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  1. Directory
  2. Faculty
  3. Shai Davidai

Shai Davidai

Assistant Professor of Business
Management Division
Photo of Assistant Professor Shai Davidai
Areas of Expertise
Decision Making & Negotiations, Leadership & Organizational Behavior
Contact
Office: 343 Kravis
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae
LinkedIn

Shai Davidai is Assistant Professor in the Management Division of Columbia Business School. His research examines people’s everyday judgments of themselves, other people, and society as a whole. He studies the psychological forces that shape, distort, and bias people’s perceptions of the world and their influence on people’s judgments, preferences, and choices. His topics of expertise include the psychology of judgment and decision making, economic inequality and social mobility, social comparisons, and zero-sum thinking.

His work has been published in top-tier journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Science Advances, Scientific Reports, Nature Psychology Reviews, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Perspectives on Psychological Sciences, The Accounting Review, the Journal of Economic Surveys, and the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.

Shai received his PhD from Cornell University in 2015. Prior to joining Columbia Business School, Shai spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University and 3 years as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at The New School for Social Research

Joined CBS
2019

Featured Research

The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship Between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game

Authors
Shai Davidai and M. Ongis
Date
January 1, 2019
Format
Journal Article
Journal
Science Advances

The tendency to see life as zero-sum exacerbates political conflicts. Six studies (N = 3223) examine the relationship between political ideology and zero-sum thinking: the belief that one party's gains can only be obtained at the expense of another party's losses. We find that both liberals and conservatives view life as zero-sum when it benefits them to do so. Whereas conservatives exhibit zero-sum thinking when the status quo is challenged, liberals do so when the status quo is being upheld.

Read More about The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship Between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game

Why Do Americans Believe in Economic Mobility? Economic Inequality, External Attributions of Wealth and Poverty, and the Belief in Economic Mobility

Authors
Shai Davidai
Date
November 1, 2018
Format
Journal Article
Journal
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Although the rates of economic inequality in the United States are at their highest since the onset of The Great Depression, many Americans do not seem as concerned as may be expected. This apparent lack of concern has been attributed to people's deeply-entrenched belief in economic mobility -- the belief that through hard work, determination, and skill people are able to rise up the economic ladder. Little is known, however, about why Americans so strongly believe in economic mobility.

Read More about Why Do Americans Believe in Economic Mobility? Economic Inequality, External Attributions of Wealth and Poverty, and the Belief in Economic Mobility

The Second Pugilist's Plight: Why People Believe They Are above Average, but Are Not Especially Happy about It

Authors
Shai Davidai and Sebastian Deri
Date
January 1, 2019
Format
Journal Article
Journal
Journal for Experimental Psychology: General

People's tendency to rate themselves as above average is often taken as evidence of undue self-regard. Yet, everyday experience is occasioned with feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. How can these 2 experiences be reconciled? Across 12 studies (N = 2,474; including 4 preregistered studies) we argue that although people do indeed believe that they are above average they also hold themselves to standards of comparison that are well above average.

Read More about The Second Pugilist's Plight: Why People Believe They Are above Average, but Are Not Especially Happy about It

Are "Nudges" Getting a Fair Shot? Joint Versus Separate Evaluation

Authors
Shai Davidai and E. Shafir
Date
January 1, 2018
Format
Journal Article
Journal
Behavioural Public Policy

The most effective behavioral policies are often also the most contentious. Psychologically informed interventions that promote non-deliberative behaviors ("nudges") are often more effective than "traditional" policies (like informational and educational campaigns) that target more deliberative processes. Yet, precisely because of their deliberative nature, people are often said to prefer the latter over the former.

Read More about Are "Nudges" Getting a Fair Shot? Joint Versus Separate Evaluation

All Activities

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  • CaseWorks
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  • Chapters
Journal Article
Davidai, Shai and M. Ongis
. “The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship Between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game.”
Science Advances
vol.
5
, (January 01, 2019):
eaay3761
.
Explore Further about The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship Between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game
Download PDF on The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship Between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game
Journal Article
Davidai, Shai and Sebastian Deri
. “The Second Pugilist's Plight: Why People Believe They Are above Average, but Are Not Especially Happy about It.”
Journal for Experimental Psychology: General
vol.
148
, (January 01, 2019):
570
-
587
.
Explore Further about The Second Pugilist's Plight: Why People Believe They Are above Average, but Are Not Especially Happy about It
Journal Article
Davidai, Shai
. “Why Do Americans Believe in Economic Mobility? Economic Inequality, External Attributions of Wealth and Poverty, and the Belief in Economic Mobility.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
vol.
79
, (November 01, 2018):
138
-
148
.
Explore Further about Why Do Americans Believe in Economic Mobility? Economic Inequality, External Attributions of Wealth and Poverty, and the Belief in Economic Mobility
Journal Article
Davidai, Shai and T. Gilovich
. “How Should We Think About Americans' Perceptions of Socioeconomic Mobility.”
Judgment and Decision Making
vol.
13
, (January 01, 2018):
297
-
304
.
Explore Further about How Should We Think About Americans' Perceptions of Socioeconomic Mobility
Download PDF on How Should We Think About Americans' Perceptions of Socioeconomic Mobility
Journal Article
Davidai, Shai and E. Shafir
. “Are "Nudges" Getting a Fair Shot? Joint Versus Separate Evaluation.”
Behavioural Public Policy
(January 01, 2018):
1
-
19
.
Explore Further about Are "Nudges" Getting a Fair Shot? Joint Versus Separate Evaluation
Chapter
Davidai, Shai, Stephan Klasen, Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Rebeca Grynspan, Luis Lopez-Calva, and Nora Lustig
. “Economic Inequality and Social Progress.” In
International Panel on Social Progress: Rethinking Society for the 21st Century
,
New York
:
Cambridge University Press
, 2018.
Explore Further about Economic Inequality and Social Progress
Download PDF on Economic Inequality and Social Progress
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Course
B8510: Managerial Negotiations
View Course on Managerial Negotiations
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Articles
In the Media

How to Forgive Ourselves for What We Can't Change

The Atlantic
Article

A Myth on Black Economic Mobility: As U.S. Puts Spotlight on Racial Progress, Americans Regularly Misjudge Black Wealth and Opportunity

Read More about A Myth on Black Economic Mobility: As U.S. Puts Spotlight on Racial Progress, Americans Regularly Misjudge Black Wealth and Opportunity
Article

Conforming for Others’ Sake: When Being a Team Player is Seen as Leadership

Read More about Conforming for Others’ Sake: When Being a Team Player is Seen as Leadership
  • CaseWorks
This faculty member has no associated CaseWorks cases currently.

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