David Neal, Ph.D. Survey Expert Witness

Portrait of David Neal

Intro

Dr. David Neal, Ph.D., is a testifying survey expert specializing in consumer perception research in intellectual property, false advertising, and patent disputes. He has designed and conducted hundreds of consumer surveys for use in litigation and has testified more than 80 times in federal and state courts nationwide, as well as before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the National Advertising Division (NAD), and the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Dr. Neal's surveys have been accepted by federal district courts applying Daubert standards and by administrative tribunals. He has been retained by both plaintiffs and defendants across a broad range of industries, including consumer products, technology, pharmaceuticals, apparel, financial services, and media.

Author

Dr. Neal is the author of "Psychological Considerations in Designing Trademark and False Advertising Survey Questionnaires," published in Trademark and Deceptive Advertising Surveys: Law, Science, and Design (Shari S. Diamond & Jerre B. Swann eds., 2022). This practitioner-facing volume is widely cited in trademark and false advertising proceedings.

His scholarship examines the cognitive and behavioral principles that inform the design and interpretation of consumer surveys used as legal evidence.

Education and Academic Background

Dr. Neal received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Melbourne and completed postdoctoral training in psychology and consumer behavior at Duke University and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

He previously served as Assistant Research Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California and as Director of the Social Science Research Laboratories at Duke University.

Selected Representative Matters

Enterprise Holdings Inc. v. Europcar International (TTAB)
The California Institute of Technology v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (E.D. Tex.)
Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Marriott International, Inc. (N.D. Ga.)
Hermès International v. Rothschild (S.D.N.Y.)
State of Arizona v. Google LLC (Ariz. Superior Court)
Adidas America, Inc. v. Aviator Nation, Inc. (D. Or.)
Nike, Inc. v. StockX, LLC (S.D.N.Y.)

Clients

Additional Background

Academic Appointments

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Government and Institutional Research

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Marketing Sciences Research

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Media Coverage

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Publications

Dr. Neal is the author of 26 peer-reviewed academic publications spanning survey methodology, consumer behavior, and behavioral science. His publications have been cited more than 8,000 times in peer-reviewed research, see Google Scholar.

Neal, D.
2022 Psychological Considerations in Designing Trademark and False Advertising Survey Questionnaires. In S. Diamond & J. Swann (Eds.), Trademark and Deceptive Advertising Surveys: Law, Science, and Design (2nd ed.). American Bar Association.
Wood, W. Mazar, A. Neal, D.
2021 Habits and goals in human behavior: Separate but interacting systems. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Townsend, C. Neal, D. T. Morgan, C.
2019 The impact of the mere presence of social media share icons on product interest and valuation. Journal of Business Research, 100, 245-254.
Ascarza, E. Neslin, S. A. Netzer, O. Anderson, Z. Fader, P. S. Gupta, S. Neal, D. T.
2018 In pursuit of enhanced customer retention management: Review, key issues, and future directions. Customer Needs and Solutions, 5(1-2), 65-81.
Carden, L. Wood, W. Neal, D. T. Pascoe, A.
2017 Incentives activate a control mind-set: Good for deliberate behaviors, bad for habit performance. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(3), 279-290.
Labrecque, J. S. Wood, W. Neal, D. T. Harrington, N.
2016 Habit slips: When consumers unintentionally resist new products. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-15.
Wood, W. Neal, D. T.
2016 Healthy through habit: Interventions for initiating and maintaining health behavior change. Behavioral Science and Policy, 2(1), 71-83.
Rothman, A. J. Gollwitzer, P. M. Grant, A. M. Neal, D. T. Sheeran, P. Wood, W.
2015 Hale and hearty policies: How psychological science can create and maintain healthy habits. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(6), 701-705.
Teyhen, D. S. Aldag, M. Centola, D. Neal, D. T. et al.
2014 Incentives to create and sustain healthy behaviors: Technology solutions and research needs. Military Medicine, 179, 1419-1431.
Teyhen, D. S. Aldag, M. Neal, D. T. et al.
2014 Leveraging technology: Creating and sustaining changes for health. Telemedicine and e-Health, 20(9), 835-849.
Teyhen, D. S. Aldag, M. Centola, D. Neal, D. T. et al.
2014 Key enablers to facilitate healthy behavior change: Workshop summary. Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 44, 378-387.
Norton, M. I. Neal, D. T. Govan, C. L. Ariely, D. Holland, E.
2014 The not-so-common-wealth of Australia: Evidence for a cross-cultural desire for a more equal distribution of wealth. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 14(1), 339-351.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W. Drolet, A.
2013 How do people adhere to goals when willpower is low? The profits (and pitfalls) of strong habits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 959-975.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W. Labrecque, J. Lally, P.
2012 How do habits guide behavior? Perceived and actual triggers of habits in daily life. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 492-498.
Moore, S. G. Neal, D. T. Fitzsimons, G. Shiv, B.
2012 Wolves in sheep's clothing: When and how hypothetical questions influence behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117, 168-178.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W. Wu, M. Kurlander, D.
2011 The pull of the past: When do habits persist despite conflict with motives? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1428-1437.
Neal, D. T. Chartrand, T. L.
2011 Embodied emotion perception: Dampening and amplifying facial feedback modulates the accuracy of emotion perception. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 673-678.
Quinn, J. Pascoe, A. Wood, W. Neal, D. T.
2010 Can't control yourself? Monitor those bad habits. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 499-512.
Wood, W. Neal, D. T.
2009 The habitual consumer. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 579-592.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W.
2008 Automaticity in situ: Direct context cuing of habits in daily life. In E. Morsella, J. A. Bargh, & P. M. Gollwitzer (Eds.), The Psychology of Action, Volume 2: Mechanisms of Human Action. Oxford University Press.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W.
2008 Linking addictions to everyday habits and plans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31, 455-456.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W. Pascoe, T.
2008 Triggers of real-world habits. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for Consumer Research. Memphis, TN.
Wood, W. Neal, D. T.
2007 A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface. Psychological Review, 114, 843-863.
Neal, D. T.
2007 Habit. In W. A. Darity (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd Ed.). Macmillan Reference, USA.
Neal, D. T. Wood, W. Quinn, J.
2006 Habits: A repeat performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 198-202.
Haslam, N. Bain, P. Neal, D. T.
2004 The implicit structure of positive characteristics. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 529-541.