Moral issue ?

[shai]

I was wondering if anyone here might have the same moral dillema I do.

I want to research decision-making. Most research is done either in Social psychology programs or Marketing programs (within business schools). I feel that if i apply to business schools i'm sort of "selling my soul to the devil" - conducting research so that the big companies gain even more money.

has anyone had the same thoughts ?

Shai

[socialpsych]

Just because a program is focused in a business school, that doesn't mean that its research directly benefits the business world -- any more than research in a psych department does.

Many behavioral marketing professors at the top, research-focused business schools have PhDs in psychology and are basically doing the same work as psychologists, getting NSF funding, etc. No difference except the department in which they are housed.

I hope you take the time to talk to marketing professors or visit marketing programs, and see that your fears are unfounded. Good luck!

[shai]

Thanks for the intake.

But don't you think that being in a business school automatically focuses you on the aspect of business ? Can a business professor really speak against certain business "axioms" (capitalism, money etc.) ? Is there a place for social mindness in a business school ?

As for the proffessors - I know there are many prof. in business schools who earned PhDs in Social Psych. However, once I get my PhD in marketing, I'll be a 100% business professor. Am i correct here ? Do you know of any business professors working in Psych. departments ?

[cogneuroforfun]

A lot of decision making research in business schools looks at charitable giving and similar "socially minded" pursuits. Saying that business faculty are serving evil corporations is like saying economists are only interested in making money. Business research is about business, not for business. Business research can focus on employers, employees, producers, consumers, work places, whatever. It has to do with learning about these things, not promoting the interests of businesses. It seems as though you think business faculty are lobbyists, which they certainly are not

As far as whether you want to be in a psychology department or business school, ask the professors you see doing the work you admire. If there's a social psychology professor in a business school, ask them if they recommend that path, and vice versa.

[socialpsych]

You are right that if you get a marketing PhD, you will probably be limited to jobs in marketing departments. I know of only one case where a business school PhD has gone on to a job in a psych department. That said, if your training is very psych-focused (which depends on the program/advisor), it is not unheard of.

Believe it or not, business school profs do not necessarily study business. At many of the top schools, their research is no more applied than what their psych department colleagues are doing, and they publish in the very same journals (JPSP, etc). I do remember hearing from someone that marketing tends to be a little more applied than organizational behavior (my own field), so you should talk to more people at top marketing programs rather than take my word for it. In any case, yes, of course business profs can speak against anything they want -- business academia is still academia, and senior profs have tenure, just like other profs. And many people currently working in business schools are doing very socially minded research. For example, many researchers in both marketing and organizational behavior focus on prosocial behavior and charitable giving, just as cogneuro said. My own research interest is in moral decision-making, and believe it or not there are at least as many people working on that topic in business schools than psych departments.

Again, I really encourage you to talk to people in the field rather than making assumptions about what they study. As you yourself pointed out, a lot of JDM research goes on in marketing groups right now -- it is still the same JDM, no change in focus; it just happens to be housed in a different department.

Also, In addition to psych and marketing programs, you may be interested in the OB program at the University of Chicago -- they are very JDM-focused and they're starting a joint program with the psych department, so you can graduate with a joint degree. They place graduates in both marketing and psych as far as I know.

[moralresearcher]

As far as I know, the difference between getting a PhD in business and in psych if you're studying the same (ish) thing, is that psych PhDs can get jobs in business schools, but business PhDs don't usually get appointments in psych departments.