Rocket Fuel

undergraduate: Faculty

Kit Yarrow, PhD
Titles:
  • Chair, Department of Psychology
  • Professor
Department:
Business
Campus:
San Francisco

  • 415-442-6517

Kit is an award-winning consumer research psychologist, a professor, author, consultant and speaker.

 

She chairs the Psychology Department and is a jointly appointed professor of both psychology and marketing. She is the 2009 Outstanding Scholar and has won four endowed research professorships in the past decade. She is currently the Nigel T. Miner Professor of Business.

 

Kit has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the renowned Wright Institute in Berkeley. She teaches family therapy, counseling skills, applied psychology and psychopathology. She has taught consumer behavior at universities around the world, from Malaysia, Slovenia and Finland, to UC Berkeley. As part of her ongoing research on the psychology of consumers, Kit conducts interviews, ethnographies, focus groups and surveys on a regular basis. Examples of her research are published in her book, “Gen BuY” (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2009) and in her blogs on Huffington Post and Psychology Today. She also regularly presents her findings and analysis in speeches to both academic and business venues and consults to organizations and businesses. She is widely quoted in the media on Generation Y and consumer related topics.

COURSES TAUGHT

MKT 300
Marketing Management
MKT 338
Consumer Behavior
MKT 339
Advertising Strategy
PSYCH 300
Introduction to Applied Psychology
PSYCH 320
Therapeutic Communication and Counseling Skills
PSYCH 321
Psychopathology
PSYCH 325
Principles of Couple and Family Counseling

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

Consumer Psychology

Generation Y

Behavioral Economics

EDUCATION

  • PhD (psychology), The Wright Institute

  • MA (psychology), The Wright Institute

  • BS (journalism), Georgia State University

PROFESSIONAL AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

  • Golden Gate University, faculty
  • Helsinki School of Economics, visiting pofessor of consumer psychology, 1998-2002
  • University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, visiting professor of consumer behavior, 2001
  • Academic Consultations, Workshops and Lectures:
    • Stanford University, 2008-2010
    • University of Oklahoma, 2010
    • Fashion Institute of Technology, 2010
    • UC Berkeley, 2003-2010
    • Cornell University, 2009
    • San Francisco State University, 2008
  • Selected Workshops and Speaking Engagements for corporations:
    • Cisco Systems
    • Lowes
    • Gap
    • Conde Nast (Vogue)
    • Sanoma Magazines (Finland)
    • GlaxoSmithKline
    • Philips
    • Volvo
    • Marimekko
    • Selected Speaking Engagements:
    • The Commonwealth Club
    • Wharton Business School Refocusing Retail
    • Institute for International Research
    • Canadian Marketing Association
    • American Psychological Association
    • Pivot Conference

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

  • Member, Financial Planning Association

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • University Distinguished Teacher Award, 1995

  • Brand Champion of the Year, 2010

  • Who's Who in America, 2010

  • Outstanding Scholarship of Application, Integration, and Discovery Award, 2009, 2006

  • Outstanding Service Award, 2007, 2005

  • Russell T Sharpe Endowed Chair of Business, 2002-2008

MEDIA AND INTERVIEWS

  • Los Angeles Times - Business Department stores reach out to capture young shoppers