Wendy Liu

Research Areas

Consumer Behavior
Judgement and Decision Making

Industry Areas

Consumer Products
Financial Services
Health Services
Marketing Research

Wendy Liu specializes in consumer judgment and decision making, focusing on the cognitive and emotional basis of consumer choice, social interactions, and well-being. Her recent research topics include decision making under complexity, such as shortlist formation, decisions involving risk, self control decisions, the role of complex emotions, contextualized motivations and values, and consumer behavior in medical and health domains.

Dr Liu’s research has been published in leading marketing and management journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Her work has also been featured in the national media, such as Businessweek and Time Magazine.

Dr Liu received her Ph.D. in Marketing from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is currently an Associate Professor of Marketing at the UCSD Rady School of Management, and teaches Consumer Behavior to MBA students. Dr Liu taught at the UCLA Anderson School of Management prior to joining UCSD Rady.

Publications

“Is Planning Good for You? The Differential Impact of Planning on Self Regulation,” with Claudia Townsend (2012), Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (4, December), 688 - 703

“Grapes of Wrath: The Angry Effects of Self Control,” with David Gal (2011), Journal of Consumer Research, 38 (3, October), 445 – 458

“Bringing Us Closer or Driving Us Apart: The Effect of Consumer Input on Propensity to Transact with an Organization,” with David Gal (2011), Journal of Consumer Research, 38 (2, August), 242 – 259

“Variety, Vice, and Virtue: How Assortment Size Influences Option Choice,” with Aner Sela and Jonah Berger (2009), Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (6, April), 941 – 951

“Focusing on Desirability: The Effect of Decision Interruption and Suspension on Preferences,” (2008) Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (4, December), 640 – 652

“The Happiness of Giving: The Time-Ask Effect,” with Jennifer Aaker (2008) Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (3, October), 543 – 557

“Do You Look to the Future or Focus on Today? The Impact of Life Experience on Intertemporal Decisions,” with Jennifer Aaker (2007) Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102 (2, March), 212 – 225

“A New Look at Constructed Choice Processes,” with Dale Griffin and Uzma Khan (2005), Marketing Letters 16, 321 – 333

Book Chapter

“The Benefits of Asking for Time,” in Daniel Oppenheimer and Christopher Olivola (Eds.) (2010) The Science of Charity: Experimental Approaches to the Study of Giving, Chapter 12, p 201 – 215, Taylor & Francis, NY.

Manuscripts Under Review

“Charitable Giving as Social Relationship,” with Genevieve Hyewook Jeong, under revision at Journal of Consumer Research