Associate Professor of Psychology and of Organizational Studies (with tenure)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Stephen Garcia is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology and of Organizational Studies at the University of Michigan. He is also a Faculty Associate of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
Stephen’s primary research program explores the psychology of competition through the lens of social comparison processes (Garcia, Tor, & Schiff, 2013; Garcia, Reese, & Tor, in press). For example, his work has uncovered the N-Effect. This discovery reveals that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the motivation to compete decreases as the number of competitors increases when controlling for expected payoff (Garcia & Tor, 2009; Garcia, Tor, & Schiff, 2013; Tor & Garcia, 2010). Other papers explore the impact of rankings on rivalries and its implications for maximizing joint gains and entering joint ventures.
Stephen's work appears in leading journals such as Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, and Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Much of his research has been featured in media outlets around the world including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times (of London), The Globe and Mail, and Der Spiegel.His previous industry experience at Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo was at the intersection of marketing, risk management, and strategy.
Stephen is a graduate of Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
Ph.D. in Psychology
Princeton University
Master of Administration, Planning & Social Policy
Harvard University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (with distinction)
Stanford University