Does this situation sound familiar?

You grab a coffee or pick up a takeout order, tap your credit card to pay, and you're faced with a choice.

The tablet suggests that you tip either 18, 20, or 25%.

Do you accept the suggestion or do you press no tip or maybe custom tip?

With the barista and the person behind you in line

watching, this decision feels loaded. Tipping has long been a part of service culture in the U.S.,

but in the last few years, the number of places where we're asked for a tip by a person or even

a machine has multiplied. Today we're going to talk to an expert in tipping about

what drives our tipping behavior. How much of tipping is about rewarding good service versus

following a social norm or avoiding the feeling of being judged? How do biases affect who gets tipped more?

Why do tipping norms vary so much from country to country? Is tipping a fair way

to compensate people? And if not, what could be done to make things more equitable? Welcome to

Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association that

examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills.

My guest today is Dr. Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at the Peter

and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. He has studied

tipping behavior for more than 30 years. His interest was

first sparked when he paid his way through school by waiting tables and bartending. He's published

more than 50 journal articles on tipping, and his work has been covered by dozens of mainstream media

outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, the PBS News Hour, and CBS News.

His new book published in February is called The Psychology of Tipping, Scientific Insights for Services Customers, Workers, and Managers.

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