Rhia Catapano
University of Toronto
Rotman School of Management
“I can not thank Professor Catapano enough for her help with our startup by both meeting with us to strategize, and using us as a case study in her class. Creating and running a startup has a lot of challenges, and sometimes we have wanted to give up, but with gestures like including our app as part of her class, my team and I were re-ignited with the drive and motivation to make this startup succeed. It’s clear that Professor Catapano really cares about and supports both her current and former students.” – Tejas Trikha, former student and Founder of CouBon
Rhia Catapano, 33, is Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management and a research fellow at BEAR (Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman).
Her research explores how consumer psychology can be leveraged to benefit society. In one stream, she examines how people can be shifted away from entrenched views, and factors that affect receptiveness to the opposition. In another research stream, she explores the role of meaning in consumer satisfaction and decision-making. Her research has been published in leading psychology and marketing journals including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, and Journal of Consumer Psychology.
She has received the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award for academic achievements and success in publishing innovative, cutting-edge work in management by junior faculty members. She has also received the Connaught New Researcher Award (2022) and Rotman Teaching Award (2022, 2021).
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2020
Education: Stanford Graduate School of Business, PhD; Yale University, BS in Psychology
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Principles of Marketing
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I learned that I could do the psychology research that I’m excited about at a business school.
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? Right now, I’m researching under what circumstances people are receptive to politically polarized messages. In one project, I find that although people want to talk about what they support (for example, I support banning guns), disagreeing others are actually more receptive when a person talks about what they oppose (for example, I oppose allowing guns).
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d… probably be working for a nonprofit or the government in a behavioural science unit, working to leverage behavioural science to help people make decisions that are better for themselves long-term and for society
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I work really hard to create an inclusive environment where students aren’t afraid to ask and answer questions. I’ve had a lot of students tell me that they’re shy and have never spoken in any of their other university classes, but are learning to speak up more in mine, which I love (and hope inspires them to speak up in their other classes as well)!
One word that describes my first time teaching: Exhausting!
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: How energizing interacting with my students would be. I’m pretty animated while I’m teaching, and on the one hand it’s exhausting – but on the other, I enjoy interacting with my students and also get a lot of energy from those interactions.
Professor I most admire and why: My undergraduate advisor Dr. Laurie Santos is a huge part of how I ended up in academia myself. Her excitement about the work she was doing was infectious and I think also contributed to me being excited about research as an undergrad. Honestly as an undergraduate, I wanted to be her when I grew up.
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I love the idea that I can change the way a student looks at the world around them. There are so many techniques companies use to nudge people to shift their behaviors in the direction the company wants, and I like helping my students to be better at identifying those situations in the world, and deciding for themselves whether they want to follow those nudges or not.
What is most challenging? Waking up early to make it to my 9am class on time.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: thoughtful
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: apathetic
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… fair, I hope!
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? Traveling, hiking, taking swing dance classes, watching musical theater, reading sci-fi and fantasy books, being terrible at trivia
How will you spend your summer? I’ll spend a lot of the summer in Toronto (the best time of year here) enjoying the patios and parks. I’ll also visit my family in New York and do some leisure travel abroad too!
Favorite place(s) to vacation: Places with a lot of variety – somewhere I can spend part of a vacation in an interesting city with a different culture and food than I’m used to, and another part of it out in nature.
Favorite book(s): It’s so hard to choose one–Maybe “The Three-Body Problem,” by Cixin Liu.
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? Recently I’m really enjoying the British comedy Taskmaster–It’s hilarious and a great way to shut off my brain after a long day.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Some people say that you never move on from the music that you liked as a teenager. As embarrassing as it is, that’s certainly the case for me, and I still listen to the pop-punk and pop-rock that I listened to back then (think Blink-182 and Third Eye Blind).
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more… emphasis on the idea that there are multiple routes to success and that it isn’t a race. I find students are so stressed about needing to figure out exactly what they want their careers to be, and feeling like if they don’t do the right internships now they will fall behind. In reality, 20-year-olds have so much time to explore and figure out what path they want to take. I spent a couple of years teaching English in South Korea after university. While it was happening, I felt like I might be wasting time and falling behind. In the end, I am so glad that I took that time away from school before committing to a career path, and I try to encourage my students to also explore paths that aren’t necessarily leading them to their long-term career immediately.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… emphasizing work-life balance. I’m a strong proponent that people do their best work when they spend good, focused time working, with substantial breaks away from work. I very rarely work nights or weekends, and I wish that more companies fostered environments where employees are empowered to take the time they need.
I’m grateful for… all of the amazing people in my life (my partner, family, friends, and colleagues) and all of the opportunities I’ve been given.
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