Jennifer Aaker
The General Atlantic Professor
Academic Area:
Bio
Dr. Jennifer Aaker, General Atlantic Professor at Stanford GSB, is a pioneering behavioral scientist focused on how meaning, time perception, and connection drive both performance and well-being. Her work shapes technologies and lives that amplify human values, designing an AI-powered future that fuels human flourishing. Her talents notably exclude cooking. Dr. Aaker is the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, the MBA Professor of the Year Award, and the Paul D. Converse Award, and her research is widely published in top journals and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. Dr. Aaker’s award-winning books, including Humor, Seriously, and The Dragonfly Effect, have become global bestsellers in over 20 languages. Her classes Designing for AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being, Sustainable Human Behavior, Humor: Serious Business, Rethinking Purpose, Power of Story, and New Type of Leader.
Dr. Aaker’s research has had a profound impact helping leaders and organizations harness the power of purpose, story, and joy to positively influence human well-being through business practices, technology and leadership. She loves teaching new courses — from Designing for AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being, Sustainable Human Behavior, Humor: Serious Business, Rethinking Purpose, Power of Story, and New Type of Leader — where she learns as much as she teaches. She serves on the boards of the Obama Presidential Foundation Advisory Board, Decarbonization + Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ), Stephen & Ayesha Curry Eat. Learn. Play Foundation, Thrive Advisory Scientific Board. Personally, she is an early adopter of the trailblazing “family sabbatical” practice of moving her family to far-flung locations to become citizens of the world. From an achievement perspective, her abbreviated cooking skills have earned her family Doordash Platinum status.
For more on her recent work, see this Stanford piece and visit her Stanford research page.
Research Interests
- Choice Shaped by Meaning and Purpose
- The Intersection of Money, Time, and Happiness
- Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality Technologies and Human Interaction
Stanford GSB Affiliations
- Faculty Affiliate Golub Capital Social Impact Lab
Stanford University Affiliations
- Faculty Affiliate Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
- Faculty Affiliate Dooer Sustainability School
Faculty Voices
Academic Degrees
- PhD in Marketing, PhD Minor in Psychology, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 1995
- BA in Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, 1989
- General Atlantic Chair, 2005-present
- Xerox Distinguished Chair in Knowledge, 2007–09
Academic Appointments
- The General Atlantic Professor, Stanford GSB, 2005-present
- Xerox Distinguished Professor, Haas School of Business UC Berkeley, 2007–08
- Thomas W. Tusher Professor, Haas School of Business UC Berkeley, 2006–07
- Professor, Stanford GSB, 2004–05
- Associate Professor, Stanford GSB, 2001–04
- Assistant Professor, Stanford GSB, 1999–2001
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Columbia Graduate School of Business, Fall 1998
- Assistant Professor, Anderson Graduate School of Management UCLA, 1995–99
Awards and Honors
- Paul D. Converse Award, 2024
- Nobel Nomination Panel for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, 2019–present
- General Atlantic Chair, 2005–present
- Coulter Family Fellow, 2020–21
- MBA Professor of the Year, Poets & Quants, 2019–20
- Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2014
- Ormond Family Faculty Fellow, 2013
- Robert K. Jaedicke Silver Apple Award, 2011
- Winnick Family Faculty Fellow, 2011
- Ferber Award – JCR for “The Time versus Money Effect” Hon. Mention, 2010
- Best Paper Award – JCR for “When Good Brands Do Bad”, 2007
- Best Paper Award – Stanley Reiter for “Bringing the Frame into Focus”, 2007
- Thomas W. Tusher Chair of Global Business, 2006–07
- Best Paper Award – JCR for "Can Mixed Emotions Peacefully Co-Exist?”, 2005
- A. Michael Spence Faculty Scholar, 2003–04
- Early Career Award for Outstanding Research, Society of Consumer Psychology, 2003
- Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Consumer Research, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Fletcher Jones Faculty Research Scholar, 2000–01
- Distinguished Teaching Award, Stanford GSB, 2000
- Marketing Science Institute Grant, 2000
- Citibank Best Teacher Award, UCLA, 1999
- CIBER International Research Grant, 1996–99
- UCLA Academic Senate Grant, 1995–99
- George Robbins Best Teacher Award, UCLA, 1998
- Hong Kong Science International Research Grant, 1997–98
- AMA Dissertation Award (Finalist), 1996
- Merit Fellowship, Jaedicke Scholar; Stanford GSB; 1993–94
- Psi Chi National Honorary Society in Psychology, 1989
Journal Articles
Books
Degree Courses
Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs
Learn about cutting-edge social science frameworks and design thinking techniques in a unique partnership between Stanford GSB and d.school.
Guide your organization through growth with innovative CFO training that blends financial expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.
Gain general management training — combining conceptual knowledge with individual experiences — and increase your impact in the nonprofit sector.
Act with power, strengthen negotiating skills, learn to manage teams, and lead with impact in this unique leadership program for women on the rise.
Uplevel your leadership skills with this strategic storytelling course to help you cultivate empathy, convey purpose, and become a more authentic leader.
Start the next step in your personal and professional journey by experiencing Stanford GSB and Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation.
Elevate your leadership with Stanford LEAD, our flagship online program. Gain the skills and mindset to thrive in today’s complex world.
Cases
Teaching Materials
Class Takeaways — Sustainable Human Behavior
Five insights in five minutes: Professors Jennifer Aaker and Szu-chi Huang share strategies to help you lead a more sustainable and fulfilling life.
In the Media
Humor in the Workplace
Science Has Found a Trick to Get the Most out of Positive Thinking
Chasing Happiness? Find Your Purpose Instead
How to Find More Time
New research by Ioannis Evangelidis of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and co-authors Jordan Etkin (Duke University) and Jennifer Aaker (Stanford University), shows interfering goals make customers feel time-constraint.
Why, throughout human history, have people been so drawn to fiction?
Stanford research: The meaningful life is a road worth traveling
Seven Deadly Sins: Why do company stories come across as dry and flat?
Re-evaluating how you spend time could make you happier
How To Spend Time In Ways That Make You Happy
The Dragonfly Effect
Social Media New Technology
A Stanford Graduate School of Business Course Harnesses Social Media to Make a Difference
Emphasize Time Spent Rather than Money to Lure Customers
Charities Should Ask for Time Before Money, According to Stanford Business School Research