Celia Gaertig
Assistant Professor | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Areas of Expertise (3)
Judgment and Decision Making
Consumer Behavior
Decision Making Under Uncertainty
About
Celia Gaertig studies the psychology of consumer behavior and decision making. Much of her work focuses on understanding how consumers make judgments and decisions in situations that involve uncertainty.
Many of our most common and important decisions, from home purchases to investment decisions, involve uncertainty. Gaertig’s work challenges long-held beliefs about how uncertainty affects consumers’ judgments. In one line of investigation, Gaertig explores preferences for advice. There is a widespread belief that advisees prefer advisors who offer certainty, even for events that are inherently uncertain. In contrast, her research shows that consumers do not dislike, and sometimes prefer, uncertain advice. In related work, Gaertig shows why consumers may prefer an uncertain price promotion, such as a 10% chance to get a product for free, to an equivalent sure discount, and delineates the circumstances under which such uncertain promotions are effective.
Her research has been published in Psychological Science, Management Science, PNAS, and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Gaertig earned a PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She also completed a BSc in Psychology (University of Freiburg) and a BA in Business (DHBW Karlsruhe), both in Germany.
Education (3)
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania: PhD, Decision Processes
University of Freiburg: BSc, Psychology
DHBW Karlsruhe: BA, Business
Links (2)
Honors & Awards (5)
Runner Up, Hillel Einhorn New Investigator Award, Society for Judgment and Decision Making
2020
Winkelman Fellowship Grant, The Wharton School
2016 - 2019
Wharton Risk Center Russell Ackoff Doctoral Student Fellowship Award
2015 - 2019
Paul R. Kleindorfer Scholar Award
2017
Marjorie Weiler Prize for Excellence in Writing
2015
Selected External Service & Affiliations (2)
- Ad hoc Reviewer: Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Journal of Marketing Research, Judgment and Decision Making, Management Science, Organizational Behavioral and Human Decision Processes, Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Conference Reviewer: Behavioral Decision Research and Management (BDRM), Society for Judgment and Decision Making (SJDM), Society of Consumer Psychology (SCP)
Positions Held (1)
At Haas since 2021
2021 - present, Assistant Professor, Marketing Group, Haas School of Business 2019 – 2021, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
Working Papers (4)
Why (and When) Are Uncertain Price Promotions More Effective Than Equivalent Sure Discounts?
Celia Gaertig, Joseph P. Simmons
Should Advisors Provide Confidence Intervals Around Their Estimates?
Celia Gaertig, Joseph P. Simmons
How Should Time Estimates Be Structured to Increase Consumer Satisfaction?
Hu, B., Gaertig, C., & Dietvorst, B. J.
Premature Predictions: Forecasters Get Less Credit for Predictions Made Too Early.
Mislavsky, R. & Gaertig, C.
Selected Papers & Publications (6)
Combining Probability Forecasts: 60% and 60% Is 60%, but Likely and Likely Is Very Likely
Management Science
Robert Mislavsky, Celia Gaertig
2022
The Psychology of Second Guesses: Implications for the Wisdom of the Inner Crowd
Management Science
Celia Gaertig, Joseph P. Simmons
2022
Decisional Autonomy Undermines Advisees’ Judgments of Experts In Medicine And In Life
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Samantha Kassirer, Emma E. Levine, Celia Gaertig
2020
Extremeness Aversion Is a Cause of Anchoring
Psychological Science
Joshua Lewis, Celia Gaertig, Joseph P. Simmons
2019
When Does Anger Boost Status?
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Celia Gaertig, Alixandra Barasch, Emma E. Levine, Maurice E. Schweitzer
2019
Do People Inherently Dislike Uncertain Advice?
Psychological Science
Celia Gaertig, Joseph P. Simmons
2018
Teaching (1)
Decision Making, MBA
Spring 2022