Tuck School's Dr. Kopalle Presents "Expectations and Culture: The Effect of Belief in Karma in India" at Faculty Workshop

Dr. Praveen Kopalle, Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, presented "Expectations and Culture: The Effect of Belief in Karma in India" at a Social Psychology Research Interest Group (SPRIG) faculty workshop on Tuesday, December 7, 2010.

Here he examined whether belief in karma and, consequently, having a long-term orientation, counteracts the tendency to lower expectations in two studies that measure and prime respondents' belief in karma. Results show that the extent of belief in karma, operating largely through its impact on long-run orientation, does moderate (decrease) the effect of disconfirmation sensitivity on expectations. These findings suggest that it is important to tailor advertising messages by matching them with customer expectations and their cultural determinants.

The Social Psychology Research Interest Group (SPRIG) is an interdisciplinary workshop devoted to research on social behavior.  It is supported by the Rockefeller Center and includes faculty and graduate students from Psychological and Brain Sciences, Sociology, Economics, the Tuck School of Business, the Dartmouth Medical School, Philosophy, Computer Science, and Government. These workshops are focused on empirical research devoted to understanding social behavior broadly defined.  The group has been convened by Jay Hull, Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences, since 2003 with the assistance of Jane DaSilva of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences.

Learn more about Rockefeller Faculty Workshops.