Hengchen Dai

Hengchen Dai is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and Behavioral Decision Making at the University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management. Her research focuses on behavioral change, judgment and decision making, motivation, and social influence. Dai joined the faculty in 2017 and is also affiliated with the Behavioral Decision Making area at Anderson. She is co-director of the UCLA Nudge Unit, which applies behavioral science to improve clinical quality. Her work explores how individuals make decisions and how external factors shape motivation. She has published in top journals across multiple disciplines and teaches in UCLA Anderson’s executive MBA, fully employed MBA, and full-time MBA programs.

Hengchen Dai is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Anderson School of Management, UCLA. Her research focuses on Goals and Motivation, Behavior Change, and Social Influence. Dai's work explores how behavioral nudges can effectively drive positive outcomes, such as increasing vaccination rates and improving compliance with health protocols. Her studies often involve large-scale randomized controlled trials, examining the impact of temporal landmarks, social nudges, and algorithmic interventions on human behavior. She has published extensively on topics like the fresh start effect, prosocial goal pursuit, and the role of consumer reviews in decision-making.