Hal Hershfield

Hal Hershfield is a professor of marketing, behavioral decision‑making, and psychology at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where he has won numerous awards for his teaching and research. His research on future selves has received widespread attention in outlets such as NPR, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Hershfield's research has been published in prestigious business, psychology, and general science academic journals, as well as in the Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, and Psychology Today.

One of Hershfield's most well-known discoveries suggests that when people are confronted with their "future selves," they experience an emotional sense of connection that can influence long-term financial and ethical decision-making. Armed with his research, he suggests people who can step outside of the here-and-now in a meaningful way can better see how the past, the present, and the future are connected.

With this knowledge in hand, Hershfield believes he can help people make the decisions they say they want to make to become the future self they envision. From a business point of view, Hershfield's research unlocks critical insight into consumer thinking and decision-making. His first book, Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today, explores how connecting with our future selves can both improve our lives right now and help us achieve our goals and hopes for the future.

Hershfield completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University, and prior to his position at UCLA Anderson, he taught at NYU Stern.