Raj Raghunathan
Professor, Department of Marketing | The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
Austin, TX, UNITED STATES
Consumer psychology, buying behaviors, and decision making
Areas of Expertise (10)
Consumer Behavior
Consumer Psychology
Buying Motivation
Decision Making
Happiness
Consumer and Market Insights
Marketing Strategies
Brand Experience
Product Branding
Social / Emotional Assessment
Biography
Raj (Rajagopal) Raghunathan is a marketing professor and expert whose work juxtaposes theories from psychology, behavioral sciences, decision theory and marketing to explain how consumers evaluate market choices, make buying decisions, and justify their preferences. His research frequently counters conventional wisdom about consumer motivation and why buyers behave as they do.
Raghunathan researches and teaches at McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of the blog Happy Smarts, which uses his academic insights to explore the determinants of leading a happy and fulfilling life. He also writes the blog Sapient Nature for Psychology Today, with "bite-sized insights on the human condition."
Raj’s work has been published in top marketing and psychology journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Marketing, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Motivation and Emotion, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
He has also been cited in the popular press, such as The New York Times, the Austin American Statesman, and Self magazine. Raj was recognized as a Marketing Science Young Scholar in 2005 for his contributions to the field of Marketing, and was awarded the prestigious NSF Career Award (for $440,000).
Media
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Links (2)
Education (3)
New York University, Stern School of Business: Ph.D., Marketing
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta: M.B.A., Marketing and Behavioural Sciences
Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences: B.Eng., Chemical Engineering
Media Appearances (21)
3 Tips to Keep Self-Doubt at Bay and Be a ‘Character Butterfly’
Huffington Post online
2017-07-07
Professor Raj Raghunathan at The University of Texas at Austin, who teaches a course on happiness, found that consistently ranked at the top of people’s list of what they want to learn from his course is this: I would like to learn how to stop being bothered by what others are thinking of me.
23 of the best business books you should read
Yahoo Finance online
2017-04-02
In fact, Raghunathan, who is a professor at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, argues that the very traits and behaviours that lead to professional success often sabotage our chances at happiness.
The state of happiness
The Hindu Business Line online
2017-03-29
Developed by Dr Rajagopal Raghunathan, professor of marketing at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, who explores how people’s decisions affects happiness, the six-week course draws its content from pyschology, neuroscience and behavioural decision.
Can You Really be Addicted to Fun?
MichaelRucker.com online
2017-03-03
Dr. Raj Raghunathan, professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas, Austin, also suggests that having fun can bring you closer to being more altruistic, happy, healthy, productive and creative. In his view, it is important to have fun, in a way that specifically works for you
McCombs Professor Raj Raghunathan on Happiness and Fulfillment
Statesman online
2017-02-05
In Episode 11of “Statesman Shots,” we talk to happiness expert Raj Raghunathan, a UT McCombs School of Business professor whose research focuses on what makes us happy and how we make choices that do or don’t enhance that. How do age, career, social status and exclusivity affect whether we ultimately find happiness? Raj has some answers for us.
Why It's Okay to Visit a Place Twice
Conde Nast Traveler online
2017-02-02
“We are hard-wired to like things more if we have had prior exposure to them, “ says Dr. Raj Raghunathan, marketing professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, and associate editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology. “If you have already [been exposed to] something before—say, a strange-looking animal—and have lived to tell the tale, it must mean that the animal can’t be all that harmful.”
In a gloomy India, an IIT and a state government have set out in pursuit of happiness
Quartz online
2016-07-11
There are at least three benefits to being happy, said Raj Raghunathan, a professor at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, and author of the book, If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy.
3 Positive Tips for Staying Mentally Strong in Tough Times
Huffington Post online
2016-06-14
Answer by Raj Raghunathan, Professor of Marketing and happiness expert at UT Austin, on Quora. It’s obviously tough to sustain happiness through tough times—which is what makes them tough! As the saying goes, time is the best healer, which I have found to be true. But in the meantime, here are three things that I would strongly recommend:
Too many smart, successful people make a mistake that leads to unhappiness
Business Insider online
2016-05-11
In the book, Raghunathan outlines the multiple ways in which seemingly intelligent, successful people unwittingly sabotage their own chances at happiness. One of the "deadly happiness sins," as Raghunathan calls the saboteurs, has to do with our need for control over every outcome in our lives.
Why Smart, Successful People Don't Value Happiness Enough
Fortune online
2016-05-05
Despite the fact that happiness ranks high on most people’s lists of what they want from life (often in the No. 1 spot), almost no one ever asks the genie for it. Raj Raghunthan explores this notion.
Why smart people ain't too happy in their lives
The Time of India
2016-05-01
All the accomplishments might mean that a person is less likely to be satisfied with life. Most often this is because people may have an idea of what will make them happy, but go about it in a way that makes them angry and dissatisfied.
Why So Many Smart People Aren’t Happy
The Atlantic online
2016-04-26
But research into happiness has also yielded something a little less obvious: Being better educated, richer, or more accomplished doesn’t do much to predict whether someone will be happy. In fact, it might mean someone is less likely to be satisfied with life.
If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy?
Time Money online
2016-04-26
For people who don’t have their basic needs met – food, shelter, clothing – money does enhance happiness levels. Research has found that once you start tethering your self-esteem to your bank balance, it starts backfiring. Money is no longer about the freedom it gives you to do the things you want to do, but an end itself.
7 Ways You’re Thwarting Your Own Happiness
Time online
2016-04-26
The answer, it turns out, is that the smart-and-successful commit some of the very “happiness sins” that the not-so-smart-or-successful do. Indeed, the smarter and more successful you are, the greater the chance that you commit these sins.
Intelligent. Successful. But unhappy?
The Telegraph online
2016-04-25
How happy are you? If the answer is, “Well, who is?”, you’re not alone. Last month, the World Happiness Index of 2016 ranked Britons 23rd in the world out of 158 countries, and figures from the Office for National Statistics found that affluent boroughs such as Camden and Islington report the lowest levels of life satisfaction in the country. Raj Raghunathan is a happiness researcher and professor of marketing at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, where he has taught more than 100,000 students a course called “What are the determinants of a fulfilling and happy life?”.
The Second-Best Happiness Tip
Psychology Today online
2016-03-31
Happiness doesn’t just feel good, it’s also useful. Researchers have found at least three important benefits from being happy: 1) greater success at work (e.g., happier people earn more) 2) better health (happier people live longer), and 3) better relationships (e.g., happier people are more likely to be married).
ISB makes debut in online courses by partnering with Coursera
Business Standard online
2014-11-05
The certificate course on happiness and fulfillment will be the first to be dished out in the series starting mid-2015.
MBA Class Project Test Students' Ability to Make Strangers Smile
The Huffington Post online
2014-06-13
MBA students in Raj Raghunathan's "Creativity and Leadership" class put their ability to spread happiness to the test, as part of a project that involved "altruistic pranks."
Keeping Calm When You're on the Clock
The Huffington Post online
2014-03-04
Stress can be harmful to our work, too. For one thing, it limits our thinking, explains Raj Raghunathan, by reducing the portion of the brain we are using.
Featured Speakers
AAUP Net online
Dr. Raj Raghunathan is Professor of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their happiness and fulfillment.
‘Indian Learners Are Extremely Focused on Building Tech and Business Skills’
BWCI World online
2017-07-26
In India, Coursera has partnered with the Indian School of Business (ISB). Under this partnership, we offer two specializations and two courses. A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment was ranked 4th most popular course in India on Coursera platform in 2016. The course is based on the award-winning class offered both at the Indian School of Business and at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, developed by Prof. Raj Raghunathan.
Sample Talks (1)
If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?
Raghunathan examines the question of why so few people purposely seek to create happiness for themselves, even though happiness ranks as one of the most desired human conditions. Based on his research and observations, he gives tips for achieving happiness as part of a lifelong journey.
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Corporate Training
Articles (8)
Raj Raghunathan Citations
Google Scholar
Listing of top scholarly works by Raj Raghunathan.
Eating Healthy or Feeling Empty? How the "Healthy = Less Filling" Intuition Influences Satiety
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
2016-01-01
To help understand the unconscious drivers of overeating, we examine the effect of health portrayals on people’s judgments of the fillingness of food.
Information Valuation and Confirmation Bias in Virtual Communities: Evidence from Stock Message Boards
Information Systems Research
2013-12-01
Using data from 502 investor responses from a field experiment on one of the largest message board operators in South Korea, our analyses revealed that investors exhibit confirmation bias, whereby they preferentially treat messages that support their prior beliefs.
The Repetition-Break Plot Structure Makes Effective Television Advertisements
Journal of Marketing
2011-09-01
The plot structure in television advertisements can enhance consumers' brand attitudes and foster increasing consumer and industry recognition.
The Sustainability Liability: Potential Negative Effects of Ethicality on Product Preference
American Marketing Association Journal of Marketing
2010-09-01
Little is known about how product sustainability affects consumers' preferences. The authors propose that sustainability may not always be an asset, even if most consumers care about social and environmental issues.
The Unhealthy = Tasty Intuition and Its Effects on Taste Inferences, Enjoyment, and Choice of Food Products
American Marketing Association Journal of Marketing
2006-10-01
When information pertaining to the assessment of the healthiness of food items is provided, the less healthy the item is portrayed to be, (1) the better is its inferred taste, (2) the more it is enjoyed during actual consumption, and (3) the greater is the preference for it.
Informational Properties of Anxiety and Sadness, and Displaced Coping
Journal of Consumer Research
2006-03-01
While anxiety triggers a preference for options that are safer and provide a sense of control, sadness triggers a preference for options that are more rewarding and comforting.
Mood as a resource in processing self-relevant information
Handbook of Affect and Social Cognition
2000-12-31
Examines the role of mood in determining how people seek and process information about themselves.
Social