SANDEEP MISHRA

Associate Professor, Marketing and Consumer Studies
Director, Adaptive Ventures Lab
Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph

I am a cognitive and behavioral scientist, Associate Professor of Marketing and Consumer Studies, and Director of the Adaptive Ventures Lab at the University of Guelph's Lang School of Business and Economics. 

My research group uses evolutionary models to understand how personality, social dynamics, and motivation shape the way we assess and take risks, compare ourselves to others, and navigate competitive environments.

I teach undergraduate, graduate, and executive-level courses in sales and negotiation, decision-making, and behavioral strategy and artificial intelligence.

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Journal Articles
* = student and postdoctoral collaborators

Gonzales, J.*, & Mishra, S. (in preparation). Relative state predicts risk-taking.

Refaie, N.*, & Mishra, S. (in preparation). Subjective and objective embodied capital, overplacement, and risk-taking.

Mishra, S., Fogg, C.*, Millroth, P., & Carleton, R. N. (in preparation). The uncertainty-risk paradox: Fear of the unknown drives both caution and risk-seeking.

Mishra, S., & Refaie, N.* (in preparation). The distorted mirror: Objective embodied capital and subjective personal relative deprivation.

Mishra, S., Beshai, S., Feeney, J., Fogg, C.*, & Iskric, A.* (in preparation). Perceived disadvantage: Individual differences in sensitivity to unfavorable social comparison predict poorer mental health.

Refaie, N.*, Wuth, A.*, & Mishra, S. (2024). Benefit perceptions of risk, dark triad personality traits, and gambling behavior. International Gambling Studies.

Barclay, P., & Mishra, S. (2023). The psychology of relative state, desperation, and violence. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Deminchuk, J.*, & Mishra, S. (2022). Coalitionary psychology and group dynamics on social media. Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 45, e104.

Beshai, S., Mishra, S., Feeney, J. R., Summerfield, T.*, Hembroff,  C. C.*, & Kratzig, G. P. (2022). Resilience in the ranks: Trait mindfulness and self-compassion buffer the deleterious effects of envy on mental health symptoms among public safety personnel. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 5926.

Rotella, A.*, Sparks, A.*, Mishra, S., & Barclay, P. (2021). No effect of 'watching eyes': An attempted replication and extension investigating individual differences. PLoS One, 16(10): e0255531.

Wuth, A.*, Mishra, S., Beshai, S., & Feeney, J. (2021). Experiences of developmental unpredictability and harshness predict adult cognition: An examination of maladaptive schemas, positive schemas, and cognitive distortions. Current Psychology.

Nadler, J.*, Day, M. V., Beshai, S., & Mishra, S. (2020). The relative deprivation trap: How feeling deprived relates to the experience of generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 39, 897-922.

Refaie, N.*, & Mishra, S. (2020). Embodied capital and risk-related traits, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes: An exploratory examination of attractiveness, cognitive ability, and physical dexterity. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11, 949-964.

Mahali, S. C.*, Beshai, S., Feeney, J., & Mishra, S. (2020). Associations of negative cognitions, emotional regulation, and depression symptoms across four continents: International support for the cognitive model of depression. BMC Psychiatry, 20:18.

Rotella, A.*, Fogg, C.*, Mishra, S., & Barclay, P. (2019). The effect of compensation method on delay discounting in a crowdsourced sample: An exploratory study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 60, 520-527. 

Mishra, S., Beshai, S., Wuth, A.*, & Refaie, N.* (2019). Risk and protective factors in problem gambling: An examination of psychological resilience. International Gambling Studies, 19, 241–264.

Barclay, P., Mishra, S., & Sparks, A.* (2018). State-dependent risk-taking. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285: 20180180. 

Mishra, S., & Meadows, T. J. S.* (2018). Does stress mediate the association between personal relative deprivation and gambling? Stress and Health, 34, 331–337. 

Beshai, S., Mishra, S., Mishra, S., & Carleton, R. N. (2017). Personal relative deprivation associated with functional disorders via stress: An examination of fibromyalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms. PLoS One, 12(12):e0189666. 

Beshai, S., Mishra, S., Meadows, T. J. S.*, Parmar, P.*, & Huang, V.* (2017). Minding the gap: Subjective relative deprivation and depressive symptoms. Social Science & Medicine, 173, 18–25. 

Gonzales, J.*, Mishra, S., & Camp, R. D. (2017). For the win: Risk-sensitive decision-making in teams. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 30, 462–472. 

Mishra, S., Barclay, P., & Sparks, A.* (2017). The relative state model: Integrating need-based and ability-based pathways to risk-taking. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 21, 176–198. 

Mishra, S., & Carleton, R. N. (2017). Use of online crowdsourcing platforms for gambling research. International Gambling Studies, 17, 125–143. 

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2017). Associations between delay discounting and risk-related behaviors, traits, attitudes, and outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 30, 769–781. 

Mishra, S., Lalumière, M. L., & Williams, R. J. (2017). Gambling, risk-taking, and antisocial behavior: A replication study supporting the generality of deviance. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33, 15–36.

Mishra, S., Templeton, A. J.*, & Meadows, T. J. S.* (2017). Living, fast and slow: Is life history orientation associated with risk-related personality traits, risk attitudes, criminal outcomes, and gambling? Personality and Individual Differences, 117, 242–248.

Novakowski, D.*, & Mishra S. (2017). Relative state, social comparison reactions, and the behavioral constellation of deprivation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40, e335.

Carleton, R. N., Duranceau, S.*, Shulman, E. P., Zerff, M.*, Gonzales, J.*, & Mishra, S. (2016). Self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and behavioural decisions. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 51, 58–65.

Mishra, S., & Novakowski, D.* (2016). Personal relative deprivation and risk: An examination of individual differences in personality, attitudes, and behavioral outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences, 90, 22–26. 

Mishra, S., & Carleton, R. N. (2015). Subjective relative deprivation is associated with poorer physical and mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 144–149.

Mishra, S., Son Hing, L. S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2015). Inequality and risk-taking. Evolutionary Psychology, 13. doi:10.1177/1474704915596295. 

Ferrey, A. E.*, & Mishra, S. (2014). Compensation method affects risk-taking in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Personality and Individual Differences, 64, 111–114. 

Mishra, S. (2014). Decision-making under risk: Integrating perspectives from biology, economics, and psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18, 280–307.

Mishra, S., Barclay, P., & Lalumière, M. L. (2014). Competitive disadvantage facilitates risk-taking. Evolution and Human Behavior, 35, 126–132. 

Mishra, S., & Gonzales, J.* (2014). Sources of behavioral variability and the etiology of psychopathology. Psychological Inquiry, 25, 355–359. 

Sparks, A.*, Mishra, S., & Barclay, P. (2013). Fundamental freedoms and the psychology of threat, bargaining, and inequality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36, 500–501. 

Mishra, S., & Fiddick, L. (2012). Beyond gains and losses: The effect of need on risky choice in framed decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 1136–1147. 

Mishra, S., Gregson, M.*, & Lalumière, M. L. (2012). Framing effects and risk-sensitive decision-making. British Journal of Psychology, 103, 83–97. 

Mishra, S., & Sritharan, R.* (2012). Personality and behavioral outcomes associated with risk-taking are accurately inferred from faces. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 760–764. 

Pisanski, K.*, Mishra, S., & Rendall, D. (2012). The evolved psychology of voice: Evaluating inter-relationships in listeners’ assessments of size, masculinity, and attractiveness of unseen speakers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33, 509–519. 

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2011). Individual differences in risk-propensity: Associations between personality and behavioral measures of risk. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 869–873. 

Mishra, S., Lalumière, M. L., Morgan, M.*, & Williams, R. J. (2011). An examination of the relationship between gambling and antisocial behavior. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27, 409–426. 

Mishra, S., Logue, D. M., Abiola, I. O.*, & Cade, W. H. (2011). Developmental environment affects risk-acceptance in the hissing cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125, 40–47. 

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2010). You can't always get what you want: The motivational effect of need on risk-sensitive decision-making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 605–611. 

Mishra, S., Lalumière, M. L., & Williams, R. J. (2010). Gambling as a form of risk-taking: Individual differences in personality, risk-accepting attitudes, and behavioral preferences for risk. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 616–621.

Mishra, S., Morgan, M.*, Lalumière, M. L., & Williams, R. J. (2010). Mood and audience effects on video lottery terminal gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26, 373–386. 

Logue, D. M., Mishra, S., McCaffrey, D.*, Ball, D.*, & Cade, W. H. (2009). A behavioral syndrome linking courtship behavior toward males and females predicts reproductive success from a single mating in the hissing cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa. Behavioral Ecology, 20, 781–788. 

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2009). Is the crime drop of the 1990s in Canada and the USA associated with a general decline in risky and health-related behaviors? Social Science & Medicine, 68, 39–48. 

Taves, M. D., Desjardins, J. K., Mishra, S., & Balshine, S. (2009). Androgens and dominance: Sex-specific patterns in a highly social fish (Neolamprologus pulcher). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 161, 202–207.

Mishra, S., Clark, A. P., & Daly, M. (2007). One woman’s behavior affects the attractiveness of others. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 145–149. 

Reports and Book Chapters

Mishra, S., Fogg, C.*, & Deminchuk, J.* (accepted). Competition and risk-taking. In S. Garcia, A. Tor, & A. Elliot (Eds.), Oxford Handbook on the Psychology of Competition. Oxford University Press.

Stevens, A., Mishra, S., Refaie, N.*, & Odum, F.* (2020). The impact of shift length and fatigue on occupational outcomes, decision-making, and health. Report prepared for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Regina). 

Bapuji, H.*, & Mishra, S.* (2015). Inequality and organizations. In Mir, R., Willmott, H., & Greenwood, M. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to philosophy in organization studies (pp. 439–448). New York, NY: Routledge.  

Mishra, S., Lalumière, M. L., Williams, R. J., & Daly, M. (2012). Determinants of risky decision-making and gambling: The effects of need and relative deprivation. Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre Report 2707. 

Lalumière, M. L., Mishra, S., & Harris, G. T. (2008). In cold blood: The evolution of psychopathy. In J. Duntley & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Evolutionary forensic psychology: Darwinian foundations of crime and law (pp. 139–159). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

Mishra, S., Lalumière, M. L., Williams, R. J., & Morgan, M.* (2008). Gambling and risk-taking: Individual differences in risk-acceptance and the impact of situational factors. Alberta Gambling Research Institute Report. 

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2008). Risk taking, antisocial behavior, and life histories. In J. Duntley & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Evolutionary forensic psychology: Darwinian foundations of crime and law (pp. 176–197). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

Other Publications

Refaie, N.*, & Mishra, S. (2018). Economic hardship. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2273-1. 

Wuth, M.*, & Mishra, S. (2018). Environmental unpredictability and bet hedging. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3695-1. 

Wuth, M.*, & Mishra, S. (2018). Extrinsic mortality. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2365-1.

Mishra, S. (2017). Tinbergen’s four questions and variance explained: Why business (and all behavioral science) needs evolutionary theory. This View of Business: How Evolutionary Thinking Can Transform the Workplace.

Gonzales, J.*, & Mishra, S. (2017). Heuristics. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_626-1.

Mishra, S., Novakowski, D.*, & Gonzales, J.* (2017). Judgment and decision-making. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_628-1.

Novakowski, D.*, & Mishra, S. (2017). Biases. In T. K. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_627-1.

Gonzales, J.*, & Mishra, S. (2016). Going for it: When risk is worth it, and when it’s not. The Evolution Institute: This View of Life.

Mishra, S. (2014). Crime drop of the 1990s. In J. S. Albanese (Ed.), Encyclopedia of criminology and criminal justice (Vol. 1, pp. 466–470). New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.

Mishra, S. (2010). The benefits of a small university for graduate studies in psychology. Psynopsis: Canada’s Psychology Magazine, 32(4), 36.

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2009). The big drop in sex crimes. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers: The Forum, 21(2).

Mishra, S., & Lalumière, M. L. (2008). A review of the book Biological Influences on Criminal Behavior (by G. S. Anderson). Canadian Psychology, 49, 268–270. 

Personal

I was born and raised in rural Ontario. I love strategy board games, baseball, Civilization (the video game), science fiction, and, most of all - talking about, listening to, and playing fusion-funk-jazz-rock music (as a drummer).