Gad Saad
Encyclopedia
Gad Saad is an evolutionary behavioral scientist and Professor of Marketing at the John Molson School of Business
(Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada). He holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption (2008-2013). He was recently appointed an advisory fellow of the Center for Inquiry. Professor Saad has a blog at Psychology Today titled Homo-Consumericus.
For much of the past 15 years, Saad's research program has operated at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and consumer behavior. He is the author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Erlbaum, 2007), The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature (Prometheus Books, 2011), and editor of Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences (Springer, 2011). He has also guest edited a special issue of the journal Futures (Elsevier, 2011) on possible futures of evolutionary psychology across a wide range of disciplines.
In February 2011, Saad gave a TED talk titled The Consuming Instinct in which he discussed his books and several of his evolutionary-based empirical studies. Watch here.
, Dartmouth College
, and the University of California Irvine.
He has published 60+ scientific papers and has made over 110 academic presentations at leading conferences and universities. His work has garnered 600+ total citations (as listed on Google Scholar). He was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Faculty of Commerce and Administration in 2000 and was listed as one of the "hot professors" of Concordia University in the 2001 and 2002 Maclean's reports on Canadian universities. Professor Saad obtained a B.Sc. (Mathematics and Computer Science) and M.B.A. from McGill University
, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University
. His doctoral adviser was the mathematical/cognitive psychologist and behavioral decision theorist Dr. Jay Edward Russo.
He has published several studies of gift giving
, including a 2003 paper that found that men more often than women report giving gifts to romantic partners for tactical reasons (for example, to flaunt wealth or to seduce).
John Molson School of Business
The John Molson School of Business is the business school of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With over 6,500 undergraduate students, 1200 graduate students and 36,000 alumni...
(Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada). He holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption (2008-2013). He was recently appointed an advisory fellow of the Center for Inquiry. Professor Saad has a blog at Psychology Today titled Homo-Consumericus.
For much of the past 15 years, Saad's research program has operated at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and consumer behavior. He is the author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Erlbaum, 2007), The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature (Prometheus Books, 2011), and editor of Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences (Springer, 2011). He has also guest edited a special issue of the journal Futures (Elsevier, 2011) on possible futures of evolutionary psychology across a wide range of disciplines.
In February 2011, Saad gave a TED talk titled The Consuming Instinct in which he discussed his books and several of his evolutionary-based empirical studies. Watch here.
Career
Saad joined Concordia University in 1994 as an Assistant Professor. In 1999, he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. In 2010 he was promoted to Full Professor. He has held Visiting Associate Professorships at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and the University of California Irvine.
He has published 60+ scientific papers and has made over 110 academic presentations at leading conferences and universities. His work has garnered 600+ total citations (as listed on Google Scholar). He was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Faculty of Commerce and Administration in 2000 and was listed as one of the "hot professors" of Concordia University in the 2001 and 2002 Maclean's reports on Canadian universities. Professor Saad obtained a B.Sc. (Mathematics and Computer Science) and M.B.A. from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. His doctoral adviser was the mathematical/cognitive psychologist and behavioral decision theorist Dr. Jay Edward Russo.
He has published several studies of gift giving
Gift
A gift or a present is the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may contribute to...
, including a 2003 paper that found that men more often than women report giving gifts to romantic partners for tactical reasons (for example, to flaunt wealth or to seduce).