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Michael Slepian

Michael Slepian
Associate Professor of Business
Management Division
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
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Type
Journal Article
Liu, Z. and Michael Slepian
. “Secrecy: Unshared Realities.”
Current Opinion in Psychology
vol.
23
, (October 01, 2018):
124
-
128
.
Read More about Secrecy: Unshared Realities
Type
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
.
Read More about The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets
Type
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
.
Read More about Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior
Type
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
.
Read More about To whom do we confide our secrets?
Type
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
.
Read More about Perceiving groups: The people perception of diversity and hierarchy
Type
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
.
Read More about The experience of secrecy
Download PDF on The experience of secrecy
Type
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
.
Read More about The unique contributions of perceiver and target characteristics in person perception
Type
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
.
Read More about The experience of secrecy.
Type
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
.
Read More about Choosing Fusion: The Effects of Diversity Ideologies on Preference for Culturally Mixed Experiences
Type
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
.
Read More about An approach-avoidance motivational model of trustworthiness judgments
Type
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
.
Read More about Truth or punishment: Secrecy and punishing the self
Type
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
.
Read More about The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names
Type
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
.
Read More about Internalized impressions: The link between apparent facial trustworthiness and deceptive behavior is mediated by targets' expectations of how they will be judged
Type
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
.
Read More about The hidden effects of recalling secrets: Assimilation, contrast, and the burdens of secrecy
Type
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
.
Read More about Exposure to variability in facial emotion influences beliefs about the stability of psychological characteristics
Type
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
.
Read More about Social belonging motivates categorization of racially ambiguous faces
Download PDF on Social belonging motivates categorization of racially ambiguous faces
Type
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
.
Read More about Sensitivity to perceived facial trustworthiness is increased by activating self-protection motives
Type
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
.
Read More about The cognitive consequences of formal clothing
Type
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
.
Read More about Exploring the secrecy burden: Secrets, preoccupation, and perceptual judgments
Type
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
.
Read More about Cognition from on high and down low: Verticality and construal level
Type
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael
. “Disentangling multimodal processes in social categorization.”
Cognition
vol.
136
, (January 01, 2015):
396
-
402
.
Read More about Disentangling multimodal processes in social categorization
Type
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
.
Read More about Averted eye-gaze disrupts configural face encoding
Type
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and N. Ambady
. “Simulating sensorimotor metaphors: Novel metaphors influence sensory judgments.”
Cognition
vol.
130
, (March 01, 2014):
309
-
314
.
Read More about Simulating sensorimotor metaphors: Novel metaphors influence sensory judgments
Type
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
.
Read More about Thin-slice judgments in the clinical context
Type
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
.
Read More about Suppressing thoughts of evaluation while being evaluated
Type
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
.
Read More about Fluid movement and fluid social cognition: Bodily movement influences essentialist thought
Type
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
.
Read More about Relieving the burdens of secrecy: Revealing secrets influences judgments of hill slant and distance
Type
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
.
Read More about Nonverbal expressions of status and system legitimacy: An interactive influence on race bias
Type
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
.
Read More about Quality of professional players' poker hands is perceived accurately from arm motions
Type
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
.
Read More about Handling ibuprofen increases pain tolerance and decreases perceived pain intensity in a cold pressor test
Type
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
.
Read More about Proprioception and person perception: Politicians and professors
Type
Journal Article
Slepian, Michael and N. Ambady
. “Fluid movement and creativity.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
141
, (November 01, 2012):
625
-
629
.
Read More about Fluid movement and creativity
Type
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
.
Read More about The physical burdens of secrecy
Type
Journal Article
Rule, N.O., Michael Slepian, and N. Ambady
. “A memory advantage for untrustworthy faces.”
Cognition
vol.
125
, (January 01, 2012):
207
-
218
.
Read More about A memory advantage for untrustworthy faces
Type
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
.
Read More about Embodied impression formation: Social judgments and motor cues to approach and avoidance
Type
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
.
Read More about Gender moderates the relationship between emotion and perceived gaze
Type
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
.
Read More about Emotion contagion moderates the relationship between emotionally-negative families and abnormal eating behavior
Type
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
.
Read More about Mating interest improves women's accuracy in judging male sexual orientation
Type
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
.
Read More about Tough and tender: Embodied categorization of gender
Type
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
.
Read More about The pen is mightier than the word: Object priming of evaluative standards
Type
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
.
Read More about Shedding light on insight: Priming bright ideas
Type
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
.
Read More about Behavioral stability across time and situations: Nonverbal versus verbal consistency
Type
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.
Read More about The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names
Type
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.
Read More about Dehumanizing gender: The de-biasing effects of gendering human-abstracted entities
Type
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.
Read More about The solitude of secrecy: Thinking about secrets evokes motivational conflict and feelings of fatigue
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and E. Moulton-Tetlock
. “Confiding secrets and well-being.”
Social Psychological and Personality Science
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Confiding secrets and well-being
Type
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.
Read More about Born that way or became that way: Stigma toward congenital versus acquired disability
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael, J.N. Kirby, and E.K. Kalokerinos
. “Shame, guilt, and secrets on the mind.”
Emotion
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Shame, guilt, and secrets on the mind
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and K. Greenaway
. “The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
. Forthcoming.
Read More about The benefits and burdens of keeping others' secrets
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Slepian, Michael and Evan Carr
. “Facial expressions of authenticity: Emotion variability increases judgments of trustworthiness and leadership.”
Cognition
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Facial expressions of authenticity: Emotion variability increases judgments of trustworthiness and leadership
Type
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.
Read More about The Big Two
Type
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.
Read More about Linking diverse resources for action control
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Course
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  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Ideas
  • Research In Brief
  • Press Releases
Type
In the Media

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

NBC News
Type
In the Media

How to Share Other People's Secrets without Ruining Lives

Vice
Type
In the Media

Shhh! We're Heading Off on Vacation

The New York Times
Type
In the Media

Some Men Share Their Secrets Only in Therapy

The Atlantic
Type
In the Media

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

The Associated Press
Type
In the Media

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

The Washington Post
Type
In the Media

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

The New York Times
Type
In the Media

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

Fast Company
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