I am interested in the processes of self-regulation – namely, how people go about pursuing their long-term goals in the face of other, inconsistent motives (e.g., eating healthy versus satisfying one’s hunger). I investigate the factors that make people more likely to adhere to their long terms goals (e.g., being healthy, conserving precious resources) as well as the factors that hinder their long-term goal pursuit.

 I’ve developed two primary lines of research around these issues. In the first, I ask when exposure to healthy food cues can backfire and ironically make people hungry (Finkelstein & Fishbach, 2010). In the second, I ask when positive feedback on one’s strengths versus negative feedback on weakneses is more motivating as a function of an individual’s expertise level (Finkelstein & Fishbach, Forthcoming; Fishbach & Finkelstein, 2010). Below, you will find links to my CV as well as my current papers.

I’m also interested in how principles from social & cognitive psychology as well as behavioral economics impact the decision making of managers of healthcare organizations as well as patient decision making. I frequently post interesting articles on psychology, behavioral economics, and health to twitter – @drstaceyf.

finkelstein_CV

Theoretical Papers:

Finkelstein, Stacey R & Ayelet Fishbach (2012) Tell Me What I Did Wrong: Experts Seek & Respond to Negative Feedback Journal of Consumer Research, 39

Fishbach, Ayelet, Tal Eyal & Stacey R. Finkelstein (2010). How Positive & Negative Feedback Motivate Goal Pursuit. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 517-530.

Fishbach, Ayelet and Stacey R Finkelstein, (2010). How Feedback Influences Persistence, Disengagement, & Change In H. Aarts. & A. Elliot
(Eds.), goal-directed behavior. Psychology Press.

Finkelstein, Stacey R. & Ayelet Fishbach (2010) When Healthy Food Makes You Hungry. Journal of Consumer Research (lead article), 37, 357-367

Mckenzie, Craig R. M., Michael J. Liersch, & Stacey R. Finkelstein (2006). Recommendations Implicit in Policy Defaults, Psychological Science, 17, 414-420.

Public Health & Policy:

Finkelstein, Stacey R, Nan Liu, David Rosenthal, Beena Jani, and Lusine Poghosyan (in press), “Appointment Reminder Systems and Patient Preferences: Patient Technology Usage and Familiarity with Other Service Providers as Predictive Variables,” Health Informatics

Nan Liu, Stacey R. Finkelstein, and Lusine Poghosyan (in press), “A New Model for Nurse Practitioner Utilization in Primary Care: Increased Efficiency and Implications,” Health Care Management Review