Before joining the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2007, I served on the faculties of INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1999-2007), the University of Heidelberg (1998-99) and the University of Konstanz (1995-1998).

I study why people develop preferences toward objects (e.g., brands, products, physical objects, or people), and focus on two types of reasons. First, I explore how goals and needs influence preferences. Second, I search for automatic sources of preferences, such as the learning of associations or uncontrollable transfer of affect to choice objects. Specific research topics include the flow of activation between goals, conditioning of preferences, the sources of impulsive motivation and how such motivation differs from hedonic experiences, and the implicit measurement.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Judgment and Decision Making
Motivation, Goal Setting
Social Cognition

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs
Emotion, Mood, Affect

Judgment and Decision Making
Motivation, Goal Setting
Social Cognition

Journal Articles:

Bonezzi, A. , Brendl, C.M., & De Angelis, M. (2011). Stuck in the middle: The psychophysics of goal pursuit. Psychological Science, 22, 607-612.
Brendl, C. M., Chattopadhyay, A., Pelham, B. W., & Carvallo, M. (2005). Name letter branding: Valence transfers when product specific needs are active. Journal of Consumer Research, 32, 405-415.
Brendl, C. M., Higgins, E. T., & Lemm, K. M. (1995). Sensitivity to varying gains and losses: The role of self-discrepancies and event framing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1028-1051.
Brendl, C. M., Markman, A. B., & Messner, C. (2005). Indirectly measuring evaluations of several attitude objects in relation to a neutral reference point. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 346-368.
Brendl, C. M., Markman, A. B., & Messner, C. (2003). The devaluation effect: Activating a need devalues unrelated objects. Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 463-473.
Dai, X., Brendl, C.M., & Ariely, D. (2010). Wanting, liking, and preference construction. Emotion, 10(3), 324-334.
Markman, A. B., Brendl, C. M., & Kim, K. (2007). Preference and the specificity of goals. Emotion, 7, 680-684.

Other Publications:

Markman, A. B., & Brendl, C. M. (2005). Goals, policies, preferences, and actions. In F. R. Kardes, P. M. Herr, & J. Nantel (Eds.), Applying social cognition to consumer-focused strategy (pp. 183-200). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Courses Taught:

Consumer Behavior (MBA)
Consumer Insight and Brand Strategy (executive MBA)
Psychological Theory in Consumer Behavior (PhD)

Consumer Behavior (MBA)
Consumer Insight and Brand Strategy (executive MBA)

Psychological Theory in Consumer Behavior (PhD)

C. Miguel Brendl
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University
2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Phone: (847) 491-4527
Fax: (847) 491-2498