ALL 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.

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. 

Bold Text, Tone, & Memory

When sending emails, can bolding the key details make them easier to recall? If so, does it make other info less memorable? And how does it affect your perceived tone? We put all of these questions to the test in an email experiment.

Bulleted Lists & Memory

How can you make your writing more memorable? Whether it's an important email, presentation, or grocery list, you want your readers to remember what you wrote. Is a bulleted list the silver bullet?

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.

Corporate vs. University Research

Irrespective of its actual credibility, it's an open question how much we actually trust corporate research compared to university research. Our experiment with 400 people put those perceptions to the test in a novel experiment.

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.

Email Signature

Email signatures, the organizational details below one's name in an email, do more than convey contact info. They can also serve as a symbol of status or professionalism to signal trust or importance. But do email signatures really have such an effect? We conducted a psychology experiment to find out.

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. 

"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.

Laptop Case vs. Backpack

Traditionally, messenger bags have been the go-to carrying case for laptops. But more recently, professionals are also turning to backpacks, despite their historical use by students. In this experiment, we asked how professional each seems to co-workers.

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.

Meetings: Office vs. Café

Meetings, much like work itself, are practically inevitable. But perhaps switching up the venue can improve team morale. We ran a survey experiment with 805 people testing which types of people look forward to meeting at a café vs. the office.

Non-Native Speakers - Grammar Perceptions

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.

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.

Phone Call Anxiety

A lot of people hate phone calls, particularly spam calls. Young people even claim that they can trigger anxiety. The results of an experiment with 400 people suggest there may be some validity to these claims.

Slang in the Workplace

New-age acronyms and made-up meanings underpin the informal lexicon of slang. It can provide meaning and identity to its users. But not all the world's a fan, especially in the workplace. 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. 

Statistics & Persuasion

Can adding a statistic to support your claim convince others of its validity? We ran experiments across three contexts, including politics, business, and a college essay, measuring audience perceptions of claim believability and claim-maker competence.

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.

Vertical vs. Horizontal Bar Graphs

Bar graphs are among the most popular types of graphs used in presentations and reports. While vertical bars are more traditional, horizontal bars have gained popularity. Which do audiences prefer? Our 1,200-person experiment has the answer.

Wordy 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.

Zoom vs. Metaverse Meetings

Virtual meetings have skyrocketed in recent years, with Zoom and other video conferencing platforms now the standard. But if virtual reality becomes a feasible venue for such meetings, which would people prefer? We put it to the (preliminary) test.