Five minutes with the faculty: Jonathan Berman
Art, attention, and everyday choices: Jonathan Berman on how small shifts in habit or mindset shape lasting impact
In 30 Seconds
Jonathan Berman researches the moral tensions individuals, consumers, and companies experience when making difficult decisions
His career shifted from literary work to decision sciences and marketing after discovering the psychology of decision-making
Beyond academia, he enjoys cooking, relocates during the day for focus, and once learned to lasso steers at school
How would you describe your research/work in one sentence?
I study the tensions that individuals, consumers and companies experience when making moral decisions.
What first sparked your interest in your field?
I was working for a literary agency in New York, focusing mostly on fiction, but as a diversion started to read a bit of non-fiction. I came across a few hot books on the psychology of decision making. At the time, I never realised that there was a growing science of decision making that one could study. I was utterly fascinated. It was the first time ever I looked up footnotes in a book to see what papers were being cited. I just had an insatiable appetite to know more. At that point, I applied and enrolled in a Masters in Decision Sciences at LSE, and just fell in love with the study of decision-making. At the same time, while there, I took an elective in Marketing. It was so different from what I was expecting. I expected Marketing to be just about advertising and persuasion, but it was so much richer than that. I realised that so many of my conversations with friends growing up were ultimately Marketing questions. The more I got involved, the harder it was to do anything else. It was then that I decided to apply to PhD programmes, and the rest is history.
What’s one thing students or colleagues might be surprised to learn about you?
At this point, my colleagues know most of my secrets!
Discover fresh perspectives and research insights from LBS
"For productivity, I like to move locations during the day. An ideal day would involve more than two locations, but that is rare"
What’s your go-to productivity trick or daily habit?
For productivity, I like to move locations during the day. It’s akin to the Pomodoro Technique whereby you set timers in order to work in chunks, but I find that physically moving to a new location helps reset my attention and gets me to focus intently. Typically, I work in a café in the early morning, then come into the office from mid-morning to afternoon. An ideal day would involve even more locations, but that is rare!
What’s a skill or hobby you have that would surprise your students or colleagues?
I went to a unique high school that had a small ranch on it. There, I learned how to throw a lasso and capture a steer. It’s tricky – you have to rope at least two legs to avoid injuring the animal. What fascinated me most was what happens once the steer is roped. How do you bring down such a powerful animal? It’s stronger than you are, so you have to use your horse as an anchor. You tie the rope-end of the lasso to the saddle horn, letting the horse’s strength control the steer to bring it down.
"I went to a unique high school that had a small ranch on it. There, I learned how to throw a lasso and capture a steer"
What’s your signature dish in the kitchen (or your go-to takeaway order)?
Cooking is one of my greatest pleasures. My absolute favourite thing to cook is the humble cabbage. It’s such an underrated vegetable, and so easy to do extremely well at home if you’ve got a decent recipe.
If you could time-travel to any moment in history, where (and when) would you go?
Late 19th-century France. I’d love to hike around and see the world that Van Gogh saw.
What book, film, quote, or piece of art has had the biggest impact on you and why?
Art is a big part of my life, and it has dramatically shaped who I am and how I see the world. But no one piece has had a major impact on me. Rather, it is an accumulation of small, yet, profound impacts. In my personal life, I’m married with kids. And I find myself constantly recalling a wide range of novels, movies, paintings, and photographs I’ve encountered throughout my life that provide small glimpses into domestic life. These add perspective to my experience as a husband and a father. Constantly engaging with art psychologically enriches my life, and I’m grateful for all the artwork I’ve encountered along the way.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I’m a sucker for a good dessert. It’s my eternal battle.
What’s the most bizarre or unexpected fact you’ve come across in your research?
A few years ago, I was researching a metric called QALY – Quality-Adjusted Life Years – which is used to evaluate the benefits of different health interventions in terms of both quality and quantity of life added. Health and humanitarian organisations often use QALYs, alongside cost data, to determine how to allocate resources most effectively to improve overall well-being. For example, kidney transplants offer a significant boost in quality of life compared to long-term dialysis – but kidneys are in short supply, making access a major challenge. Interestingly, one of the most cost-effective ways to enhance quality of life, according to QALY-based analysis, is prescribing erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra. It’s quite cheap and people report it having a strong positive impact on their life! It seems that people really care deeply about having an active and healthy sex life!
