Sunita Sah Explained

Sunita Sah
Occupation:	Professor and author
Subject:	Management psychology

Sunita Sah is a professor of management and organizations at Cornell University's SC Johnson Graduate School of Management, and a core faculty fellow in the new Cornell Health Policy Center.^[1] Her book, Defy: The Power of No in a World that Demands Yes, will be published by Penguin Random House in January 2025.^[2] Sah is the director of Cornell University's Academic Leadership Institute. She was formerly the KPMG Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge, where she remains an Honorary Fellow.^[3]

Early life and education

Sah grew up in England and attended Greenhead College in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. She attended Edinburgh University and earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in psychology and a MBChB (UK equivalent of the US MD) in medicine and surgery.^{[4] [5]} She worked as a junior doctor at the Western General Hospital before moving into management consultancy. She moved to the United States in 2008 and earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in organizational behavior in 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business.

Career

Sah is known internationally for her research on conflicts of interest and disclosure, behavioral ethics, influence, compliance, and defiance. She identified the "panhandler effect" and "insinuation anxiety" in advisor-advisee dynamics.^{[6] [7]} She revealed how conflict of interest disclosures can increase compliance and have unintended effects.^{[8] [9]} Her research on forensic science demonstrates how a lack of scientific rigor in forensic processes can lead to improper conviction and incarceration.^{[10] [11]}

Among her speaking engagements, Sah was the keynote speaker at Morgan Stanley's 2024 Women in Leadership Summit.^[12] She also keynoted at the Executive MSc Programme Graduation and Alumni Event for the London School of Economics.^[13]

Selected awards

• Mid-Career Achievement Award, Health Care Management, Academy of Management 2022
• Elected Fellow, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2020^[14]
• Elected Fellow, Society of Experimental Social Psychology, 2020
• Visiting Scholar Fellowship, Russell Sage Foundation, 2019–2020^[15]
• US Department of Justice Certificate of Recognition for Service on the National Commission of Forensic Science, 2017^[16]
• Best Paper Award, Managerial and Organizational Cognition, Academy of Management, 2017^[17]
• Fellowship Award, Harvard University, Edmond J. Safra Center of Ethics, 2011–2015^[18]
• Best Paper Award, Managerial and Organizational Cognition, Academy of Management, 2011
• Best Paper Award, Society for Business Ethics, 2010^[19]

Selected publications

• Sah, S. (2024). "Deep Professionalism: Charting a path for effective conflict-of-Interest management." Journal of General Internal Medicine.^[20]
• Sah, S. (2023). "The paradox of disclosure: Shifting policies from revealing to resolving conflicts of interest." Behavioural Public Policy 1–12.^[21]
• Sah, S. (2022). "The professionalism paradox: A sense of professionalism increases vulnerability to conflicts of interest." Academy of Management Perspectives, 36(3), 896–918.^[22]
• Rose, S., Sah, S., Dweik, R., Schmidt, C., Mercer, M., Mitchum, K., Karafa K., & Robertson, C. (2021). "Patient responses to physician disclosures of industry conflicts of interest: A randomized field experiment." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 166, 27–38.^[23]
• Sah, S., & Read, D. (2020). "Mind the (information) gap: Strategic non-disclosure by marketers and interventions to increase consumer deliberation." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 26 (3), 432–452.^[24]
• Jatoi, I, & Sah, S. (2019). "Clinical practice guidelines and the overuse of healthcare services: Need for reform." Canadian Medical Association Journal, 191(11), 297–298.^[25]
• Sah, S., Loewenstein, G., & Cain, D. (2019). "Insinuation anxiety: Concern that advice rejection will signal distrust after conflict of interest disclosures." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(7), 1099-1112.
• Bell, S., Sah, S., Albright, T., Gates, J., Denton, B., & Casadevall, A. (2018). "A call for more science in forensic science." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(18), 4541–4544.^[10]
• Sah, S. (2017). "Policy solutions to conflicts of interest: The value of professional norms." Behavioural Public Policy, 1(2), 177-189.^[26]
• Sah, S. (2017). "Let's Keep the Science in Forensic Science." Scientific American, 317(4), 12.^[27]
• Sah, S. (2015). "Investigations before examinations: This is how we practice medicine here." JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(3), 342–343.^[28]
• Sah, S., Robertson, C., & Baughman, S. (2015). "Blinding prosecutors to defendants’ race: A policy proposal to reduce unconscious bias in the criminal justice system." Behavioral Science and Policy, 1(2), 69-76.
• Sah, S., Loewenstein, G., & Cain, D. (2013). "The burden of disclosure: Increased compliance with distrusted advice." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(2), 289–304.
• Sah, S., & Fugh-Berman, A. (2013). "Physicians under the influence: Social psychology and industry marketing strategies." Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 41(3), 665–672.^[29]
• Sah, S. (2023, November 21). "Speak Up at Thanksgiving, Your Health Demands It: A Psychologist’s Tip for Making It Through the Holiday Season." The New York Times.^[30]
• Sah, S. (2023, July 13). "Most people believe they don’t see color—but only empirically proven “blinding” policies can reduce discrimination in the labor market and criminal justice system." Fortune.^[31]
• Sah, S. (2022, December 8). "For Justice, Forensic Science Must Be Scientific: The Case of Kevin Keith." Forbes.^[32]
• Sah, S. (2021, October 26). "What to Do About “Back to the Office” Jitters." Harvard Business Review.^[33]
• Sah, S. (2021, June 3). "Pressure to return to the office could be making employees more anxious." The Conversation.^[34]
• Sah, S. (2019, October 22). "Why You Find it so Hard to Resist Taking Bad Advice." The Los Angeles Times.^[7]
• Sah, S., & Read, D. (2017, September 28). "Missing Product Information Doesn’t Bother Consumers as Much as It Should." Harvard Business Review.^[35]
• Sah, S., Casadevall, A., Bell, S., Gates, J., Albright, T., & Denton, B. (2017, May 8). "We Must Strengthen the 'Science' in Forensic Science." Scientific American.^[36]
• Sah, S. (2016, July 8). "The Paradox of Disclosure." The New York Times.^[37]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Johnson . Cornell SC . Faculty Profile . 2024-10-14 . Cornell SC Johnson . en-US.
2. Web site: Sunita Sah . 2024-10-14 . PenguinRandomhouse.com . en-US.
3. Web site: Brown . Cordelia . 2021-04-06 . Professor Sunita Sah has been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. . 2024-10-14 . University of Cambridge, news and awards .
4. Web site: 2016-08-25 . Sunita Sah . 2024-10-14 . The Conversation . en-US.
5. Web site: Sunita Sah – Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures . 2024-10-14 . ihf.cornell.edu.
6. Sah . Sunita . Malaviya . Prashant . Thompson . Debora . 2018-07-01 . Conflict of interest disclosure as an expertise cue: Differential effects due to automatic versus deliberative processing . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes . 147 . 127–146 . 10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.05.008 . 0749-5978.
7. Web site: Sah . Sunita . 2019-10-22 . Opinion: Why you find it so hard to resist taking bad advice . 2024-10-14 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
8. Sah . Sunita . 2023-12-22 . The paradox of disclosure: shifting policies from revealing to resolving conflicts of interest . Behavioural Public Policy . en . 1–12 . 10.1017/bpp.2023.37 . 2398-063X. free .
9. News: Sah . Sunita . 8 July 2016 . Gray Matter: The Paradox of Disclosure . The New York Times.
10. Bell . Suzanne . Sah . Sunita . Albright . Thomas D. . Gates . S. James . Denton . M. Bonner . Casadevall . Arturo . May 2018 . A call for more science in forensic science . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . en . 115 . 18 . 4541–4544 . 10.1073/pnas.1712161115 . free . 0027-8424 . 5939058 . 29650539. 2018PNAS..115.4541B .
11. Sah . Sunita . 2017 . Forensic Science Must Be Scientific . Scientific American . 317 . 4 . 12–13 . 10.1038/scientificamerican1017-12 . 27109318 . 29565868 . 2017SciAm.317d..12S . 0036-8733.
12. Web site: Musa . Ileana . Morgan Stanley, 2024 Women's Leadership Summit .
13. Banerjee . Sanchayan . Zimmermann . Laura . Hortal . Alejandro . Dold . Malte . Ivchenko . Andriy . Lades . Leonhard . McDonald . Rebecca . Savani . Manu M . 2024-03-14 . Recent developments in Behavioural Public Policy: IBPPC 2022 . Behavioural Public Policy . 8 . 4 . en . 633–638 . 10.1017/bpp.2024.12 . 2398-063X.
14. Web site: Fellows SPSP . 2024-10-14 . spsp.org.
15. Web site: Sunita Sah RSF . 2024-10-14 . www.russellsage.org.
16. Web site: 2015-08-06 . Department of Justice and The National Institute of Standards and Technology Name Six Experts as New Members of National Commission on Forensic Science . United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs .
17. Web site: Best Paper Awards - Managerial and Organizational Cognition Division . 2024-10-14 . moc.aom.org . en.
18. Web site: Sunita Sah Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics . 2024-10-14 . ethics.harvard.edu.
19. Summer 2010 . Experimental and Empirical Research in Monet Business Ethics II . The Society for Business Ethics Newsletter . XXI . 1 . 12.
20. Sah . Sunita . June 2024 . Deep Professionalism: Charting a Path for Effective Conflict-of-Interest Management in Medicine . Journal of General Internal Medicine . en . 39 . 8 . 1503–1505 . 10.1007/s11606-024-08668-z . 0884-8734 . 11169382 . 38336957.
21. Sah . Sunita . 2023-12-22 . The paradox of disclosure: shifting policies from revealing to resolving conflicts of interest . Behavioural Public Policy . en . 1–12 . 10.1017/bpp.2023.37 . 2398-063X. free .
22. Sah . Sunita . August 2022 . The Professionalism Paradox: A Sense of Professionalism Increases Vulnerability to Conflicts of Interest . Academy of Management Perspectives . en . 36 . 3 . 896–918 . 10.5465/amp.2021.0033 . 1558-9080.
23. Rose . Susannah L. . Sah . Sunita . Dweik . Raed . Schmidt . Cory . Mercer . MaryBeth . Mitchum . Ariane . Kattan . Michael . Karafa . Matthew . Robertson . Christopher . 2021-09-01 . Patient responses to physician disclosures of industry conflicts of interest: A randomized field experiment . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes . Behavioral Field Evidence on Ethics and Misconduct . 166 . 27–38 . 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.005 . 0749-5978.
24. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3134477
25. Jatoi . Ismail . Sah . Sunita . 18 March 2019 . Clinical practice guidelines and the overuse of health care services: need for reform . Canadian Medical Association Journal . en . 191 . 11 . E297–E298 . 10.1503/cmaj.181496 . 0820-3946 . 6422782 . 30885967.
26. Sah . Sunita . November 2017 . Policy solutions to conflicts of interest: the value of professional norms . Behavioural Public Policy . en . 1 . 2 . 177–189 . 10.1017/bpp.2016.9 . 2398-063X.
27. Web site: Sah . Sunita . 2017-10-01 . Let's Keep the Science in Forensic Science . 2024-10-14 . Scientific American . en.
28. Sah . Sunita . 2015-03-01 . Investigations Before Examinations: "This Is How We Practice Medicine Here" . JAMA Internal Medicine . en . 175 . 3 . 342–343 . 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.7549 . 25599225 . 2168-6106.
29. Sah . Sunita . Fugh-Berman . Adriane . October 2013 . Physicians under the Influence: Social Psychology and Industry Marketing Strategies . Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics . en . 41 . 3 . 665–672 . 10.1111/jlme.12076 . 24088157 . 1073-1105.
30. News: Sah . Sunita . 21 November 2023 . Speak Up at Thanksgiving. Your Health Demands It. . The New York Times: Opinion.
31. Web site: Sah . Sunita . Most people believe they don't see color–but only empirically proven 'blinding' policies can reduce discrimination in the labor market and criminal justice system . 2024-10-14 . Fortune . en.
32. Web site: Sah . Sunita . For Justice, Forensic Science Must Be Scientific: The Case Of Kevin Keith . 2024-10-14 . Forbes . en.
33. News: Sah . Sunita . 2021-10-26 . What to Do About "Back to the Office" Jitters . 2024-10-14 . Harvard Business Review . 0017-8012.
34. Web site: Sah . Sunita . 2021-06-03 . Mental health: pressure to return to the office could be making employees more anxious . 2024-10-14 . The Conversation . en-US.
35. News: 2017-09-28 . Research: Missing Product Information Doesn't Bother Consumers as Much as It Should . 2024-10-14 . Harvard Business Review . en . 0017-8012.
36. Web site: Sunita . Sah . Arturo . Casadevall . Suzanne . Bell . S. James . Gates Jr. . Thomas D. . Albright . M. Bonner . Denton . We Must Strengthen the "Science" in Forensic Science . 2024-10-14 . Scientific American . en.
37. News: Sah . Sunita . 10 July 2016 . The Paradox of Disclosure . The New York Times.