USC Marshall School of Business

Lisa Cavanaugh is an expert in consumer psychology who focuses on the role of emotion in consumption. She studies how momentary emotions, chronically experienced emotions, and emotional cues (e.g., music and images) in natural shopping environments shape consumer behavior. She examines contexts including holiday shopping, cause-marketing, eco-marketing, and medical decisions. Her research demonstrates that certain positive emotions (e.g., love, hope, pride) and emotion combinations predict behavior with important consequences for consumers, business, and society (e.g., prosocial consumption and environmental action). Her publications appear in leading academic journals, including Journal of Consumer Psychology and Emotion. Professor Cavanaugh has provided commentary to media outlets including The Discovery Channel, PBS, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and NPR. She has also received several awards including USC's Steven B. Sample Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award.