Sheena Iyengar
{{short description|Professor at Columbia Business School}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sheena S. Iyengar
| image = File:Sheena Iyengar.jpg
| alt = Photo of Sheena Iyengar
| caption = Iyengar at Columbia Business School
| birth_name = Sheena Sethi
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| alma_mater = Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania
| occupation = S.T. Lee Professor of Business
| employer = Columbia Business School
| known_for = Academic research on Choice
Books: Art of Choosing 2010, Think Bigger 2023
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Sheena S. Iyengar is the S.T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Department at Columbia Business School, name="MtHolyoke">{{cite web |title = Mount Holyoke Biography -- Sheena S. Iyengar |website = Mount Holyoke |publisher = Mount Holyoke College |url = https://www.mtholyoke.edu/wcl/events/sheena_iyengar_bio |access-date = 10 May 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180510195146/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/wcl/events/sheena_iyengar_bio |archive-date = 10 May 2018 |date =2012-04-18 }} name="ColumbiaDir">{{cite web |title = Sheena S. Iyengar -- Columbia Business School Directory |website = Columbia Business School |publisher = Columbia University |url = https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/ss957 |access-date = 24 December 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171224021137/https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/ss957 |archive-date = 24 December 2017 |date =2014-09-15 }} widely and best known as an expert on choice. name="GradMgmtNews201105">{{cite web |title = Five Questions on Choosing for ... Sheena Iyengar |website = Graduate Management News |publisher = Graduate Management Admission Council |url = https://www.gmac.com/why-gmac/gmac-news/gmnews/2011/may/five-questions-on-choosing-for-sheena-iyengar.aspx |access-date = 3 September 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160903205625/https://www.gmac.com/why-gmac/gmac-news/gmnews/2011/may/five-questions-on-choosing-for-sheena-iyengar.aspx |archive-date = 3 September 2016 |date = May 2011 }} name="Thinkers50">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar 2011 Ranked Thinker #48 |website = Thinkers50 |publisher = Thinkers50 Limited |url = http://thinkers50.com/biographies/sheena-iyengar/ |access-date = 24 June 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170624020146/http://thinkers50.com/biographies/sheena-iyengar/ |archive-date = 24 June 2017 |date = 2011 }} name="NJ20180326">{{cite web |title = Take 5: Sheena Iyengar, author and expert on choice |last = Fensom |first = Michael |website = Inside Jersey Magazine |publisher = New Jersey On-Line LLC |url = http://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/index.ssf/2018/03/take_5_sheena_iyengar_author_and_expert_on_choice.html |access-date = 10 May 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180510191447/http://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/index.ssf/2018/03/take_5_sheena_iyengar_author_and_expert_on_choice.html |archive-date = 10 May 2018 |date = 26 March 2018 }} Her research focuses on the many facets of decision making, including: why people want choice, what affects how and what we choose, and how we can improve our decision making. name="ColumbiaDir" /> name="PoetsQuants20121022">{{cite web |title = Take 5: Sheena Iyengar, author and expert on choice |last = Carter |first = Andrea |website = Poets & Quants |publisher = Poets & Quants, Inc. |url = http://poetsandquants.com:80/2012/10/22/worlds-best-b-school-professors-sheena-iyengar/ |access-date = 10 May 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20180510202247/https://poetsandquants.com/2012/10/22/worlds-best-b-school-professors-sheena-iyengar/ |archive-date = 10 May 2018 |date = 22 October 2012 |url-status = live }} She has presented TED talks on choice name="TEDbio">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar, Psycho-economist |website = TED |url = https://www.ted.com/speakers/sheena_iyengar |access-date = 7 March 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180307104123/https://www.ted.com/speakers/sheena_iyengar |archive-date = 7 March 2018 |date = 22 October 2012 }} and is the author of The Art of Choosing (2010). name="TheArtOfChoosing2010">{{cite book |last = Iyengar |first = Sheena |date = March 2011 |orig-year = First published 2010 |title = The Art of Choosing |location = New York, NY, USA |publisher = Twelve |isbn = 978-0-446-50411-9 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/artofchoosing00shee }}
Early life and education
Iyengar was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.{{rp|xi}} Her parents were immigrants from Delhi, name="SCRIBD20180514">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar (Preview) |website = SCRIBD |publisher = Scribd Inc. |url = https://www.scribd.com/document/244856491/Sheena-Iyengar |access-date = 14 May 2018}} India.{{rp|xi-xii}} As a child, she was diagnosed with a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa,{{rp|xii}} an inherited disease of retinal degeneration. By the age of nine, she could no longer read. By the age of sixteen, she was completely blind, although able to perceive light.{{rp|xii}} She remains blind as an adult. Iyengar's father died of a heart attack when she was thirteen.{{rp|xii-xiii}} This change in family circumstances, and Iyengar's loss of vision, prompted Iyengar's mother to steer her towards higher education and self-sufficiency, saying to Iyengar: "I don't want to hear about men or boys, you've got to stand on your own two feet." name="SCMPost20160526">{{cite web |title = Professor Sheena Iyengar on choice that changed her life |last = McHugh |first = Fionnuala |website = South China Morning Post |url = http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/1955027/professor-sheena-iyengar-choice-changed-her-life |access-date = 21 July 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170721061625/http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/1955027/professor-sheena-iyengar-choice-changed-her-life |archive-date = 21 July 2017 |date = 26 May 2016}} In 1992, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School and a B.A. in psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. name="IyengarCV2017">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar, S.T. Lee Professor of Business: Curriculum Vitae |website = Columbia Business School |publisher = Columbia University |url = https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/sites/cbs-directory/files/faculty_cvs/Iyengar%20Sheena%20CBS%20CV%202017.pdf |access-date = 28 December 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171228134213/https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/sites/cbs-directory/files/faculty_cvs/Iyengar%20Sheena%20CBS%20CV%202017.pdf |archive-date = 28 December 2017 |date = 7 January 2017}} She then earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Stanford University in 1997. For her dissertation "Choice and its Discontents," Iyengar received the Best Dissertation Award for 1998 from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. name="SocPsychNet2009">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar |website = Social Psychology Network |url = http://iyengar.socialpsychology.org/ |access-date = 5 December 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161205231922/http://iyengar.socialpsychology.org/ |archive-date = 5 December 2016 |date = 21 December 2009}}
Academic career
Iyengar's first faculty appointment was at the Sloan School of Management at MIT from July 1997 to June 1998. In 1998, Iyengar joined the faculty at the Columbia Business School, starting as an assistant professor. She has been a full professor at Columbia from July 2007 onward and, since November 2009, the inaugural S.T. Lee Professor of Business.
Her principal line of research concerns the psychology of choice, and she has been studying how people perceive and respond to choice since the 1990s. name="NYT20100318">{{cite web |title = An Expert on Choice Chooses |last = Penelope |first = Green |website = The New York Times |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/garden/18choice.html |access-date = 19 September 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170919202906/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/garden/18choice.html |archive-date = 19 September 2017 |date = 17 March 2010}} She has authored or coauthored over 30 journal articles. Her research and statements have been cited often in the print media, name="IyengarMediaCov">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar Media Coverage |website = Sheena Iyengar |url = https://sheenaiyengar.com/media-coverage/ |access-date = 24 April 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170424180653/https://sheenaiyengar.com/media-coverage/ |archive-date = 24 April 2017 |date=}} including by Bloomberg Business Week, name="BusWeek20121231">{{cite web |title = New Year's Resolutions in 140 Characters or Fewer |last = Brady |first = Diane |work = Bloomberg Businessweek |url = http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-31/new-years-resolutions-in-140-characters-or-less |access-date = 9 October 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131009233232/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-31/new-years-resolutions-in-140-characters-or-less |archive-date = 9 October 2013 |date = 31 December 2012}} CityLab, name="CityLab20120629">{{cite news |title = Is Your City Making You Single? |last = Hess |first = Amanda |newspaper = Bloomberg |publisher = The Atlantic Monthly Group |url = https://www.citylab.com/design/2012/06/your-city-keeping-you-single/2417/ |access-date = 2 December 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171202093510/https://www.citylab.com/design/2012/06/your-city-keeping-you-single/2417/ |archive-date = 2 December 2017 |date = 29 June 2012}} Money Magazine, name="MoneyMag20100602">{{cite web |title = How to make better investment choices |last = Wang |first = Penelope |website = CNNMoney |publisher = Cable News Network |url = http://money.cnn.com:80/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2010/06/01/105937451/index.htm |access-date = 2 December 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140409092401/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2010/06/01/105937451/index.htm |archive-date = 9 April 2014 |date = 2 June 2010 |url-status = live }} The New York Times, and The Washington Post. name="WashPost20060208">{{cite news |title = Congressional Influence Hits Home |last = Morin |first = Richard |newspaper = The Washington Post |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/02/08/congressional-influence-hits-home/0a45935e-452f-4956-a272-5972364c3d41 |access-date = 27 August 2017 |date = 8 February 2006}} Media appearances include The Diane Rehm Show name="DRShow20100303">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar: "The Art of Choosing" |website = The Diane Rehm Show |publisher = American University Radio |url = https://dianerehm.org/shows/2010-03-03/sheena-iyengar-art-choosing |access-date = 16 May 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180516204946/https://dianerehm.org/shows/2010-03-03/sheena-iyengar-art-choosing |archive-date = 16 May 2018 |date = 3 March 2010}} (NPR), Marketplace name="Marketplace20110610">{{cite web |title = More choices doesn't always mean a better deal |last = Herships |first = Sally |website = Marketplace |publisher = Minnesota Public Radio |url = https://www.marketplace.org/2011/06/10/business/more-choices-doesnt-always-mean-better-deal |access-date = 16 May 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180516205714/https://www.marketplace.org/2011/06/10/business/more-choices-doesnt-always-mean-better-deal |archive-date = 16 May 2018 |date = 10 June 2011}} (APM). Iyengar was the recipient of the 2001 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers name="GWB200206">{{cite web |title = 2001 Presidential Early Career Awards Announced |website = The White House, President George W. Bush |url = https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020626-3.html |access-date = 12 March 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180312084120/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020626-3.html |archive-date = 12 March 2018 |date = 26 June 2002}} for, as the NSF said, "helping lead to a better understanding of how cultural, individual, and situational dimensions of human decision-making can be used to improve people's lives." name="ColumbiaNews20020918">{{cite web |title = Business' Iyengar Receives National Science Foundation Award for Study of Perception of Choice |website = Columbia News |publisher = Columbia University |url = http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/09/sheenaSIyengar_nsf.html |access-date = 20 September 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150920115423/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/09/sheenaSIyengar_nsf.html |archive-date = 20 September 2015 |date = 18 September 2002}} In 2011, Iyengar was named a member of the Thinkers50, a global ranking of the top 50 management thinkers. name="Thinkers50About">{{cite web |title = About Thinkers50 |website = Thinkers50 |publisher = Thinkers50 Limited |url = http://thinkers50.com:80/about |access-date = 18 October 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171018020903/http://thinkers50.com/about |archive-date = 18 October 2017 |date = 4 August 2013 |url-status = live }} In 2012, she was awarded the Dean's Award for Outstanding Core Teaching from Columbia Business School. name="ColumbiaNewsroom20121017">{{cite web |title = Faculty Members Recognized for Core Course Teaching |website = Columbia Business School |publisher = Columbia University |url = https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/2168/faculty-members-recognized-for-core-course-teaching |access-date = 28 December 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171228154847/https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/2168/faculty-members-recognized-for-core-course-teaching |archive-date = 28 December 2017 |date = 17 October 2012}}
Non-academic works
File:FT and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year 2010 short-listed authors.jpg ]]
In addition to the journal articles mentioned above, Iyengar has written non-academic articles, including for CNN name="CNN20100505">{{cite web |title = Assisted suicide and 'free choice' |last = Iyengar |first = Sheena |website = CNN |publisher = Cable News Network |url = https://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/05/iyengar.assisted.suicide/ |access-date = 16 December 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111216145530/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-05-05/opinion/iyengar.assisted.suicide_1_jack-kevorkian-suicide-choice?_s=PM:OPINION |archive-date = 16 December 2011 |url-status = live |date = 5 May 2010}} name="CNN20110511">{{cite web |title = The 'Michigan fish test' and the Middle East |last = Iyengar |first = Sheena |website = CNN |publisher = Cable News Network |url = http://www.cnn.com:80/2011/OPINION/03/06/iyengar.fish.freedom/index.html |access-date = 4 November 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171104055431/http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/06/iyengar.fish.freedom/index.html |archive-date = 4 November 2017 |date = 11 March 2011 |url-status = live }} and Slate, name="Slate20100601">{{cite web |title = Why the Soda Tax Makes Us Angry |last = Iyengar |first = Sheena |website = Slate |publisher = The Slate Group |url = http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/06/why_the_soda_tax_makes_us_angry.html |access-date = 10 April 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160410095255/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/06/why_the_soda_tax_makes_us_angry.html |archive-date = 10 April 2016 |date = 1 June 2010}} and many book chapters. She has also presented two TED talks: "The Art of Choosing" (2010) and "How to Make Choosing Easier" (2012). The book she is most known for, The Art of Choosing (2010), explores the mysteries of choice in everyday life. It was listed third in Amazon's top ten books in Business & Investing of 2010 name="KentState20160809">{{cite web |title = Sheena Iyengar tp Speak at Fifth Annual Spirit of Women in Business (SWIB) Conference |website = Kent State University |url = http://www.kent.edu/business/news/sheena-iyengar-speak-fifth-annual-spirit-women-business-swib-conference |access-date = 7 September 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160907232146/http://www.kent.edu/business/news/sheena-iyengar-speak-fifth-annual-spirit-women-business-swib-conference |archive-date = 7 September 2016 |date = 9 August 2016}} and was shortlisted for the 2010 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. name="FT20100916">{{cite web |title = Shortlist Announced for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2010 |website = Financial Times |url = https://aboutus.ft.com/en-gb/announcements/shortlist-announced-for-the-financial-times-and-goldman-sachs-business-book-of-the-year-award-2010/ |access-date = 17 May 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180517182558/https://aboutus.ft.com/en-gb/announcements/shortlist-announced-for-the-financial-times-and-goldman-sachs-business-book-of-the-year-award-2010/ |archive-date = 17 May 2018 |date = 16 September 2010}} In the Afterword of the 2011 edition of The Art of Choosing, Iyengar distills one aspect of her work explaining and advocating for choice, arguing for people to take responsibility for their lives and not rely on a supposed fate determined by some "greater force out there."{{rp|270}} She says: "Choice allows us to be architects of our future."{{rp|270}} In 2023, Iyengar published her second book titled Think Bigger: How to Innovate.
Personal life
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Sheena Iyengar}}
- {{Official website|https://sheenaiyengar.com}}
- [https://sheenaiyengar.com/media-coverage/ List of media coverage from official website]
- [https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/ss957 Columbia Business School directory entry]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyengar, Sheena}}
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Category:Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
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