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  1. Directory
  2. Faculty
  3. Michael Slepian

Michael Slepian

Associate Professor of Business
Management Division
Michael Slepian
Areas of Expertise
Decision Making & Negotiations, Leadership & Organizational Behavior
Contact
Office: 311 Kravis
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae

Michael Slepian is the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics in the Management Division of Columbia Business School. His program of research examines secrecy and trust. He studies the psychology of secrets and how keeping secrets affects two important variables that govern social and organizational life: trust and motivation. He has studied the consequences of keeping secrets, including how they change our behavior, judgments and actions. He studies the effects of both personal and professional secrets for the individual secret keeper as well as whether we can tell when others are concealing information from us.

Education
B.A., Syracuse University; M.S. and Ph.D., Tufts University
Joined CBS
2014

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • CaseWorks
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, Eric M. Anicich, and Nir Halevy
. “Secrets at Work.”
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
vol.
183
, (July 01, 2024).
Explore Further about Secrets at Work
Download PDF on Secrets at Work
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael
. “The New Psychology of Secrecy.”
Sage Journals
(March 21, 2024).
Explore Further about The New Psychology of Secrecy
Journal Article
Liu, Z. and Michael Slepian
. “Secrecy: Unshared Realities.”
Current Opinion in Psychology
vol.
23
, (October 01, 2018):
124
-
128
.
Explore Further about Secrecy: Unshared Realities
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and K. Greenaway
. “The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
vol.
78
, (September 01, 2018):
220
-
232
.
Explore Further about The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets
Journal Article
Rutchick, A.M., Michael Slepian , M.O. Reyes, L.N. Pleskus, and H. Hershfield
. “Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
vol.
24
, (January 01, 2018):
72
-
80
.
Explore Further about Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and J.N. Kirby
. “To whom do we confide our secrets?”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
vol.
44
, (January 01, 2018):
1008
-
1023
.
Explore Further about To whom do we confide our secrets?
Journal Article
Phillips, L.T., Michael Slepian , and B.L. Hughes
. “Perceiving groups: The people perception of diversity and hierarchy.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
114
, (January 01, 2018):
766
-
785
.
Explore Further about Perceiving groups: The people perception of diversity and hierarchy
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, J.S. Chun, and Malia Mason
. “The experience of secrecy.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
113
, (January 01, 2017):
1
-
33
.
Explore Further about The experience of secrecy
Download PDF on The experience of secrecy
Journal Article
Hehman, E., C.A.M. Sutherland, J.K. Flake, and Michael Slepian
. “The unique contributions of perceiver and target characteristics in person perception.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
113
, (January 01, 2017):
513
-
529
.
Explore Further about The unique contributions of perceiver and target characteristics in person perception
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, J.S. Chun, and Malia Mason
. “The experience of secrecy. .”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
113
, (January 01, 2017):
1
-
33
.
Explore Further about The experience of secrecy.
Journal Article
Cho, Jaee, Michael Morris , and Michael Slepian
. “Choosing Fusion: The Effects of Diversity Ideologies on Preference for Culturally Mixed Experiences.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
vol.
69
, (January 01, 2017):
163
-
171
.
Explore Further about Choosing Fusion: The Effects of Diversity Ideologies on Preference for Culturally Mixed Experiences
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, S.G. Young, and E. Harmon-Jones
. “An approach-avoidance motivational model of trustworthiness judgments.”
Motivation Science
vol.
3
, (January 01, 2017):
91
-
97
.
Explore Further about An approach-avoidance motivational model of trustworthiness judgments
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and B. Bastian
. “Truth or punishment: Secrecy and punishing the self.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
vol.
43
, (January 01, 2017):
1596
-
1611
.
Explore Further about Truth or punishment: Secrecy and punishing the self
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and Adam Galinsky
. “The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
110
, (April 01, 2016):
509
-
527
.
Explore Further about The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and Daniel Ames
. “Internalized impressions: The link between apparent facial trustworthiness and deceptive behavior is mediated by targets' expectations of how they will be judged.”
Psychological Science
vol.
27
, (February 01, 2016):
282
-
288
.
Explore Further about Internalized impressions: The link between apparent facial trustworthiness and deceptive behavior is mediated by targets' expectations of how they will be judged
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, E.J. Masicampo, and Adam Galinsky
. “The hidden effects of recalling secrets: Assimilation, contrast, and the burdens of secrecy.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
145
, (January 01, 2016):
27
-
48
.
Explore Further about The hidden effects of recalling secrets: Assimilation, contrast, and the burdens of secrecy
Journal Article
Weisbuch, M., R. Grunberg, and Michael Slepian
. “Exposure to variability in facial emotion influences beliefs about the stability of psychological characteristics .”
Emotion
vol.
16
, (January 01, 2016):
957
-
964
.
Explore Further about Exposure to variability in facial emotion influences beliefs about the stability of psychological characteristics
Journal Article
Gaither, S.E., K. Pauker, Michael Slepian , and Samuel Sommers
. “Social belonging motivates categorization of racially ambiguous faces.”
Social Cognition
vol.
34
, (January 01, 2016):
97
-
118
.
Explore Further about Social belonging motivates categorization of racially ambiguous faces
Download PDF on Social belonging motivates categorization of racially ambiguous faces
Journal Article
Young, S.G., Michael Slepian , and D. Sacco
. “Sensitivity to perceived facial trustworthiness is increased by activating self-protection motives.”
Social Psychological and Personality Science
vol.
6
, (August 01, 2015):
607
-
613
.
Explore Further about Sensitivity to perceived facial trustworthiness is increased by activating self-protection motives
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, S.N. Ferber, J.M. Gold, and A.M. Rutchick
. “The cognitive consequences of formal clothing.”
Social Psychological and Personality Science
vol.
6
, (May 01, 2015):
661
-
668
.
Explore Further about The cognitive consequences of formal clothing
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, N.P. Camp, and E.J. Masicampo
. “Exploring the secrecy burden: Secrets, preoccupation, and perceptual judgments.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
144
, (April 01, 2015):
e31-e42
.
Explore Further about Exploring the secrecy burden: Secrets, preoccupation, and perceptual judgments
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, E.J. Masicampo, and N. Ambady
. “Cognition from on high and down low: Verticality and construal level.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
vol.
108
, (January 01, 2015):
1
-
17
.
Explore Further about Cognition from on high and down low: Verticality and construal level
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael
. “Disentangling multimodal processes in social categorization.”
Cognition
vol.
136
, (January 01, 2015):
396
-
402
.
Explore Further about Disentangling multimodal processes in social categorization
Journal Article
Young, S.G., Michael Slepian , J.P. Wilson, and K. Hugenberg
. “Averted eye-gaze disrupts configural face encoding.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
vol.
53
, (July 01, 2014):
94
-
99
.
Explore Further about Averted eye-gaze disrupts configural face encoding
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and N. Ambady
. “Simulating sensorimotor metaphors: Novel metaphors influence sensory judgments.”
Cognition
vol.
130
, (March 01, 2014):
309
-
314
.
Explore Further about Simulating sensorimotor metaphors: Novel metaphors influence sensory judgments
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, K.R. Bogart, and N. Ambady
. “Thin-slice judgments in the clinical context.”
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
vol.
10
, (March 01, 2014):
131
-
153
.
Explore Further about Thin-slice judgments in the clinical context
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, M. Oikawa, and J.M. Smyth
. “Suppressing thoughts of evaluation while being evaluated.”
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
vol.
44
, (January 01, 2014):
31
-
39
.
Explore Further about Suppressing thoughts of evaluation while being evaluated
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, M. Weisbuch, K. Pauker, B. Bastian, and N. Ambady
. “Fluid movement and fluid social cognition: Bodily movement influences essentialist thought.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
vol.
40
, (January 01, 2014):
111
-
120
.
Explore Further about Fluid movement and fluid social cognition: Bodily movement influences essentialist thought
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, E.J. Masicampo, and N. Ambady
. “Relieving the burdens of secrecy: Revealing secrets influences judgments of hill slant and distance.”
Social Psychological and Personality Science
vol.
5
, (January 01, 2014):
293
-
300
.
Explore Further about Relieving the burdens of secrecy: Revealing secrets influences judgments of hill slant and distance
Journal Article
Weisbuch, M., Michael Slepian , C.P. Eccleston, and N. Ambady
. “Nonverbal expressions of status and system legitimacy: An interactive influence on race bias.”
Psychological Science
vol.
24
, (November 01, 2013):
2315
-
2321
.
Explore Further about Nonverbal expressions of status and system legitimacy: An interactive influence on race bias
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, S.G. Young, A.M. Rutchick, and N. Ambady
. “Quality of professional players' poker hands is perceived accurately from arm motions.”
Psychological Science
vol.
24
, (November 01, 2013):
2335
-
2338
.
Explore Further about Quality of professional players' poker hands is perceived accurately from arm motions
Journal Article
Rutchick, A.M. and Michael Slepian
. “Handling ibuprofen increases pain tolerance and decreases perceived pain intensity in a cold pressor test.”
PLoS ONE
vol.
8
, (January 01, 2013):
e56175
.
Explore Further about Handling ibuprofen increases pain tolerance and decreases perceived pain intensity in a cold pressor test
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, N.O. Rule, and N. Ambady
. “Proprioception and person perception: Politicians and professors.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
vol.
38
, (December 01, 2012):
1621
-
1628
.
Explore Further about Proprioception and person perception: Politicians and professors
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and N. Ambady
. “Fluid movement and creativity.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
141
, (November 01, 2012):
625
-
629
.
Explore Further about Fluid movement and creativity
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, E.J. Masicampo, and N. Ambady
. “The physical burdens of secrecy.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
141
, (November 01, 2012):
619
-
624
.
Explore Further about The physical burdens of secrecy
Journal Article
Rule, N.O., Michael Slepian , and N. Ambady
. “A memory advantage for untrustworthy faces.”
Cognition
vol.
125
, (January 01, 2012):
207
-
218
.
Explore Further about A memory advantage for untrustworthy faces
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, S.G. Young, N.O. Rule, M. Weisbuch, and N. Ambady
. “Embodied impression formation: Social judgments and motor cues to approach and avoidance.”
Social Cognition
vol.
30
, (January 01, 2012):
232
-
240
.
Explore Further about Embodied impression formation: Social judgments and motor cues to approach and avoidance
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, M. Weisbuch, R.B. Adams, Jr., and N. Ambady
. “Gender moderates the relationship between emotion and perceived gaze.”
Emotion
vol.
11
, (December 01, 2011):
1439
-
1444
.
Explore Further about Gender moderates the relationship between emotion and perceived gaze
Journal Article
Weisbuch, M., N. Ambady, Michael Slepian , and D.C. Jimerson
. “Emotion contagion moderates the relationship between emotionally-negative families and abnormal eating behavior.”
International Journal of Eating Disorders
vol.
44
, (December 01, 2011):
716
-
720
.
Explore Further about Emotion contagion moderates the relationship between emotionally-negative families and abnormal eating behavior
Journal Article
Rule, N.O., K.S. Rosen, Michael Slepian , and N. Ambady
. “Mating interest improves women's accuracy in judging male sexual orientation.”
Psychological Science
vol.
22
, (July 01, 2011):
881
-
886
.
Explore Further about Mating interest improves women's accuracy in judging male sexual orientation
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, M. Weisbuch, N.O. Rule, and N. Ambady
. “Tough and tender: Embodied categorization of gender.”
Psychological Science
vol.
22
, (January 01, 2011):
26
-
28
.
Explore Further about Tough and tender: Embodied categorization of gender
Journal Article
Rutchick, A.M., Michael Slepian , and B. Ferris
. “The pen is mightier than the word: Object priming of evaluative standards.”
European Journal of Social Psychology
vol.
40
, (August 01, 2010):
704
-
708
.
Explore Further about The pen is mightier than the word: Object priming of evaluative standards
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael, M. Weisbuch, A.M. Rutchick, L.S. Newman, and N. Ambady
. “Shedding light on insight: Priming bright ideas.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
vol.
46
, (July 01, 2010):
696
-
700
.
Explore Further about Shedding light on insight: Priming bright ideas
Journal Article
Weisbuch, M., Michael Slepian , A. Clarke, N. Ambady, and J. Veenstra-VanderWeele
. “Behavioral stability across time and situations: Nonverbal versus verbal consistency.”
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
vol.
34
, (January 01, 2010):
43
-
56
.
Explore Further about Behavioral stability across time and situations: Nonverbal versus verbal consistency
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and Adam Galinsky
. “The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Martin, A.E. and Michael Slepian
. “Dehumanizing gender: The de-biasing effects of gendering human-abstracted entities.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Dehumanizing gender: The de-biasing effects of gendering human-abstracted entities
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael, N. Halevy, and Adam Galinsky
. “The solitude of secrecy: Thinking about secrets evokes motivational conflict and feelings of fatigue.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about The solitude of secrecy: Thinking about secrets evokes motivational conflict and feelings of fatigue
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and E. Moulton-Tetlock
. “Confiding secrets and well-being.”
Social Psychological and Personality Science
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Confiding secrets and well-being
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Bogart, K.R., N.M. Rosa, and Michael Slepian
. “Born that way or became that way: Stigma toward congenital versus acquired disability.”
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Born that way or became that way: Stigma toward congenital versus acquired disability
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael, J.N. Kirby, and E.K. Kalokerinos
. “Shame, guilt, and secrets on the mind.”
Emotion
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Shame, guilt, and secrets on the mind
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and K. Greenaway
. “The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and Evan Carr
. “Facial expressions of authenticity: Emotion variability increases judgments of trustworthiness and leadership.”
Cognition
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Facial expressions of authenticity: Emotion variability increases judgments of trustworthiness and leadership
Chapter
Martin, A.E. and Michael Slepian
. “The Big Two.” In
The Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences
, edited by
V. Zeigler-Hill & T. Shackelford
,
New York
:
Springer
, Forthcoming.
Explore Further about The Big Two
Chapter
Masicampo, E.J. and Michael Slepian
. “Linking diverse resources for action control.” In
Self-Regulation and Ego Control
, edited by
Edward R. Hirt, Joshua Clarkson, and Lile Jia
,
San Diego
:
Elsevier
, 2016.
Explore Further about Linking diverse resources for action control
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Course
B8510: Managerial Negotiations
View Course on Managerial Negotiations
Course
B9520: Special Topics in Organizational Behavior
View Course on Special Topics in Organizational Behavior
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Articles
In the Media

The Cost of Keeping Secrets

Psychology Today
In the Media

People Who Keep Company Secrets Find More Meaning at Work

Harvard Business Review
In the Media

People Who Keep Company Secrets Find More Meaning at Work

Harvard Business Review
In the Media

People Who Keep Company Secrets Find More Meaning at Work

Harvard Business Review
In the Media

Democrats Should Be ‘Worried about Trump Closet Voters as Kamala Harris Has 60 Days to Fix Party’s Greatest Weakness’

The U.S. Sun
In the Media

Can You Keep a Secret?

BBC News
In the Media

Spilling the Beans about Secrets

The Colin McEnroe Show
In the Media

The Quiet Thrill of Keeping a Secret

The New York Times
In the Media

Secrets Can Be ‘Energizing' as Long as the News Is Positive, Says Study from Columbia University Professor

Fox News
In the Media

Herschel Walker Lied about Things That Could Easily Be Found Out. Why Do People Do That?

NBC News
In the Media

Why Were the Polls so Far off Again? Trump Voters Are Near Impossible to Predict

Fast Company
In the Media

We Are Going on Vacation in the Middle of a Pandemic (Don't Tell Anyone)

The New York Times
In the Media

Taller Cubicles, One-Way Aisles: Office Workers Must Adjust

The Associated Press
In the Media

Shhh! We're Heading Off on Vacation

The New York Times
In the Media

Trailing Badly in Polls, Trump Points to 'Hidden' Voters and the 'Silent Majority' as Path to Victory

The Washington Post
In the Media

How to Share Other People's Secrets without Ruining Lives

Vice
In the Media

Some Men Share Their Secrets Only in Therapy

The Atlantic
Article

New Research Finds Keeping Work Secrets Helps Employees Find Meaning in Jobs But Raises Stress

Read More about New Research Finds Keeping Work Secrets Helps Employees Find Meaning in Jobs But Raises Stress
Article

The Silent Strain: How Keeping Secrets Affects Emotional Well-Being

Read More about The Silent Strain: How Keeping Secrets Affects Emotional Well-Being
Article

Columbia Bizcast: Prof. Michael Slepian Reveals the Truth about Secrecy

Read More about Columbia Bizcast: Prof. Michael Slepian Reveals the Truth about Secrecy
Article

Game of Secrets

Read More about Game of Secrets
Article

Keeping Secrets Is Harmful to Your Health, According to New Research from Columbia Business School

Read More about Keeping Secrets Is Harmful to Your Health, According to New Research from Columbia Business School
  • CaseWorks
This faculty member has no associated CaseWorks cases currently.

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