Examining the Biases That Influence Decision Making
In the News
About Chia-Jung
Chia-Jung Tsay is an Associate Professor in the Management and Human Resources Department and a Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Diversity Science. Her research examines the psychological processes that influence decision making about performance. She investigates the role of perception, expertise, and nonconscious biases in professional selection and advancement.
Tsay’s work has been published in academic journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Management Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Academy of Management Discoveries, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Tsay has been recognized as an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star. Tsay’s research has been featured in media outlets across over 50 countries, including the Atlantic, BBC (print, radio features and interviews, live television broadcasts and interviews), Boston Globe, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Discover Magazine, Economist, Forbes, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Los Angeles Times, Nature, NPR (print, live radio broadcasts and interviews), Philadelphia Inquirer, Scientific American, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Wired.
Tsay graduated Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in Psychology and an A.M. in History of Science from Harvard University. In other professional experience, as a classical pianist, Tsay has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the U.S. Embassy. She holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where she later served as faculty. Tsay received a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Psychology with a secondary Ph.D. field in Music from Harvard University, and has taught at institutions including Oxford, Tsinghua, UCL, UNC Chapel Hill, and Wharton. In 2021, she was named one of the “World’s Best 40 Under 40 Business School Professors” by Poets&Quants.
Selected Accepted Journal Articles
Liu, C. & Tsay, C. (2023). A normative theory of luck Frontiers in Psychology
Ma, S. & Tsay, C. & Chen, E. (2023). Talented naturals are perceived as more competent and receive more trust than hard workers Current Psychology
Selected Published Journal Articles
Southwick, D. & Liu, Z. & Baldwin, C. & Quirk, A. & Ungar, L. & Tsay, C. & Duckworth, A. (2023). The trouble with talent: Semantic ambiguity in the workplace Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Svanås-Hoh, E. & Sanchez, J. & Tsay, C. (2022). How momentary affect impacts retrospective evaluations of aesthetic experiences Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Tolsá-Caballero, N. & Tsay, C. (2022). Blinded by our sight: Understanding the prominence of visual information in competence judgments Current Opinion in Psychology
Liu, C. & Tsay, C. (2021). The variance of variance Research in the Sociology of Organizations
Tsay, C. (2021). Visuals dominate investor decisions about entrepreneurial pitches Academy of Management Discoveries
Southwick, D. & Tsay, C. & Duckworth, A. (2020). Grit at work Research in Organizational Behavior
Silva, C. & Tsay, C. (2019). Harmful attributions: The role of mind perception Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
Barak-Corren, N. & Tsay, C. & Cushman, F. & Bazerman, M. (2018). If you’re going to do wrong, at least do it right: The surprising effect of considering two moral dilemmas at the same time Management Science
Buell, R. & Kim, T. & Tsay, C. (2017). Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency Management Science
Tsay, C. (2016). Privileging naturals over strivers: The costs of the naturalness bias Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Tsay, C. (2014). The vision heuristic: Judging music ensembles by sight alone Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Bazerman, M. & Gino, F. & Shu, L. & Tsay, C. (2014). The power of the cognition/emotion distinction for morality Emotion Review
Tsay, C. (2013). Sight over sound in the judgment of music performance Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Milkman, K. & Mazza, M. & Shu, L. & Tsay, C. & Bazerman, M. (2012). Policy bundling to overcome loss aversion: A method for improving legislative outcomes Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Bazerman, M. & Gino, F. & Shu, L. & Tsay, C. (2011). Joint Evaluation as a Real-World Tool for Managing Emotional Assessments of Morality Emotion Review
Tsay, C. & Shu, L. & Bazerman, M. (2011). Naïveté and Cynicism in Negotiations and Other Competitive Contexts Academy of Management Annals
Tsay, C. & Banaji, M. (2011). Naturals and strivers: Preferences and beliefs about sources of achievement Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Tsay, C. & Bazerman, M. (2009). A Decision-Making Perspective to Negotiation: A Review of the Past and a Look to the Future Negotiation Journal
Practitioner-Oriented Publications
Tsay, C. & Martinez, J. (2021). In entrepreneurial pitches, stage presence is everything Harvard Business Review
Kaufman, S. & Tsay, C. (2016). People favor naturals over strivers — even though they say otherwise Harvard Business Review
Buell, R. & Kim, T. & Tsay, C. & Berinato, S. (2014). Cooks make tastier food when they can see their customers Harvard Business Review
Presentations
Academy of Management Annual Meeting (2023) The Impact of Gender on Entrepreneurial Idea Generation and Selection
Popular Media
- Why people reward innate talent over hard work, BBC (2023).
- Here’s What We Do and Don’t Know About the Effects of Remote Work, New York Times (2023).
- How the arts can help you to craft a successful research career, Nature (2021).
- Musicians’ appearances matter more than their sound, Nature (2013).
- Talking sight vs. sound with Chia-jung Tsay, Philadelphia Inquirer (2014).
- How To Win That Music Competition? Send A Video, NPR (2013).
- People trust eyes — not ears — when judging musicians, Los Angeles Times (2013).
- Musicians’ Moves Matter More Than Their Sound, Slate (2013).
- The sound of silence, Economist (2013).
- The Science of Snobbery: How We’re Duped Into Thinking Fancy Things Are Better, Atlantic (2013).
- In Entrepreneurial Pitches, Stage Presence Is Everything, Harvard Business Review.
- No, it doesn’t need to be a Zoom, Wired (2021).
- In a Job Interview, How Much Does Timing Matter?, Freakonomics (2021).
- The Key to Attracting Venture Capitalists: Show Passion, Wall Street Journal (2022).
- Why saying ‘late bloomer’ is wrong, BBC (2021).
- Best or Keegan?, Economist (2015).
- Do You Need to Hear a Musical Group to Judge Its Quality?, Harvard Business Review.
- People Favor Naturals Over Strivers — Even Though They Say Otherwise, Harvard Business Review (2016).
- Operational Transparency, Harvard Business Review.
- Cooks Make Tastier Food When They Can See Their Customers, Harvard Business Review.
- Sight dominates sound in music competition judging, BBC (2013).
- Classical music judged by sight, BBC (2013).
- Professor’s picks, Financial Times (2018).
- The Surprising Way People Judge Music, NBC (2013).
- Do We Judge Music More on Sight Than on Sound?, Atlantic (2013).
- It’s What You See at the Concert, Not What You Hear, Scientific American (2013).
- Judging music by its looks, Boston Globe (2013).
- Do You Have the Body Language of a Champion?, NBC (2014).
WSB Stories
- WSB Scholars Awarded Competitive Grants To Explore the Intersections of Business and Diversity Science - September 5, 2024
- Shaping the Future of Business Through Academic Research - September 3, 2024
- WSB Faculty Share Their Expertise During 2024 Business Writer in Residence Week - May 6, 2024
- WSB’s Chia-Jung Tsay Wins 2023 Best Paper Award From Diversity in Management and Organizations - January 18, 2024
- WSB’s Chia-Jung Tsay Discusses Gendered Time Surveillance at Harvard Business School Event - June 5, 2023
- Chia-Jung Tsay Explains Why We Prefer ‘Naturals’ over ‘Strivers’ - May 2, 2023
- New WSB Faculty Define What’s Next in Business - November 11, 2021
WSB Stories
WSB Scholars Awarded Competitive Grants To Explore the Intersections of Business and Diversity Science
Shaping the Future of Business Through Academic Research
WSB Faculty Share Their Expertise During 2024 Business Writer in Residence Week
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