James A. Roberts

James A. Roberts is the Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing and W.A. Mays Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, where he has been a faculty member since 1991. He is a leading scholar in consumer behavior, particularly known for his research on the psychological impacts of consumerism, technology use, and materialism.

• PhD in Marketing, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1991)
• MBA, St. Cloud State University (1986)
• BA, University of St. Thomas (1982)

Dr. Roberts’ research centers on the "dark side" of consumer behavior, including compulsive buying, materialism, credit card misuse, and the impact of smartphones and social media on well-being. He has developed scales such as the Smartphone Orientation Scale (SOS) and has extensively studied phubbing (phone snubbing) in interpersonal relationships. His work bridges marketing, psychology, and human-computer interaction, with a strong focus on how technology affects mental health and social dynamics.

His recent publications show a consistent trend in examining digital well-being, social media intensity, and behavioral addiction. Themes include loneliness, relationship satisfaction, and the psychological consequences of passive and active social media use. His research is highly cited and frequently appears in top journals like Computers in Human Behavior, Personality and Individual Differences, and International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.

Dr. Roberts has received numerous scientific honors, including:

• Stanford University's "World's Top 2% Scientists" (2023, 2024)
• Top 10 Journal Article of 2022, American Psychological Association
• Most cited author in green consumption (International Journal of Consumer Studies)
• Baylor University Outstanding Professor – Scholarship (2003, 2015)
• Most Read Article in 2018, Journal of Behavioral Addictions

He has advised numerous students and has been recognized as a favorite professor by Mortar Board. He has also been actively involved in public scholarship, delivering media commentary on consumer behavior for outlets such as The New York Times, ABC World News, Wall Street Journal, and NPR. He is the author of Materialism 2.0 and Too Much of a Good Thing: Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone? and runs a consulting firm, Roberts and Associates – Bull’s-Eye Marketing, focusing on strategic marketing and consumer research.

Dr. Roberts is a core member of the Marketing Department at Baylor and leads research on consumer well-being. He has collaborated extensively with Meredith E. David and other scholars across psychology and business. His lab focuses on behavioral experiments, survey research, and scale development related to digital consumption and mental health.