Samuel Pertl: Stanford PhD Transforming the Study of Emotions in Financial Decisions
- Miguel Virgen, PhD Student in Business
- Dec 16, 2025
- 5 min read
Samuel Pertl is a doctoral researcher at Stanford Graduate School of Business who specializes in behavioral economics and decision-making. In 2024 he co-authored a landmark study published in Nature Human Behaviour, marking his first peer-reviewed article (nature.comphys.org). This research analyzed survey data from 77,242 people in 74 countries and demonstrated that emotional states do not shape financial choices in a uniform way around the world. In fact, positive mood tended to increase patience in 53 countries but was linked to greater impatience in 21 others (phys.orgnature.com). These findings – contrary to simple evolutionary theories that treat emotions as universal drivers – highlight substantial cross-country variation. Pertl’s work immediately drew attention because it combined a massive meta-analysis of past studies with new global data, bridging disciplines of psychology and economics to address how culture and development shape decision processes.
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