Author Archives: Melissa Read, Ph.D.

Why LOST is Losing It (The Relationship Between Audience Engagement and Inference)

By: Melissa Read, Ph.D. | Published: March 8, 2007
ShareHere lately, LOST is losing it — at least for me. In previous seasons, things were different. Work came to a grinding halt every Thursday morning as hours of LOST water cooler conversations ensued. We’d TiVo back and forth through LOST commercials like mad fools, logging onto secret websites to dig for clues. LOST [...]
Posted in Digital | 1 Comment

Vla, A Kind of Yogurt You Can Drink (Rethinking the Novelty of User Generated Content)

By: Melissa Read, Ph.D. | Published: February 22, 2007
ShareTen years ago, I discovered a new food at an Icelandic breakfast table, Vla — a kind of yogurt you can drink. Packaged in a boxed milk container, Vla was a smooth yogurt that came in several flavors. I loved Vla. It was so unique. I had never tasted anything like it before. Invented by [...]
Posted in Digital | 2 Comments

I Heart Mr. Hutchins (How to Define Superior Customer Service)

By: Melissa Read, Ph.D. | Published: February 16, 2007
ShareWhen I meet someone who defines superior customer service, I never forget them. And I’ll never forget Mr. Hutchens. Mr. Hutchens is a real estate agent working in the Atlanta area. There are dozens of reasons why I believe he delivers perhaps the highest quality customer service in real estate that Atlanta can offer. Since [...]
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Ice Cream Purchases and Murder Rates – Correlation Does Not Imply Causation

By: Melissa Read, Ph.D. | Published: February 5, 2007
ShareOne of the first recorded correlations was the relationship between height and salary. Taller people earned higher salaries than shorter people. That wasn’t good news for me =). But there are actually lots of correlations like this. Some work to my advantage, others don’t. Some make perfect sense and others seem impossible to explain. Consider this. [...]
Posted in Behavioral Research | 4 Comments

Candy Jar Theories (My Philosophy on Work and Life)

By: Melissa Read, Ph.D. | Published: January 29, 2007
ShareHere lately, there’s been a lot of theorizing about what my desktop candy jar is really all about. Because I’m trained to manipulate human behavior, these theories often have a psychological basis. Here are a few. 1. The Positive Reinforcement Theory: This is the belief that I am reinforcing people for coming to my desk. When [...]
Posted in Digital | 2 Comments