Professor Messick has research interests in the ethical and social aspects of decision making and information processing. He has authored more than 150 articles and chapters, and he has received numerous honors and awards, including the Best Teacher Award, First Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program (1999), Sid Levy Teaching Award (1995-1996), and Distinguished Alumnus award from the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina (1986).

Professor Messick has served as editor the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and as an editorial board member of the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, Social Justice Research, Personality and Social Psychology Review, and the European Review of Social Psychology. He has also been a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Palo Alto, 2001-2002), Eastern European Exchange Fellow of the National Academy of Science (Budapest, 1990), and Senior Fulbright Research Fellow (Groningen, Netherlands, 1984).