Rebecca (Becky) Schaumberg, PhD
Assistant Professor
Operations, Information, and Decisions
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
​About. Becky studies how self-conscious emotions (e.g., guilt and shame) affect our everyday work lives. She teaches courses on negotiations, conflict management, organizational behavior.
Newest research
Giving a Donation Bit by Bit Makes People Seem More Committed to Social Causes​​​
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Donating money is a powerful and efficient way to help, but skepticism about donors' motives often leads them to choose less effective methods of giving. How can donors earn trust and recognition for their generosity? One solution: Instead of making a single large donation, break it into multiple smaller ones.
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​​​​Read more by clicking the paper.
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Highlighted research
​Why expressing pride can make you seem less competent
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Feeling proud of achievements is great, but expressing that pride can be risky. When we show pride in an accomplishment that others don’t highlight, it can make us seem less competent. For example, if you're proud of publishing a new paper, this research suggests not expressing that pride if you want to be viewed as a high-achieving, productive academic.
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Read more by clicking the paper.
Why disagreement gets mistaken for bad listening ​
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Imagine you’re listening closely to someone sharing their views—you’re attentive, engaged, and fully understand their points. But if you ultimately disagree, they may not feel that you’ve truly listened. Our findings suggest that speakers often see agreement as a sign of good listening. So when someone says, “You’re not listening to me!” they might really mean, “You’re not agreeing with me!”​​
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Read more by clicking the paper.
Shame broadcasts social norms ​
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You witness a colleague at your new job express shame about something they did. What do you learn from your colleague's shame ? How does it change how you act? We find that that people rely on others’ displays of shame, more than other emotions, to infer what they should and should not do at work. After witnessing someone else feel ashamed, people are more likely to conform to social norms, even at a personal cost. ​​
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​Read more by clicking the paper.
