Ray Ou ’28, a psychological science and economics double major, has received a Picker ISI Scholar award for the project “The Hidden Costs of Strategic Secrecy.” Working under the dual mentorship of W.S. Schupf Professor in Far Eastern Studies and Professor of economics Takao Kato, and external mentor Professor Michael Slepian from Columbia Business School, Ou will investigate the cognitive burden of information asymmetry in organizational settings. Specifically, this research will utilize the “secrecy-as-intention” framework to examine how secrecy-related mind-wandering impacts work efficiency and relationship quality, and how the perceived “worthiness” of information asymmetry may serve as a moderator.
