Perspective

Lerner, Jennifer S. "Decision Science Meets National Security: A Personal Perspective." Perspectives on Psychological Science 14.1 (2019): 96-100.

The Misery-Is-Not-Miserly Effect Revisited: Replication Despite Opportunities for Compensatory Consumption

Garg, Nitika, Lisa A. Williams, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "The Misery-Is-Not-Miserly Effect Revisited: Replication Despite Opportunities for Compensatory Consumption." PLoS ONE 13.6 (June 2018).

Behavioral Consequences of Probabilistic Precision: Experimental Evidence from National Security Professionals

Friedman, Jeffrey A., Jennifer S. Lerner, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Behavioral Consequences of Probabilistic Precision: Experimental Evidence from National Security Professionals." International Organization 71.4 (Fall 2017): 803-826.

Revisiting the Effects of Anger on Risk-Taking: Empirical and Meta-Analytic Evidence for Differences Between Males and Females

Ferrer, Rebecca A., Alexander Maclay, Paul M. Litvak, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Revisiting the Effects of Anger on Risk-Taking: Empirical and Meta-Analytic Evidence for Differences Between Males and Females." Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 30.2 (April 2017): 516-526.

Accountability Should Add Up to More Than Test Scores

Lerner, Jennifer S. "Accountability Should Add Up to More Than Test Scores." Education Week 36.19 (January 2017): 20-21.

The Contribution of Trait Negative Affect and Stress to Recall for Bodily States

Ma-Kellams, Christine, Lei Lai, Shelley E. Taylor, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "The Contribution of Trait Negative Affect and Stress to Recall for Bodily States." Physiology & Behavior 167 (December 2016): 274-281.

Trust Your Gut or Think Carefully? Examining Whether an Intuitive, Versus a Systematic, Mode of Thought Produces Greater Empathic Accuracy

Ma-Kellams, Christine, and Jennifer Lerner. "Trust Your Gut or Think Carefully? Examining Whether an Intuitive, Versus a Systematic, Mode of Thought Produces Greater Empathic Accuracy." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 111.5 (November 2016): 674-685.

Oncologists' Dispositional Affect and Likelihood of End-Of-Life Discussions

Pirl, William F., Jennifer Lerner, Lara Traeger, Joseph A. Greer, Areej El-Jawahri, and Jennifer S. Temel. "Oncologists' Dispositional Affect and Likelihood of End-Of-Life Discussions." Journal of Clinical Oncology 34.26 (October 2016): 9.

Reimagining Accountability in K-12 Education: A Behavioral Science Perspective

Gill, Brian P., Jennifer S. Lerner, and Paul Meosky. "Reimagining Accountability in K-12 Education: A Behavioral Science Perspective." Behavioral Science and Policy 2.1 (2016): 57-70.

The Interaction of Testosterone and Cortisol Is Associated With Attained Status in Male Executives

Sherman, Gary D., Jennifer S. Lerner, Robert A. Josephs, Jonathan Renshon, and James J. Gross. "The Interaction of Testosterone and Cortisol Is Associated With Attained Status in Male Executives." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (August 24, 2015).

Perceiving others’ feelings: The importance of personality and social structure

Sherman, Gary D., Jennifer S. Lerner, Jonathan Renshon, Christine Ma-Kellams, and Samantha Joel. "Perceiving others’ feelings: The importance of personality and social structure." Social Psychological and Personality Science 6.5 (July 2015): 559-569.

Emotion and Decision Making

Lerner, Jennifer S., Ye Li, Piercarlo Valdesolo, and Karim S. Kassam. "Emotion and Decision Making." Annual Review of Psychology 66 (January 2015): 799-823.

Gratitude: A Tool for Reducing Economic Impatience

DeSteno, David, Li Ye, Leah Dickens, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Gratitude: A Tool for Reducing Economic Impatience." Psychological Science 25.6 (June 2014): 1262-1267.

Sadness and Consumption

Garg, Nitika, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Sadness and Consumption." Journal of Consumer Psychology 23.1 (January 2013): 106-113.

The Financial Costs of Sadness

Lerner, Jennifer S., Ye Li, and Elke U. Weber. "The Financial Costs of Sadness." Psychological Science 24.1 (January 2013): 72-79.

Leadership is Associated with Lower Levels of Stress.

Sherman, Gary D., Jooa J. Lee, Amy J. C. Cuddy, Jonathan Renshon, Christopher Oveis, James J. Gross, and Jennifer S. Lernera,. "Leadership is Associated with Lower Levels of Stress." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109.44 (October 2012): 17903-17907.

The Disgust-Promotes-Disposal Effect

Han, Seunghee, Jennifer S. Lerner, Richard Zeckhauser. "The Disgust-Promotes-Disposal Effect." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 44.2 (April 2012): 101-113.

Individual Differences in Need for Cognition and Decision-Making Competence among Leaders

Carnevale, Jessica J., Yoel Inbar, and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Individual Differences in Need for Cognition and Decision-Making Competence among Leaders." Personality and Individual Differences 51.3 (August 2011): 274-278.

Misery Is Not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More

Cryder, Cynthia E., Jennifer S. Lerner, James J. Gross, and Ronald E. Dahl. "Misery Is Not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More." Psychological Science 19.6 (June 2008): 525-530.

Emotional Policy: Personal Sadness and Anger Shape Judgments About a Welfare Case.

Small, Deborah A., and Jennifer S. Lerner. "Emotional Policy: Personal Sadness and Anger Shape Judgments About a Welfare Case." Political Psychology 29.2 (April 2008): 149-168.

Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: Extending the Appraisal-Tendency Framework.

Lerner, Jennifer S., Seunghee Han, and Dacher Keltner. "Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: Extending the Appraisal-Tendency Framework." Journal of Consumer Psychology 17.3 (2007): 184-187.

Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: The Appraisal-Tendency Framework.

Han, Seunghee, Jennifer S. Lerner, and Dacher Keltner. "Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: The Appraisal-Tendency Framework." Journal of Consumer Psychology 17.3 (2007): 158-168.

Facial Expressions of Emotion Reveal Neuroendocrine and Cardiovascular Stress.

Lerner, Jennifer S., Ronald E. Dahl, Ahmed R. Hariri, and Shelley E. Taylor. "Facial Expressions of Emotion Reveal Neuroendocrine and Cardiovascular Stress." Biological Psychiatry 61.2 (15 January 2007): 253-260.