Research

What makes a choice
feel worth it.

My work lies at the intersection of behavioral science and judgment and decision-making. I'm particularly interested in how people think about value — how they interpret prices, justify spending, respond to incentives, and make sense of what feels fair or worthwhile. I study the psychological biases and mental shortcuts that guide these decisions, and explore why people sometimes make choices that seem inconsistent, or even irrational, on the surface.

WP

Working papers

2026Under review

The Cost of Transparency: When and How AI Disclosure Undermines Environmental Donation Appeals

Verdi, S., Moeini-Jazani, M., & Schwarz, N.

2nd round of review at the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS).

01–03

Research areas

01 / VALUEValue Perception

How do people decide what something is worth? I examine the way prices are evaluated, how spending is mentally organized and justified, and how judgments of fairness and worth shape what we are willing to pay.

Price Evaluation Mental Accounting Fairness & Worth Judgments
02 / CHOICEJudgment & Decision-Making

People weigh trade-offs, respond to incentives, and decide when to give. I study how these evaluations unfold — including the conditions under which incentives backfire and the motivations behind donation and prosocial decisions.

Trade-off Evaluation Incentive Response Donation & Prosocial Decisions
03 / AIPsychology of AI

As algorithms increasingly shape what we see and choose, I investigate how AI influences people's decisions — and the new biases that emerge when AI is involved in, or disclosed as part of, the choices we make.

AI Influence on Decisions Biases Caused by AI