<< Back to Faculty Gabrielle Adams Associate Professor of Public Policy, Business Administration, and Psychology Education & Training PhD, Business Administration (Organizational Behavior), Stanford University Graduate School of Business BA, Psychology, Philosophy, Colby College 434-243-2405 gadams@virginia.edu Garrett Hall Curriculum Vitae (267.31 KB) Research Website Google Scholar Courses taught Values-Based Leadership Areas of focus Leadership Social Psychology UVA partners Darden School of Business Gabrielle Adams is a behavioral scientist, with a joint appointment as an associate professor of public policy (Batten) and business administration (Darden: Leadership and Organizational Behavior area) at the University of Virginia. She also holds a courtesy appointment in the Psychology department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Professor Adams studies the processes and dynamics that give rise to 'good' decisions, policies, and conditions in organizations. Her research focuses on psychological inefficiencies: the factors that cause friction and prevent people from understanding one another's viewpoints or making sound decisions. For example, why is it so difficult to resolve interpersonal conflict? Why do attempts to resolve ethical transgressions backfire? Her most recent research on design and problem-solving shows that when improving ideas, objects, or situations, people default to considering what they might add and only occasionally and effortfully consider what they could subtract. She received her BA from Colby College and her PhD in Business Administration (Organizational Behavior) from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.RESEARCH: Professor Adams’s research has been featured on the cover of Nature and published in Psychological Science; Journal of Experimental Psychology: General; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP); and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (OBHDP). It has also been the subject of articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, and has been featured on national public radio (NPR, BBC, CBC). She won UVA's All-University Research Award in 2021 and 2024. She has served as an Associate Editor at OBHDP and currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology’s IRGP and ASC subsections.TEACHING: Professor Adams received UVA's All-University Teaching Award in 2021 and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Jefferson Scholars Foundation in 2022, and has also been named one of the 40 Best Business School Professors Under 40 by Poets & Quants. She teaches courses on leadership; interpersonal and group dynamics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; power, status, and influence; change; and negotiations. She has also taught many executive education programs for both public and private sector organizations.INDUSTRY: She currently serves as a non-executive director/advisor of DataEQ, VEL, Yojo, and is an affiliate of ideas42. Related Content Finding a Seat at the Interdisciplinary Research Table News UVA Batten hosted the “Annual Behavioral Science Across Grounds Conference” earlier this month, bringing some of the brightest minds of UVA’s research community to Garrett Hall to exchange ideas, interests, and insights. Associate professor Ben Converse gave the keynote. Meeting Overload Is a Fixable Problem News Batten School professor Gabe Adams spoke with American Talk about the benefits of adopting a subtraction mindset and how to get it done. Fridays at Batten: When Less is More in Decision-Making Event In this FAB, held in partnership with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professors Leidy Klotz (Engineering & Applied Sciences), Gabe Adams and Ben Converse (Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy) share insights on what we can learn, and how we can make better decisions by subtracting, rather than adding things to our to-do lists. When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors. Batten Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, Research and Engagement News This academic year, Batten School professors won a slew of internal and external recognitions for excellence in teaching, service, research and engagement. Faculty Spotlight: Gabrielle Adams’ Work Represents ‘the Best of What We Do at Batten’ News Batten Professor Gabe Adams, whose latest research examines how sexism can be overlooked in the workplace, is the recipient of a 2022 Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. The “Equal-Opportunity Jerk” Defense: Rudeness Can Obfuscate Gender Bias Research In this research, we identified a barrier that makes sexism hard to recognize: rudeness toward men. We found that observers judge a sexist perpetrator as less sexist if he is rude toward men. Batten's Lipscomb Receives UVA's Prestigious Public Impact-Focused Research Award News Batten professor Molly Lipscomb was honored with the university's Public Impact-Focused Research Award for her work examining the impact of bringing public services to low-income households in countries where services are needed. New Research Finds Angry Denials of Wrongdoing Leave Strong Impressions of Guilt News The next time you are accused of doing something you did not do, you may want to check your anger at the door. New research from Batten's Gabrielle Adams has found that such strong reactions lead others to assume the worst: that you did exactly what you have been accused of doing. View All
Finding a Seat at the Interdisciplinary Research Table News UVA Batten hosted the “Annual Behavioral Science Across Grounds Conference” earlier this month, bringing some of the brightest minds of UVA’s research community to Garrett Hall to exchange ideas, interests, and insights. Associate professor Ben Converse gave the keynote.
Meeting Overload Is a Fixable Problem News Batten School professor Gabe Adams spoke with American Talk about the benefits of adopting a subtraction mindset and how to get it done.
Fridays at Batten: When Less is More in Decision-Making Event In this FAB, held in partnership with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professors Leidy Klotz (Engineering & Applied Sciences), Gabe Adams and Ben Converse (Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy) share insights on what we can learn, and how we can make better decisions by subtracting, rather than adding things to our to-do lists.
When Less is More: How Harnessing the Power of Subtraction Can Add to Life News There’s a lot of thought that goes into adding things to our routines, our closets, our lives. But how much thought goes into subtracting things? Not enough, according to three University of Virginia professors.
Batten Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, Research and Engagement News This academic year, Batten School professors won a slew of internal and external recognitions for excellence in teaching, service, research and engagement.
Faculty Spotlight: Gabrielle Adams’ Work Represents ‘the Best of What We Do at Batten’ News Batten Professor Gabe Adams, whose latest research examines how sexism can be overlooked in the workplace, is the recipient of a 2022 Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.
The “Equal-Opportunity Jerk” Defense: Rudeness Can Obfuscate Gender Bias Research In this research, we identified a barrier that makes sexism hard to recognize: rudeness toward men. We found that observers judge a sexist perpetrator as less sexist if he is rude toward men.
Batten's Lipscomb Receives UVA's Prestigious Public Impact-Focused Research Award News Batten professor Molly Lipscomb was honored with the university's Public Impact-Focused Research Award for her work examining the impact of bringing public services to low-income households in countries where services are needed.
New Research Finds Angry Denials of Wrongdoing Leave Strong Impressions of Guilt News The next time you are accused of doing something you did not do, you may want to check your anger at the door. New research from Batten's Gabrielle Adams has found that such strong reactions lead others to assume the worst: that you did exactly what you have been accused of doing.