Cait Lamberton
- Alberto I. Duran President's Distinguished Professor
- Professor of Marketing
- Vice Dean and Director of the Wharton Undergraduate Division
Contact Information
- Primary Email:
catlam@wharton.upenn.edu
- office Address:
763 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Overview
Cait Lamberton is the Vice Dean and Director of the Wharton Undergraduate Division, Alberto I. Duran President’s Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she has taught at the undergraduate, MBA, Ph.D. and executive levels. Her research addresses a wide range of consumption-related phenomena, spanning topics related to retail environments, responses to taxation, emotions, technology, blockchain-based valuation, and the role of dignity and respect in marketplace experiences. Among other awards, Professor Lamberton has been named to the American Marketing Association’s list of the top 25 most productive marketing researchers in the world in numerous years, was on Forbes’ list of Top 10 Business School Professors, received the Association for Consumer Research’s Early Career Award, has been named a Marketing Science Institute Scholar, a Wharton Fellow, a Penn Fellow, was winner of the Erin Anderson Award for the field’s top female mentor and scholar, the Hunt-Maynard Award for Conceptual Contributions to the field of marketing, the Lazaridis Prize for work focused on technology and marketing, and was co-winner of the Kinnear Prize for work related to public policy and marketing. She has also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, and is co-founder of the Center for Empirical Philosophy and Behavioral Insights, now based in Munich, Germany.
Dr. Lamberton served as Editor of the Journal of Marketing from 2022-2025. She has previously been Associate Editor at the Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Consumer Psychology, as well as Senior Editor at the International Journal of Research in Marketing. Published books include two editions of the Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology and “Marketplace Dignity.” She has been retained as a consultant by the US Departments of Education and Labor, and was a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Commission on Food Waste. Reflecting her interest in real-world marketing challenges, Cait has regularly provided consulting services to major corporations in the pharmaceutical and finance industries including Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron, with new consulting work focused on enhancing the experiences of patients living with rare and chronic disease. Cait completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Wheaton College, as well as an MBA and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina.
Teaching
Awards and Honors
- Morrison Fellow, University of California at Los Angeles, 2025
- Co-Chair, Behavioral Science Advisory Board, American Medical Association Food is Medicine Program, 2023
- Dyess Endowed Lectureship, Texas Christian University, 2024
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Lucerne, Switzerland, 2024
- Journal of Marketing, Editor, 2022-2025
- Thomas P. Kinnear Award for Best Article in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2020
- Marketing Science Institute Scholar, 2020
- AMA/EBSCO Respsonible Research in Marketing Award, 2020
- Member, Commission on Reducing Food Waste in the United States, National Academy of Sciences, 2019
- Government/Policy Liaison for the Association for Consumer Research Board, 2018
- Outstanding Senior Editor, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2018
- Lazaridis Prize, American Marketing Association, 2017
- Hunt/Maynard Award for Best Paper in Journal of Marketing, (with Andrew Stephen), 2016
- Affiliated Researcher, Nudge4Solutions Lab, University of Virginia, beginning 2016, 2016
- AMA-Sheth Doctoral Consortium Faculty Fellow, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2016
- Erin Anderson Award, Given to the American Marketing Association’s Top Emerging Female Scholar and Mentor, 2016
- Poets & Quants “Top 40 Business School Professors under 40”, 2015; Fortune’s “Top 10,”, 2015
- Association for Consumer Research’s Transformative Consumer Research Grant for Emerging, 2014
- Best Reviewer Award, Journal of Consumer Research, 2014
- Honorable Mention, Robert Ferber Award (Award for best dissertation-based paper appearing in the Journal of Consumer Research), 2014
- Early Career Contribution Award, Association for Consumer Research, 2013
- Affiliated Researcher, White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team, Sept 2013-May 2014, 2013-2014
- Marketing Science Institute Young Scholar, 2013-2014
- Ben L. Fryrear Faculty Fellow, University of Pittsburgh 2010 – 2016, 2010-2016
- Katz Excellence in Research Award, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2016-2017, 2009-2017
- Teacher of the Year, Katz Graduate School of Business/CBA 2009 – 2010, 2009-2010
- Dean’s Teaching Award, University of Pittsburgh, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2008-2017
- Top Undergraduate Teacher in the Marketing Major, University of Pittsburgh, 2008-2009, 2009- 2010, 2012-2013, 2008
- W. Pierce Liles Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, University of South Carolina, 2008
- UMI Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of South Carolina, 2008
- MSI Alden G. Clayton Dissertation Proposal Competition, Honorable Mention, 2007
- George M. Reeves Memorial Fellow, University of South Carolina, 2007
- Centennial Fellow Finalist, University of South Carolina, 2007
- Marketing Science Institute Research Grant #4-1342, Primary Investigator, “The Psychology of Category Design: How Product Groupings Influence Consumer DecisionMaking, Price Sensitivity, and Brand Strength.” (with Kristin Diehl), 2005
- AMA – Sheth Doctoral Consortium Fellow, 2005
- MSI – JCP Research Competition on “Product Assortment and Variety – Seeking in Consumer Choice,” Honorable Mention (with Kristin Diehl), 2004
- , 1970
In the News
- You Can’t Market to Gen X, Probably. But if you want to try…, Ad Age - 07/01/2024 Description
Why is it so hard to market to this sometimes overlooked but big-spending age cohort? And what can psychology tell us about our best hopes for doing so?
- Burger King, Coke and Lockheed Martins Woo Gen Z with Scholarships, Fast Company - 05/20/2024
- Tiktok Turns to Nuns, Veterans and Ranchers in Marketing Blitz, New York Times - 04/04/2024
- Is the Stanley Still a Status Symbol? And What’s the Next “It” Cup?, Retailmenot.com - 04/04/2024
- Why is Corporate America losing its Stomach for Activism?, CNN - 01/01/2024 Description
While corporate giants from a range of industries pledged to provide support and financial assistance for employees seeking abortion care, few are wading into that political conversation with the kind of fervor we’ve seen on other issues in the recent past.
- Why Advertising May be Over-Emphasizing Performance Marketing, Wall Street Journal - 12/14/2023
- Everybody Knows Flo From Progressive. Who Is Stephanie Courtney?, New York Times Magazine - 11/25/2023 Description
“Even if people find her annoying, they don’t find her objectionable,” Lamberton said. In fact, even people who don’t like Flo do like Flo, because any character trait they cite as a reason for disliking her “reflects that there’s a very strong memory trace.” For advertisers, a character that stimulates mild irritation with every appearance is preferable to one that is innocuous, so long as the benign annoyance does not mutate into a strong negative association. Complaining about something trivial, Lamberton said, “is a very comforting experience.”
- How behavioral economics can help you save on airfare, CBS News - 06/11/2023
- Ads Desperately Want You to Know Who They Are: Postmodern Marketing, The Atlantic - 12/15/2022
- Budweiser remembers 9/11- Shared Narrative or Fragmented Feelings?, New York Times - 09/11/2021 Description
Advertising against a tragic event is a delicate calculation for American companies. Do they acknowledge the occasion and invite accusations of being opportunistic? Do they stay silent and risk appearing out of touch or unpatriotic? What is the border between commemoration and commercialization? Wharton Professor Cait Lamberton suggests that responses to these ads may depend less on moving graphics or evocative music, and more on the way that viewers’ lives have unfolded since that painful day.
- When did Robinhood become a battleground? Dr. Cait Lamberton discusses the WallStreetBets-Wall Street clash, Bloomberg - 02/02/2021
- Are jeans political? Wondery podcast invites Professor Lamberton to take on “Denim Wars.”, Wondery.com - 11/24/2020 Description
As part of their popular “Brand Wars,” series, Wondery podcasts invited Dr. Cait Lamberton of The Wharton School to discuss whether various jeans were, “blue,” or “red,” and what the political connotations of brands mean for consumers, brands, and politics.
Knowledge at Wharton
- Balancing Optimism and Caution in Innovation and Business Strategy, Knowledge at Wharton - 9/24/2025
- ‘Crypto Creep’: A New Report Shows Rising Consumer Confidence, Knowledge at Wharton - 5/13/2025
- Tracking Cryptocurrency Trends in Markets and Politics, Knowledge at Wharton - 4/15/2025
- What Joann’s Closing Says About the State of Retail, Knowledge at Wharton - 3/18/2025
- Retail’s Tough Reality: Lessons from Joann’s Closure, Knowledge at Wharton - 3/5/2025
- Understanding Cryptocurrency: Confidence, Challenges, and Consumer Perceptions | Cait Lamberton, Knowledge at Wharton - 1/28/2025
- Crypto Politics: Liberals’ and Conservatives’ Confidence in Cryptocurrencies, Knowledge at Wharton - 11/5/2024
- Dignify Your Customers: Three Levers to Pull, Knowledge at Wharton - 9/24/2024
- Marketplace Dignity: The Hidden Driver of Customer Engagement, Knowledge at Wharton - 6/17/2024
- Are We Reaching a Tipping Point With Corporate Activism?, Knowledge at Wharton - 6/6/2024
Wharton Stories
- New Vice Dean on Fearless Students and Undergrad Business Education, Wharton Stories - 01/05/2026
- Undergraduate to Cycle World’s Highest Volcano to Raise Funds for Cycling Access, Wharton Stories - 12/22/2022
Activity
In the News
Balancing Optimism and Caution in Innovation and Business StrategyWharton marketing professor discusses how to manage expectations and evaluate value creation in fast-changing innovations.…Read More
Knowledge at Wharton - 9/24/2025Wharton Stories
New Vice Dean on Fearless Students and Undergrad Business EducationTalking to Vice Dean Cait Lamberton in her office in Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall, it’s tempting to think of her as a permanent fixture of Wharton life. With a deft feel for the pulse of the undergraduate student body, it’s easy to imagine that she’s been here since the days of…
Wharton Stories - 01/05/2026