Dr. Maayan Malter

Dr. Malter’s research explores a range of questions about consumers balancing two important psychological needs: autonomy and connection. One question Dr. Malter studies asks how does making a decision autonomously (versus handed to them by someone else) impact how one feels about the outcome? She examines this question in the context of engineers programing autonomous vehicles and policy makers deciding when and how to open the economy post COVID-19 shutdowns. Another question looks at the choice consumers face between a sustainable option (that helps the community but incurs a personal cost) and a convenient option (that helps the individual but incurs a cost to the community as a whole). She examines this question in the context of consumers deciding to recycle or trash used goods. A large focus of Dr. Malter’s research explores consumers with disabilities, their decision-making processes balancing competing needs and preferences, and observers’ perceptions (and misperceptions) of these needs. She shows how perceptions of disabled consumers’ needs and preferences lead to consequential product design and marketing decisions by the firm and prosocial decisions (e.g., donations) by individual consumers.