Michael Platt
- James S. Riepe University Professor
- Professor of Marketing
- Professor of Psychology
- Professor of Neuroscience
Contact Information
- Primary Email:
mplatt@wharton.upenn.edu
- office Address:
745 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304
Overview
Michael Platt has been selected as the sixteenth Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, effective July 1, 2015.
Platt, a neuroscientist whose work focuses on the brain’s decision-making processes, has appointments in the Department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine, the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Marketing in the Wharton School.
Platt has served as Professor of Neurobiology, Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University. Organizations such as the National Foundation, the Klingenstein Foundation, the McDonnell Foundation and the Department of Defense have supported his research, and he has been recognized in the New York Times, the Washington post, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, A`BC, BBC and PBS.
Platt has also served as the President of the Society for Neuroeconomics. He holds a PhD in Biological Anthropology from Penn, and a BA in Biological Anthropology from Yale.
VIDEOS (SELECTED)
“How We Decide: The New Science of Neuroeconomics,” Penn Arts & Sciences 60-second Lectures, April 27, 2016
“Why Friendship Is One of Our Most Basic Needs,” Huffington Post, February 24, 2016
“Brain Power,” World Economic Forum, February 23, 2016
“This Is Your Brain on Decision-making,” Knowledge@Wharton, October 29, 2015
“Primates of the Caribbean,” ARTE Network, France, 2013
“The NeuroEconomics of Innovation,” California Academy of Sciences, April 25, 2013
“Why Friendship Is One of Our Most Basic Needs,” Huffington Post, February 24, 2016
“Brain Power,” World Economic Forum, February 23, 2016
“This Is Your Brain on Decision-making,” Knowledge@Wharton, October 29, 2015
“Primates of the Caribbean,” ARTE Network, France, 2013
“The NeuroEconomics of Innovation,” California Academy of Sciences, April 25, 2013
“The Science of Friendship,” Ignite Philly, April 27, 2016
“Peacocks, Eye Tracking, and the Brains Behind Decisions,” Penn Current, March 29, 2017
Activity
Latest Research
Simone D'Ambrogio, Noah Werksman, Michael Platt, Elizabeth Johnson (2023), How Celebrity Status and Gaze Direction in Ads Drive Visual Attention to Shape Consumer Decisions, Psychology & Marketing, 40 (4), pp. 723-734.
All ResearchIn the News
How to Find Leaders Early Using Neuroscience and AINew research reveals how organizations can identify potential leaders based on cognitive and behavioral signals instead of relying on formal experience.…Read More
Knowledge at Wharton - 3/30/2026Wharton Magazine
Faculty Book Excerpt: The Leader’s Brain, Updated and ExpandedWharton Magazine - 10/17/2025
Wharton Stories
What Neuroscience Can Tell Us About Political AdvertisingOne of the big stories out of the 2020 election cycle is the amount Democratic presidential candidates have spent on political advertising. Michael Bloomberg has reportedly spent more than $410 million on campaign ads, and has since dropped out of the race, whereas former Vice President Joe Biden has only…
Wharton Stories - 03/10/2020