About Dr. Elizabeth Schwab

My work sits at the intersection of behavioral science, business psychology, research, and applied consulting. Across these settings, I am interested in one fundamental question: Why do people make the decisions they do and how can a better understanding of human behavior help organizations make better decisions?

I am a behavioral scientist, Business Psychology faculty member, researcher, and consultant with more than a decade of experience applying psychology and behavioral economics to real-world questions involving consumer behavior, healthcare, communication, organizations, and decision-making.

Much of my work focuses on understanding the psychological and contextual factors that influence behavior, particularly the gap between what people say they will do and what they ultimately do. I draw on behavioral economics, business psychology, consumer psychology, decision science, and research methodology to help uncover the motivations, biases, heuristics, social influences, and situational factors that shape choices.

In my consulting work, I partner with organizations to move beyond surface-level findings and better understand the behavioral mechanisms underlying their research and business challenges. My work has included consumer and healthcare insights, physician and healthcare professional decision-making, patient experience, prescribing and treatment behavior, vaccination decision-making, motivation, trust, risk perception, persuasion, message framing, and behavioral research.

A central part of my approach is translation. I help clients connect research findings to the human behavior behind them—and then turn that understanding into practical implications, strategic recommendations, communication opportunities, and ideas for intervention.

My academic work complements this applied perspective. As a faculty member in Business Psychology, I teach and develop graduate-level coursework, advise doctoral research, and help students connect psychological science with real-world organizational and business challenges. My background also includes significant academic leadership experience in Business Psychology and Behavioral Economics, including program and curriculum development and the advancement of behavioral science within graduate education.

I also regularly translate behavioral science for broader professional and public audiences through workshops, conference presentations, media commentary, thought leadership, and expert interviews.

Whether I am working with a client, teaching a graduate course, advising research, or speaking with the media, the goal is the same: to make behavioral science useful.

I believe the most valuable insights do more than describe what people think or do. They help us understand why and give us a better foundation for deciding what to do next.

Faculty Bio Page: https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/academics/faculty/byname/elizabeth_schwab/