Biography
Stephen Spiller’s research focuses on the psychological processes governing how consumers plan, allocate and represent their time and money. He is particularly interested in two areas: how consumers think about and make decisions about their money; and how consumers think about products as a matter of quality or taste.
“I try to integrate what we know about consumer psychology with traditional economic models to push the boundaries of each,” he says. His research approach entails diagnosing marketing problems by thinking through how consumers make decisions to understand better how potential solutions will apply to particular situations.
He serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Consumer Research and has led data analysis workshops for professional organizations such as the Society of Consumer Psychology and the Association for Consumer Research.
Spiller earned his Ph.D. at Duke University, where he taught undergraduates in the Markets and Management Studies program. His dissertation examined the effects of perceived resource constraints and memory accessibility on the degree to which consumers consider their opportunity costs. In ongoing research, Spiller examines how consumers assess the value of money, the psychological antecedents of financial fragility, and the effects of consumer beliefs about quality and taste. At UCLA Anderson, he teaches the Consumer Behavior course in the MBA, FEMBA and Ph.D. programs.
As a result of his time in the Mid-Atlantic, Spiller is a fan of ACC basketball, North Carolina barbeque (only as a consumer, not as a producer) and bluegrass music festivals.
Education
Ph.D. Business Administration, 2011, Duke University
B.A. Economics and Psychology, with highest distinction, 2006, University of Virginia