
Contact
- +44 (0)20 7040 3173
- janina.steinmetz@city.ac.uk
Postal address
106 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8TZ
United Kingdom
About
Overview
Before joining Bayes Business School in 2018, I was an Assistant Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Until 2016, I was a post-doc at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA. I received my PhD in 2014 from the University of Cologne, Germany.
My work investigates consumer motivation and self-control in a social context (Ferreira, Scopelliti, & Steinmetz, in prep; Fishbach, Steinmetz, & Tu, 2016; Steinmetz & Mussweiler, 2017; Steinmetz & Pfattheicher, 2017; Steinmetz, Xu, Fishbach, & Zhang, 2016; Touré-Tillery, Steinmetz, & DiCosola, 2022). For example, I find that actions done in the presence of others are magnified. Consumers (falsely) believe that they ate larger portions of food when someone was watching them eat, because the social presence magnifies the action. This work suggests that consumers perceive the world in a fundamentally different way in the presence of others. I also find that consumers anticipate observers' thoughts and judgments about their actions, and strategically make consumption decisions to influence observers' beliefs.
In addition to my work on motivation, I’m interested in how consumers think about others and infer what others think about them (sometimes mistakenly). When thinking about others, I find that consumers apply what I call the first-member heuristic (Steinmetz, Touré-Tillery, & Fishbach, 2020): The first member of a group in a random sequence (e.g., the first student to have his or her test graded by a machine) is seen as more diagnostic for the rest of the group than any of the other group members. Thus, information about the first member (e.g., the first student's test results are bad) is used to larger extents to draw inferences about the rest of the group (e.g., all students' test results will be bad), which in turn affects behavior toward the group. When thinking about themselves, I have examined whether the way consumers' self-perceptions affect how they portray themselves in public. It shows that, when consumers project their self-perceptions onto others, systematic mishaps in impression management can occur (Steinmetz, 2018; Steinmetz, Sezer, & Sedikides, 2017).
In another major line of work, I study effects on mental simulation. For example, mental simulations of warmth and trust can affect consumers' response behavior in surveys towards greater affirmation of neutral items (Steinmetz & Posten, 2017, 2018). Mentally simulating physical states of hunger versus satiation (Steinmetz, Tausen, & Risen, 2018) also influence consumers' choices of food portion sizes.
Finally, I study how reviewers and readers perceive online reviews (Hansen & Steinmetz, 2019; Steinmetz & Pronin, in prep). For example, I find that readers' motivational states (e.g., being cold versus warm) influence whether they pay attention to individual reviews versus aggregated review information when evaluating cooling versus heating products. I also investigate reviewer characteristics that influence beliefs about their reviews' helpfulness, and test whether readers share reviewers' beliefs on review helpfulness.
Qualifications
- PhD, University of Cologne, Germany, Sep 2009 – Aug 2014
Employment
- Reader, City, University of London, Aug 2021 – present
- Senior Lecturer, City, University of London, Sep 2018 – Jul 2021
- Assistant Professor, Utrecht University, Apr 2016 – Sep 2018
- Post-doc, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Sep 2014 – Mar 2016
Fellowships
- HEA Fellow
Memberships of committees
- Member, European Social Cognition Network Best Paper Award Committee (ESCON)
Expertise
Primary topics
- Consumer Behaviour
Research students
Nethal Hashim
Role: 2nd Supervisor
Zaichen Li
Role: 2nd Supervisor
Kirla Ferreira
Role: 1st Supervisor
Sinan He
Publications
Chapters (2)
- Hashim, N., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. (2023). A Conceptual Replication of the Effects of Gamification on U.K. Adults’ Ability to Reach a Saving Goal. In Soman, D. (Ed.), What works, what doesn't (and when) University of Toronto Press.
- Fishbach, A., Steinmetz, J. and Tu, Y. (2016). Motivation in a Social Context. Advances in Motivation Science (pp. 35–79). Elsevier.
Conference papers and proceedings (4)
- Ferreira, K., Steinmetz, J. and Scopelliti, I. (2022). Forgoing Consumption of Products that Others Cannot Access. 2022 Association for Consumer Research Conference 20-23 October, Denver, Colorado.
- Li, Z., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. (2021). A Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Anthropomorphism on Consumer Behavior. Association for Consumer Research.
- Hashim, N., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. (2021). How Gamification Can Be Used to Help Consumers Reach Their Saving Goals. Association for Consumer Research.
- Speckmann, F. and Steinmetz, J. (2016). Effects of ego-depletion, social distance and culture on temporal discounting.
Internet publication
- Hashim, N., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. (2021). Gamification Can Help Consumers Reach Their Saving Goals. Think Forward Initiative.
Journal articles (20)
- Touré‐Tillery, M., Steinmetz, J. and DiCosola, B. (2022). Feeling judged? How the presence of outgroup members promotes healthier food choices. Psychology & Marketing, 39(8), pp. 1504–1510. doi:10.1002/mar.21667.
- Posten, A. and Steinmetz, J. (2022). Who's a yea‐sayer? Habitual trust and affirmative response behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 52(3), pp. 584–596. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2839.
- Steinmetz, J. and Posten, A.-.C. (2020). Akquieszenz in Umfragen: eine wenig beachtete Fehlerquelle. Wirtschaftspsychologie aktuell.
- Touré-Tillery, M., Steinmetz, J. and DiCosola, B. (2020). Feeling Judged? The Presence of Outgroup Members Promotes Virtuous Choices. Advances in Consumer Research, 48, pp. 1124–1128.
- Steinmetz, J. and Posten, A.-.C. (2020). Guidelines on Acquiescence in Marketing Research. Advances in Consumer Research, 48, pp. 712–714.
- Steinmetz, J. and Fishbach, A. (2020). We work harder when we know someone's watching. Harvard Business Review.
- Steinmetz, J., Touré-Tillery, M. and Fishbach, A. (2020). The first-member heuristic: Group members labeled “first” influence judgment and treatment of groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(4), pp. 706–719. doi:10.1037/pspi0000201.
- Hansen, J. and Steinmetz, J. (2019). Motivated level of construal: How temperature affects the construal level of state-relevant stimuli. Motivation and Emotion, 43(3), pp. 434–446. doi:10.1007/s11031-018-09750-w.
- Posten, A.-.C. and Steinmetz, J. (2018). Temperatur und Zustimmung - ein bisher unbekannter Zusammenhang: Einblicke für Praxis und Forschung. Praxis der Rechtspsychologie., 28(2), pp. 137–152.
- Steinmetz, J. (2018). Impression (Mis) Management When Communicating Success. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 40(5), pp. 320–328. doi:10.1080/01973533.2018.1500289.
- Steinmetz, J. and Posten, A.-.C. (2018). White lies and black lies: What they have in common and how they differ. InMind Magazine, 37.
- Steinmetz, J., Tausen, B.M. and Risen, J.L. (2018). Mental Simulation of Visceral States Affects Preferences and Behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(3), pp. 406–417. doi:10.1177/0146167217741315.
- Steinmetz, J. and Mussweiler, T. (2017). Only one small sin: How self-construal affects self-control. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56(4), pp. 675–688. doi:10.1111/bjso.12208.
- Steinmetz, J. and Pfattheicher, S. (2017). Beyond Social Facilitation: A Review of the Far-Reaching Effects of Social Attention. Social Cognition, 35(5), pp. 585–599. doi:10.1521/soco.2017.35.5.585.
- Steinmetz, J., Sezer, O. and Sedikides, C. (2017). Impression mismanagement: People as inept self-presenters. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11(6). doi:10.1111/spc3.12321.
- Steinmetz, J. and Posten, A.-.C. (2017). Physical temperature affects response behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, pp. 294–300. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2016.12.001.
- Steinmetz, J., Toure-Tillery, M. and Fishbach, A. (2017). Not All Bad Apples Spoil the Bunch: Order Effects on the
Evaluation of Groups. Advances in Consumer Research, 45, pp. 248–252. - Steinmetz, J., Xu, Q., Fishbach, A. and Zhang, Y. (2016). Being observed magnifies action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(6), pp. 852–865. doi:10.1037/pspi0000065.
- Steinmetz, J., Bosak, J., Sczesny, S. and Eagly, A.H. (2014). Social role effects on gender stereotyping in Germany and Japan. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 17(1), pp. 52–60. doi:10.1111/ajsp.12044.
- Steinmetz, J. and Mussweiler, T. (2011). Breaking the ice: How physical warmth shapes social comparison consequences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(5), pp. 1025–1028. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.03.022.
Working papers (2)
- Li, Z., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. (2019). How Visual vs. Verbal cues Affect Perceived Anthropomorphism: Combining Evidence from Pre-registered Replications and a Meta-Analysis.
- Li, Z., Scopelliti, I. and Steinmetz, J. Clarifying the Effects of Anthropomorphism on Consumer Behaviour: Experimental Studies and Meta-Analysis.
Professional activities
Editorial activity (19)
- Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Editorial Board Member, Feb 2021 – present.
- European Journal of Social Psychology, Editorial Board Member, Jan 2021 – present.
- Frontiers in Psychology: Personality and Social Psychology, Editorial Board Member, May 2018 – Jan 2021.
- Perspectives on Psychological Science, Reviewer.
- Psychological Science, Reviewer.
- Journal of Consumer Research, Reviewer.
- Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Reviewer.
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Reviewer.
- Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Reviewer.
- Journal of Environmental Psychology, Reviewer.
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Reviewer.
- PloSOne, Reviewer.
- Psychology & Health, Reviewer.
- Social Psychology, Reviewer.
- Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Reviewer.
- Current Opinion in Behavioural Sciences, Reviewer.
- Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Reviewer.
- International Journal of Consumer Studies, Reviewer.
- International Journal of Market Research, Reviewer.
Media appearances (25)
- Warum wir zu viele Klamotten kaufen. (2022) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Altersvorsorge: Heute nichts zu tun, ist nicht direkt schädlich–das ist das Problem. (2022) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Der Neun-Euro-Trick funktioniert nicht bei allen Produkten. (2022) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- The gamification of finance may be a good thing after all. (2022) Washington Post (newspaper).
- Warum uns Konsum nur kurzfristig glücklich macht. (2021) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Supermarkt-Einkäufe online: Weniger süß, viel teurer. (2021) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Schein-Wahlhelfer: Täuschen für die Impfung. (2021) Deutschlandradio Nova (radio).
- Lieferdienste und Konsum. (2021) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Urlaub trotz Corona. (2021) Deutschlandfunk Kultur (radio).
- Smart working. (2021) Forbes Italia (newspaper).
- Wir vertrauen unseren Liebsten zu sehr. (2020) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Warum manche Produkte plötzlich im Trend sind. (2020) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Workplace observation. (2020) El Pais (newspaper).
- Wie wir unsere Ziele verfolgen. (2020) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- What constant surveillance does to your brain and behaviour. (2020) Telegraph (newspaper).
- Wann uns Pessimismus helfen kann. (2020) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Wann Geheimnisse in Beziehungen gut oder schlecht sind. (2019) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- The psychology of altruism. (2019) iNews (website).
- Warum uns Geld nicht mehr so wichtig ist. (2019) Deutschlandfunk Nova (radio).
- Why first impressions matter even more for groups. (2019) Quartz (website).
- Scientists reveal the secret to being more LIKEABLE on a first date. (2018) Daily Mail (newspaper).
- Scientist reveals the secret of doing well in job interviews. (2018) Yahoo News (website).
- The secret to first dates and job interviews. (2018) Daily Mail (newspaper).
- 4 Ways People Ruin a First Impression. (2017) Psychology Today (magazine).
- New paper provides evidence-backed insights on how not to come across as a jerk. (2017) British Psychological Society (website).
Media appearances (3)
- Deutschlandradio Nova. https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/weihnachten-warum-schenken-uns-stresst
- Australian Times. https://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/rapid-delivery-grocery-apps-have-flourished-during-the-pandemic-but-will-they-permanently-change-how-we-shop/
- .
Online article
- Healthy food can help you make a positive impression. (2022). Psychology Today
Radio programmes (2)
- Dunning-Kruger-Effekt: Sport-Experte sein wollen bei Null Ahnung. Deutschlandfunk Nova
- Wie wir unseren Zielen näher kommen. Deutschlandfunk Nova https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/janina-steinmetz-wie-wir-ziele-verfolgen