Thomas Mussweiler

Professor of Organisational Behaviour

BSc PhD (University of Trier)

Thomas Mussweiler is a professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. He is an expert on the psychological foundations of organisational behaviour. More specifically, his interests include trust and cooperation, judgment and decision making, negotiation and influence, the self, interpersonal processes and stereotyping. Much of Professor Mussweiler’s research focuses on social comparison processes – he examines how comparing with others changes people’s self-image, their motivation and performance.

Professor Mussweiler is the recipient of a series of prestigious national and international awards, including the European Young Investigator Award and the Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Award, and is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences. He has published more than 70 scientific articles in a broad spectrum of the leading journals of his field, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Psychological Review, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Psychological Science, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Making.

Professor Mussweiler has extensive teaching experience at a variety of institutions. In his 20 years of teaching, he has taught decision making, negotiation, organisational behaviour and social psychology to a variety of different audiences.

Research Awards

Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, 2015 - present
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2006
European Young Investigator Award (EURYI), European Science Foundation (ESF), 2004
Charlotte and Karl Bühler Award, German Psychological Association (DGPs), 2004
Jos Jaspars Award, European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), 2002
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Award, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2001
Career development grant (Emmy Noether), German Research Foundation (DFG), 2000 - 2005
Postdoctoral Fellowship, German Research Foundation (DFG), 1998 - 2000
Fulbright Scholar, 1991 - 1992

Trust and cooperation
Negotiation and bargaining
Judgement and decision making
Self and identity
Social influence

2024

When it pays to be clear: the appeal of concrete communication under uncertainty

van Horen F; Wanke M; Mussweiler T

International Journal of Advertising 2024 Vol 43:3 p 533-553

2023

Are you better than me? Social comparisons in carrion crows (Corvus corone)

Federspiel I G; Schmitt V; Schuster R; Rockenbach C; Braun A; Lorreto M-C; Michels C; Fischer J; Mussweiler T; Bugnyar T

Animal cognition 2023 Vol 26 p 1353-1368

Relativity in social cognition: basic processes and novel applications of social comparisons

Unkelbach C; Alves H; Baldwin M; Crusius J; Diel K; Galinsky A D; Gast A; Hofmann W; Imhoff R; Genschow O; Lammers J; Pauels E; Schneider I; Topolinski S; Westfal M; Mussweiler T

European Review of Social Psychology 2023 Vol 34:2 p 387-440

The role of outgroup homogeneity and the neurodynamics of the frontal cortex during beauty comparisons

Zacharopoulos G; Ohmann K; Ihssen N; Kedia G; Mussweiler T; Linden D E J

Social Neuroscience 2023 Vol 18:6 p 382-392

2022

Anchoring effect

Bahnik S; Mussweiler M; Strack F

Chapter 13 in Cognitive illusions: intriguing phenomena in thinking, judgement and memory, ed. R F Pohl, Routledge: 2022

Social comparison: a review of theory, research, and applications

Crusius J; Corcoran K; Mussweiler M

Chapter 7 in Theories in Social Psychology, 2nd ed. Ed. D Chadee. Wiley, 2022

2021

Performance-based social comparisons in humans and long-tailed macaques

Keupp S; Abedin F; Jeanson L; Kade C; Kalbitz J; Titchener R; Mussweiler T; Bugnyar T; Fischer J

Animal Behavior and Cognition 2021 Vol 8:3 p 325-350

The power of lost alternatives in negotiations

Brady G L; Inesi M E; Mussweiler T

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 2021 January Vol 162 p 59-80

Trust in everyday life

Weiss A; Michels C; Burgmer P; Mussweiler T; Ockenfels A; Hofmann W

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2021 Vol 121:1 p 95-114

2020

Similarity increases collaborative cheating

Irelenbusch B; Mussweiler T; Saxler D J; Shalvi S; Weiss A

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2020 Vol 178 p 148-173

2019

Competition is crucial for social comparison processes in long-tailed macaques

Keupp S; Tichener R; Bugnyar T; Mussweiler T; Fischer J

Biology Letters 2019 6 March Vol 15:3

Egocentric foundations of trust

Posten A-C; Mussweiler T

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2019 Vol 84 p 103820

So pretty! : The neural correlates of self-other vs familiar-other attractiveness comparisons

Kedia G; Mussweiler T; Adam R; Ischebeck A; Ihssen N; Linden D E J

Social Neuroscience 2019 Vol 14:1 p 41-52

2018

Distrusting your moral compass: The impact of distrust mindsets on moral dilemma processing and judgments

Conway P; Weiss A; Burgmer P; Mussweiler T

Social Cognition 2018 Vol 36:3 p 345-380

The culture of social comparison

Baldwin M; Mussweiler T

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2018 Vol 115:39 p E9067-E9074

Two-faced morality: distrust promotes divergent moral standards for the self versus others

Weiss A; Burgmer P; Mussweiler T

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2018 Vol 44:2 p 1712-1724

2017

Only one small sin : how self-construal affects self-control

Steinmetz J; Mussweiler T

British Journal of Social Psychology 2017 Vol 56:4 p 675-688

That certain something! Focusing on similarities reduces judgmental uncertainty

Posten A-C; Mussweiler T

Cognition 2017 Vol 165:August p 121-125

2016

2015

Experimental research examining how people can cope with uncertainty through soft haptic sensations

van Horen F; Mussweiler T

Journal of Visualized Experiments 2015 Vol 103:e53155

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Going back to Donald: How comparisons shape judgmental priming effects

Mussweiler T; Damisch L

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2008 Vol 95 p 1295-1315

The neural substrates of person comparison—An fMRI study

Lindner M; Hundhammer T; Ciaramidaro A; Linden D; Mussweiler T

NeuroImage 2008 Vol 40 p 963-971

2007

On apples and oranges: Structure mapping in standard selection

Mussweiler T; Gentner D

Journal of Cognitive Science 2007 Vol 8 p 1-38

2006

Alpha-band activity reflects reduction of mental effort in a comparison task: A source space analysis

Keil A; Mussweiler T; Epstude K

Brain Research 2006 Vol 1121 p 117-127

Der Einfluss des regulatorischen Fokus auf integrative Verhandlungen [How regulatory focus influences integrative negotiations]

Werth L; Mayer J; Mussweiler T

Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie 2006 Vol 37 p 13-18

2005

2004

Sicherheit im Umgang mit dem Euro – Evidenz für eine schnelle Gewöhnung an die neue Währung [Certainty in dealing with the Euro—Evidence for a rapid adaptation to the new currency]

Mussweiler T; Englich B

Wirtschaftspsychologie 2004 Vol 4 p 66-70

2003

Preise haben kein Gedächtnis! Und Investoren? Zum Einfluss von Höchst- und Tiefstständen im Kursverlauf auf Investitionsentscheidungen von Aktienanlegern [Prices have no memory! And Investors? On the influence of highs and lows in charts on investing d

Schneller K; Mussweiler T

Wirtschaftspsychologie 2003 Vol 5 p 24-30

What friends are for! The use of routine standards in social comparison

Mussweiler T; Rüter K

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003 Vol 85 p 467-481

When egocentrism breeds distinctness: Comparison processes in social prediction

Mussweiler T

Psychological Review 2003 Vol 110 p 581-584

2002

Disconnecting outcomes and evaluations: The role of negotiator focus

Galinsky A D; Mussweiler T; Medvec V H

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2002 Vol 83 p 1131-1140

I know you are but what am I? Self-evaluative consequences of judging ingroup and outgroup members

Mussweiler T; Bodenhausen G V

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2002 Vol 82 p 19-32

Strategien der Verhandlungsführung: Der Einfluss des ersten Gebotes [Strategies of negotiation: The impact of the first offer]

Mussweiler T; Galinsky A D

Wirtschaftspsychologie 2002 Vol 4 p 21-27

The malleability of anchoring effects

Mussweiler T

Experimental Psychology 2002 Vol 49 p 67-72

2001

2000

1999

Hypothesis-consistent testing and semantic priming in the anchoring paradigm: A selective accessibility model

Mussweiler T Strack F

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 1999 Vol 35 p 136-164

1997

Der Ankereffekt in Abhängigkeit von der Anwendbarkeit ankerkonsistenter Information: Ein Modell selektiver Zugänglichkeit [The anchoring effect and the applicability of anchor-consistent information: A selective accessibility model]

Mussweiler T; Förster J; Strack F

Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie 1997 Vol 44 p 589-615

Explaining the enigmatic anchoring effect: Mechanisms of selective accessibility

Strack F; Mussweiler T

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1997 Vol 73 p 437-446

Teaching portfolio

Our teaching offering is updated annually. Faculty and programme material are subject to change.

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Inter-Personal Dynamics

Why this elective? As described in the school's Elective Portfolio Review (2012), "recruiters are increasingly demanding that students are equipped with a broader set of 'softer' skills which will allow them to be more effective in the workplace. Currently, such skills are not formally delivered as part of the elective portfolio." Building and maintaining effective relationships is at the core of career and business success. This elective has been developed to give you an opportunity to refine your relationship building and management skills and to ensure that you are well equipped to meet the inter-personal challenges that often become increasingly complex and demanding the more senior you get. The objective of this course is thus to help you develop your ability to build more effective professional relationships. This involves a set of skills that are evidence-based and can be learnt through practice. Given that this course is about building relationships, being a passive observer wi
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Thomas Mussweiler

Research Awards

Teaching portfolio

Masters Degrees electives

PROGRAMMES WITH THIS ELECTIVE