Assistant Professor Smrithi Prasad obtained her Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology (with a minor in Management) and Master of Science in Management from the National University of Singapore. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (with a research focus in Social Endocrinology) from the University of Oregon, United States. Prior to joining Yale-NUS College, Asst Prof Prasad was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Lloyd Greif Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies (Marshall School of Business) in the University of Southern California.

Asst Prof Prasad’s research examines how our mind and body can impact the quality of decisions we make in competitive and stressful environments. She integrates theories and methods from social psychology, behavioural endocrinology, and organisational behaviour to answer questions such as: How do stressful and competitive environments influence how we behave and the decisions we make? What roles do psychological and biological factors play in influencing our social behaviours and decision-making? For whom, and how, do psychological interventions improve the quality of decision-making?

• Social Psychology
• Social Endocrinology
• Decision-making
• Social Status
• Stress

Sundin, Z. W., Chopik, W. J., Welker, K. M., Ascigil, E., Brandes, C. M., Chin, K. A., Ketay, S., Knight, E. L., Kordsmeyer, T. L., McLarney-Vesotski, A. R., Prasad, S., Reese, Z. A., Roy, A. R. K., Sim, L., Stern, J., Carré, J. M., Edelstein, R. S., Mehta, P. H., Penke, L., Slatcher, R. B., & Tackett, J. L. (2021). Estimating the associations between Big Five personality traits, testosterone, and cortisol. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology.

Knight, E. L., Sarkar, A., Prasad, S., & Mehta, P.H. (2020). Beyond the challenge hypothesis: The emergence of the dual-hormone hypothesis and recommendations for future research. Hormones & Behavior, 123, 104657

Prasad, S.*, Knight, E. L.*, & Mehta, P. H. (2019). Basal testosterone’s relationship with dictator game decision-making depends on cortisol reactivity to acute stress: A dual-hormone perspective on dominant behavior during resource allocation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 101, 150-159. * shared first authorship

Prasad, S., Lassetter, B., Welker, K.M., & Mehta, P.H. (2019). Unstable correspondence between salivary testosterone measured using enzyme immunoassays and tandem mass-spectrometry. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 109, 104373.

Prasad, S., Narayanan, J., Lim, K. G. Lim, Koh, G. C. H., Koh, D. S., & Mehta, P. H. (2017). Preliminary evidence that acute stress moderates basal testosterone’s association with retaliatory behavior. Hormones and Behavior. 92, 128-140.

Casto, K. V., & Prasad, S. (2017). Recommendations for the study of women in hormones and competition research. Hormones and Behavior, 92, 190-194.

Welker, K.M., Prasad, S., Srivastava, S., & Mehta, P.H. (2017). Basal cortisol’s relation to testosterone changes may not be driven by social challenges. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 85, 1-5.

Welker, K. M., Lassetter, B., Brandes, C., Prasad, S., Koop, D. R., & Mehta, P. H. (2016). A comparison of salivary testosterone measurement using immunoassays and tandem mass spectrometry. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 71, 180-188.

Mehta, P. H., & Prasad, S. (2015). The dual-hormone hypothesis: A brief review and future research agenda. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 163-168.

Mehta, P. H., Mor, S., Yap, A., & Prasad, S. (2015). Dual-hormone changes are related to bargaining performance. Psychological Science, 26, 866-876.

Mehta, P. H., van Son, V., Welker, K. M., Prasad, S., Sanfey, A. G., Smidts, A., & Roelofs, K. (2015). Exogenous testosterone in women enhances and inhibits competitive decision-making depending on victory-defeat experience and trait dominance. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 60, 224-236.

Narayanan, J., & Prasad, S. (2015). Neurobiological motivational systems and their implications for organizational behavior. Biological Foundations of Organizational Behavior. University of Chicago Press.

Prasad, S., & Narayanan, J. (2011) Physiology of negotiations. Negotiation Excellence: Successful Deal Making. World Scientific.

• Statistics and Research Methods
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Hormones and Behaviour