Book Review: The Psychology of Tipping: Scientific Insights for Services Customers, Workers, and Managers by Lynn, M. LynnM. (2026). The Psychology of Tipping: Scientific Insights for Services Customers, Workers, and Managers. Switzerland: Springer Nature. 233 pp.$27.99. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-09533-6

Tipping remains an evergreen topic within the American cultural landscape, and Michael Lynn has established himself over the past few decades as a preeminent scholar of tipping.A new book-length treatment on the topic was long overdue.The Psychology of Tipping takes stock of recent empirical scholarship on tipping, especially studies that examine the psychological dimensions and consumer behaviors surrounding tipping.Further, because giving and receiving tips are inherently relational social phenomena, Lynn spotlights tipping's implications for consumers, service workers, and businesses, respectively (Lynn also briefly notes "government agents" who are responsible for tipping policies).The book is arranged into 10 chapters, each written in a scientificyet-approachable manner, aimed at readers in academia and beyond.Early chapters explore foundational questions on tipping, such as why we should care about tipping and why people tip in the first place.Surveying recent research, subsequent chapters explore various factors that have been found to influence tipping practices.Readers learn about whether time of day and season matter for tipping (Ch.4), how tipping varies across geographic areas (Ch.5), and who tips more and who receives greater tips based on demographic characteristics, such as gender, race, and age (Ch.3, Ch.6).To oversimplify Lynn's findings, each of these factors matter for tipping but are also highly dependent on context.For example, some studies show that men