Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

Bottom line: Asking before telling can spark curiosity, engagement, and action.

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

Why does this matter? Sharing info as facts is the current standard. During the pandemic, the WHO shared info exclusively in PSA format. Switching to an FAQ could have critically shaped the public’s attention.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

And in social media ads about COVID-19 vaccines, Q&A-style ads got 9–11% more clicks per dollar than direct statements of fact.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

Q&A-style messages also boosted self-reported adherence to public health guidelines in Michigan (e.g., self-reported social distancing)

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

Q&A-style health messages led to substantially more information seeking, leading people to deepen their knowledge about related topics (e.g., how to wear a mask properly)

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

We texted *the same facts* either directly (e.g., "Even if you're wearing a mask, you still need to stand 6ft from others to stay safe") or after teasing recipients with a question (e.g., "If you're wearing a mask, do you still need to stay 6ft from others to stay safe?").

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

We ran large field experiments in Ghana and Michigan (with ~50k participants total) testing the impact of information framing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · 19d

What happens if you *ask* instead of *tell*? Turns out, teasing people with a question before sharing a fact can shape whether people engage with critical health information. Read our new paper in Management Science to learn more: pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10....

Does Q&A Boost Engagement? Health Messaging Experiments in the United States and Ghana | Management Science

pubsonline.informs.org

1 1 5

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

Huge thank you to MoreThanNow for facilitating this collaboration — this work would not have been possible without them!

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

Organizations hoping to increase the pipeline of women applying for leadership roles may benefit from ensuring women have access to sponsorship—and that they know it.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

Instead, women seem to strategically respond to information about whether their environment is likely to support their aspirations, or not.

1 3

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

One implication? The gender leadership gap can’t simply be chalked up to preferences (e.g., women feeling a lack of ‘fit’ in leadership roles, or preferring to focus on work-life balance).

1 1 3

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

But diversity incentives serve as a (literally) costly signal of org support for gender diversity. So, they boost women’s expectations that they’ll receive critical sponsorship on the path to promotion. This, in turn, increases their willingness to be open about their leadership aspirations.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

You might expect diversity incentives to backfire—it doesn’t feel great to question whether you were promoted on your own merits vs. because of your identity.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

Women who were told that org execs were incentivized to boost the representation of women in leadership from 21% to 23% were 11+% more likely to indicate an interest in management than women told about the goal alone, or those who were simply reminded of their org’s commitment to gender diversity.

1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jun 17

🚨NEW PAPER ALERT🚨 A field experiment w/ 2,035 female employees at a multinational engineering firm shows women are more willing to express an interest in leadership roles when their orgs implement diversity incentives. Read more about this joint work with Edward Chang in AMJ: doi.org/10.5465/amj....

1 1 8

Reposted by Erika Kirgios

Sam Skowronek @skowroneksam.bsky.social · May 16

💢New paper alert💢

Dishonesty is everywhere — but it’s not all the same. My new solo-authored paper in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General disentangles cheating and lying as distinct forms of dishonesty.

Link to paper: doi.org/10.1037/xge0...

A thread 🧵👇

1 10 39

Reposted by Erika Kirgios

Chicago Booth Review @chicagoboothreview.bsky.social · Mar 31

Concrete language can attract underrepresented candidates, particularly in the current environment, via Chicago Booth’s
@erikakirgios.bsky.social, University of Southern California’s @ikesilver.bsky.social, and Harvard’s Edward H. Chang. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/adver... #diversity

Advertising Measurable Hiring Goals Attracts a More Diverse Pipeline

Concrete language can attract underrepresented candidates, particularly in the current environment.

www.chicagobooth.edu

1

Reposted by Erika Kirgios

APA Journals @apajournals.bsky.social · Mar 24

Research from @erikakirgios.bsky.social, @ikesilver.bsky.social, and Edward H. Chang suggests that measurable #diversity goals signal to marginalized candidates that they are more likely to be hired, belong, and encounter a genuine commitment to diversity at the organization bit.ly/3D4t3iB

1

Reposted by Erika Kirgios

Sophia Pink @sophiapink.bsky.social · Mar 27

🚨New paper alert!🚨

Women are less likely to enter competitions than men—even when equally qualified. But telling them this can change behavior.

📈 In a field experiment on a job application platform, we found that highlighting this gender gap increased the # of job apps women submitted by ~20%.

Screenshot of title + abstract of the paper.

2 12 29

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jan 16

Interestingly, we find that diversity goals boost anticipated belonging—counter to prior theory. As organizations strip their websites of mentions of diversity entirely, this work highlights the value of clear signals of commitment to DEI for attracting highly qualified underrepresented candidates

2 2

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jan 16

This result is driven by White women, while we find null effects for URMs. But in the lab, both groups respond similarly. We explore possible explanations for this difference (including noise!) in the paper.

1 1

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jan 16

In a large-scale reverse audit experiment (n = 5,557), we find that women & racial minority job seekers were 6.5% more likely to apply when an org shared a measurable goal instead of a vague one, and this effect was strongest for highly qualified applicants (who were 11% more likely to apply).

1 2

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jan 16

One narrative suggests that measurable goals would feel tokenizing and alienating for marginalized candidates, who might expect to be used as a means to an end. The other suggests measurable goals might signal strategic benefits & genuine commitment to DEI. Which account dominates?

1 2

Erika Kirgios @erikakirgios.bsky.social · Jan 16

How do job seekers react when orgs quantify their diversity commitments? In a 🚨new paper🚨 with @ikesilver.bsky.social & Edward Chang, we explore competing predictions about how women and racial minorities react to measurable goals vs. vague, values-focused commitments.

1 13 28