<< Back to Faculty Gabrielle Adams Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Business Administration, and, by Courtesy, 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 L004C Curriculum Vitae Research Website Google Scholar Courses taught Values-Based Leadership Areas of focus Leadership Social Psychology UVA partners Darden School of Business Gabrielle Adams is an assistant professor of public policy and business administration at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and in the Darden School of Business’s Leadership and Organizational Behavior area. 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 other viewpoints or making sound decisions. Why is it so difficult to resolve interpersonal conflict? Why do attempts to resolve ethical transgressions backfire? Her recent research on design and problem-solving shows that when improving ideas, objects or situations, people default to considering what they might add, but only occasionally and effortfully consider what they could subtract. Her research has been published in journals such as Nature, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. It has also been the subject of articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Harvard Business Review, and covered on NPR, the BBC and CBC. Adams teaches courses on leadership; diversity, equity, and inclusion; change; interpersonal and group dynamics; power, status, and influence; and negotiations. She has also taught executive education programs for both public and private sector organizations. Professor Adams received UVA's All-University Teaching Award in 2021 and was named one of the 40 Best Business School Professors Under 40 by Poets & Quants. She also serves as a non-executive director/advisor of BrandsEye, Names & Faces and VEL, and is an affiliate of ideas42. She received her bachelor’s degree from Colby College and her doctorate in business administration (organizational behavior) from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Related Content 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. Batten Student to Pursue Master of Global Affairs Degree as a Schwarzman Scholar in Beijing News Batten student Lisette Dubow (BA '22) has been selected to pursue a one-year Master of Global Affairs degree as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing next year. Gender-based Violence in the 21st Century: Exploring the Social Systems that Shape the Female Experience Event Please join the Batten's Women in Policy, The Equity Collaborative, and Batten Graduate Council for a dinner and dialogue event exploring Gender-based Violence in the 21st Century. Batten's Gabrielle Adams and Lucy Bassett Receive UVA's Prestigious All-University Faculty Teaching Award News Despite many challenges posed by the pandemic, Adams and Bassett demonstrated outstanding skill, compassion and creativity in keeping students engaged in virtual classes and relating their subject material to daily life. We instinctively add on new features and fixes. Why don’t we subtract instead? News Across a series of studies published this month in the journal Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors demonstrated that people tend to overlook the option to subtract parts when asked to change or improve something. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, they explore why ‘less is more’ is a hard insight to act on. Why People Forget that Less is Often More News Why, when solving problems, do people prefer adding things to getting rid of them? In an article for The Economist, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams and Benjamin Converse explain their research on subtractive improvements. Why Our Brains Miss Opportunities to Improve through Subtraction News In a new paper featured on the cover of Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors explain why people systematically overlook subtractive improvements. People systematically overlook subtractive changes Research A series of problem-solving experiments reveal that people are more likely to consider solutions that add features than solutions that remove them, even when removing features is more efficient. The Business of Sports: At This Stage in the Game with Professor Gabrielle Adams and UVA Alumni Event Moderated by Batten's Gabe Adams, all UVA alumni, parents, and friends are invited to join UVA Clubs for The Business of Sports: At This Stage in the Game, an exciting discussion with UVA alumni Jonathan Becher and Jake Burns. View All
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.
Batten Student to Pursue Master of Global Affairs Degree as a Schwarzman Scholar in Beijing News Batten student Lisette Dubow (BA '22) has been selected to pursue a one-year Master of Global Affairs degree as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing next year.
Gender-based Violence in the 21st Century: Exploring the Social Systems that Shape the Female Experience Event Please join the Batten's Women in Policy, The Equity Collaborative, and Batten Graduate Council for a dinner and dialogue event exploring Gender-based Violence in the 21st Century.
Batten's Gabrielle Adams and Lucy Bassett Receive UVA's Prestigious All-University Faculty Teaching Award News Despite many challenges posed by the pandemic, Adams and Bassett demonstrated outstanding skill, compassion and creativity in keeping students engaged in virtual classes and relating their subject material to daily life.
We instinctively add on new features and fixes. Why don’t we subtract instead? News Across a series of studies published this month in the journal Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors demonstrated that people tend to overlook the option to subtract parts when asked to change or improve something. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, they explore why ‘less is more’ is a hard insight to act on.
Why People Forget that Less is Often More News Why, when solving problems, do people prefer adding things to getting rid of them? In an article for The Economist, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams and Benjamin Converse explain their research on subtractive improvements.
Why Our Brains Miss Opportunities to Improve through Subtraction News In a new paper featured on the cover of Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors explain why people systematically overlook subtractive improvements.
People systematically overlook subtractive changes Research A series of problem-solving experiments reveal that people are more likely to consider solutions that add features than solutions that remove them, even when removing features is more efficient.
The Business of Sports: At This Stage in the Game with Professor Gabrielle Adams and UVA Alumni Event Moderated by Batten's Gabe Adams, all UVA alumni, parents, and friends are invited to join UVA Clubs for The Business of Sports: At This Stage in the Game, an exciting discussion with UVA alumni Jonathan Becher and Jake Burns.