Experience Stern | News & Events

Excerpt from Boston Globe -- "The meaning [of a name] is important, too, notes one of the study’s coauthors, Adam Alter, a psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. 'We’re sensitive to associations — positive and negative — between any two concept,' Alter said. The effect 'is probably small, but it’s automatic and we’re unlikely to be able to avoid it completely when we consider people by their names.'... The name Trump carries a range of strong associations... As Alter points out, the word 'implies victory and dominance.' ... Trump himself may derive confidence from these strong, positive meanings to trumpet forth his own eloquence, Alter suggests — although he added, 'Of course the effect of [Trump’s] name is likely to be far weaker than the effects of his inherited wealth and self-assured personality.'"

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