Beer: (Not) Drinking with Colleagues

Grabbing a drink with coworkers is a common way to let off steam. But those who forgo alcohol may wonder if it dulls their image. In this experiment, we tested whether opting for a non-alcoholic drink affects how fun and likable you seem. 

Big Words

Does using big words make you seem smarter? Or does it just make you seem stuck up? We put it to the test in an novel experiment with 400 people.

CAPS, Tone, & Memory

Putting words in ALL CAPS can signal importance. However, it can also feel like shouting. Does formatting text in all caps boost memory at the cost of a harsher tone? We used a randomized experiment with 1,200 email readers to find out.

ChatGPT - Disclosing You Used It

Content creators are covertly using generative AI to produce written content. But disclosure regulation is on the horizon. In this experiment with 1,200 readers, we tested how crediting ChatGPT affects perceptions of the information and the content creator.

Crypto Conversations

Cryptocurrency has many outspoken fans. It also has many outspoken critics. Does conversing about crypto amongst your colleagues affect your image? In this workplace conversation experiment we pitted crypto talk against traditional investing to find out.

Email Name

There's a professional trend with email that involves using your full name in your personal email address. Does doing so actually provide a professionalism boost? We put it to the test in an experiment with 400 email users.

Emoji Use

Across social media, emails, and other digital mediums, people are using emojis more than ever before. But how does it affect your image? Do contexts or reader differences matter? We conducted a randomized experiment with 1,200 people to investigate.

Exclamations in Emails

If you use exclamation marks in work emails, you may wonder how it affects your readers' perceptions of you. Do gender or age matter? We conducted an email experiment to find out. 

Facebook vs. Instagram - User Likability

Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular social media platforms. And while we may concern ourselves with the posts and images on these platforms, we know little about how being a user of either Facebook or Instagram affects our personal image outside these platforms. Are we liked? Or are we judged? We put it to the test.

Green Texts: Android vs. iPhone

Pop culture suggests that "green texts" from non-Apple smartphones draw the ire of iPhone users. But do they really? We ran a randomized experiment with 133 iPhone users and 261 Android OS users to test whether those green texts actually hurt the sender's image.

"I" Sentences

Starting each sentence with the word "I" is conventionally discouraged. Some think it can make you look self-centered, cold, or unoriginal. But in a randomized experiment with 1,200 email readers and social media post viewers, we find different results.

Mac vs. PC Sophistication

Apple has spent decades building its brand through sleek, innovative product designs for which customers pay top-dollar. Psychology says such branding can affect how we think about ourselves. Can it also affect how others perceive us? We put it to the test with a head-to-head Mac vs. PC experiment measuring perceptions of users' sophistication.

Non-Native English Speakers

Learning English is hard. Even native speakers make grammatical mistakes. But are non-native speakers judged more or less harshly for such errors, particularly in the workplace? The results of an experiment with 1,200 people suggest that gender may play a role.

Opposites Attract? Brains vs. Brawn

In this special edition study on dating, we test whether tailoring your dating profile to showcase the brainy or brawny side of you makes you more desirable. Do opposites attract? Or do birds of feather flock together?

Overtime Perceptions

Working late is often thought to be a way to win your boss's heart. But does it alienate you from your colleagues? In this randomized experiment, we had 1,200 people rate their perceptions of a colleague who either left on-time or stayed after hours.

Parentheses - Nuance or Nuisance

Parentheses provide supplemental details that (while potentially helpful) are not essential. Does including those details (and the parentheses enclosing them) boost informativeness? Or are they just annoying? We have the data in this 1,200-person experiment.

Slang

New-age acronyms and made-up meanings underpin the informal, yet exclusive lexicon of slang. It can provide meaning and identity to those who use it. But not all the world's a fan, fam. Our experiment reveals how the use of slang affects your image.

Sleeping Less to Work More

Everyone has that work colleague who boasts about working so much that it affects their sleep. In this eye-opening study, we test whether doing so actually helps or harm one's reputation at work. 

Smoking - Does It Look Cool?

One reason people take up smoking is because they think it looks cool. But new research suggests that it actually has the opposite effect. In this randomized experiment, we find that smoking actually reduces how cool you look, even to fellow smokers.

Texting Length

When text messaging, do you prefer to send a single paragraph or multiple texts, back-to-back? Though it may seem inconsequential, the results of our experiment show that it can affect how your recipient perceives you.

TikTok vs. Twitter - User Likability

TikTok and Twitter, two popular yet very different platforms, are both loved and loathed. We wondered if such perceptions spill over to their users. Does using either draw the ire of others? A 400-person study tested how using TikTok vs. Twitter affects one's image.

Typos

We all make mistakes, especially when writing or typing. But making it a habit may affect your image. According to our workplace research study, typos in emails significantly affect how smart, likable, and trustworthy you seem.

Volunteering & Dating

Volunteering isn't just for resume building anymore. Many people now list it as an activity on their dating profiles. But does it really help you land a date?