Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and expert in interpersonal communication. Tessa’s work focuses on interactions between people who differ in their racial, religious, national, political, and social class backgrounds, documenting the ways in which subtle behaviors have profound effects on the ability of people to make decisions and work effectively with one another. She studies these questions in multiple settings, from new venture teams, medical teams in operating rooms, everyday workplace interactions, to getting-acquainted friendships. At NYU, she regularly teaches an undergraduate course on Close Relationships.
Tessa has co-edited the Handbook of Research Methods Social and Personality and Social Psychology (Cambridge University Press), and is the author of Jerks at Work and Job Therapy (Penguin Random House). She is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and to CNBC Make It, in which she discusses communication and conflict in the workplace and in close relationships. She has two Ted Talks: “The surprisingly simple reasons why teams fail” in 2025, and “The problem with being too nice at work,” which was one of the top 10 most watched Ted Talks of 2024.
Tessa has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, and Bloomberg, and her work has been covered by several media outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, HBR, Fortune, the Financial Times, NPR’s Hidden Brain, and Business Insider, and has been cited by the US Supreme Court. You can learn more about her research at tessawestlab.com and her public writing and media appearances at tessawestauthor.com.