Society
A Nudge for Coverage: Last-Mile Problems for Health Insurance
For many, choosing health care coverage would likely be financially more beneficial than forgoing it. Yet so many do not take action despite the millions of dollars spent to increase enrollment.
How Barcelona Took City Streets Back From Cars
Barcelona leveraged behavioural science to create a more walkable city for its citizens. Could a similar approach work in the U.S?
I Think I Am, Therefore I Am
The concept is quite simple: act how you want others to perceive you and, over time, you will come to see yourself that way.
Behavioral Science Is Quietly Revolutionizing City Governments
Understanding why people make certain choices allows city leaders to influence them toward behaviour that increases city efficiency.
Gender and Self-Perception in Competition
From a behavioral economics standpoint, recognizing and combatting perceived gender differences remains critically important in ensuring economic efficiency.
How Does Society Influence One’s Behaviour?
Although we like to think of our choices as our own, in fact, they are often profoundly impacted by the choices and views of our peers.
The “Mystery” of Intuitive Decision Making
How should you use your intuition, described as "knowing without knowing", to best effect?
Behavioral Science 101: The Next Frontier Of Social Progress
Behavioral science research has thus far been mostly confined to labs and academia. We want to buck that trend by applying these lessons to the social sector.
Professional Women And Stereotypes: Moving Past Them
Women, especially those pursuing careers in traditionally male-dominated professions, are often the targets of gender-infused stereotypes.
The Game That Keeps On Giving
How can we distinguish between altruistic donors that give without any expectation of reciprocation versus ‘warm-glow’ donors who give to receive rewards?
One Unconscious Bias Is Keeping Women Out Of Senior Roles
One unconscious bias – affinity bias – may lead people to favour candidates who are like themselves, research shows.
Mind Your Heart: Irrationally Giving
Research shows that identifiable aid recipients elicit more empathy than otherwise unidentified individuals in need. In this article, the implications of an emotional nudge are discussed further.
Why You Might Not Be Sticking To Your Plans
We plan almost every aspect of our daily lives. But despite all of this planning, we often don’t complete our plans. Find out how to make them stick.
Society’s Biggest Problems Need More Than a Nudge
When it comes to many of the big decisions faced by governments – and the private sector – behavioral science has more to offer than simple nudges.
Why Overheads Go Over Our Heads
Donors’ aversion to overheads significantly impedes charitable contributions. In this article, solutions sourced from behavioral insights are offered.
Why More Choice Means Less Freedom
Many corporations abstractly uphold that more choice leads to more customer utility. Upon closer inspection, the inadequacies of this line of thinking begins to unfold.
How Culture Affects The Way We Work
In addition to teaching concepts and skills, culture also shapes more subtle aspects of thinking.
Globalization Policy (2/2): Winners, Losers, And Solutions
In a world that seems directed towards more closure, can we find solutions that are both efficient, fair and, most importantly, inclusive?
Consumer Patterns Of The New American
US consumers feel better about their financial situation than they did a year ago, but they’re still hesitant to spend too much.
What If Your Neighbours Knew Whether You Voted?
Our voting records are public. In this article we explore how we can use behavioral insights to leverage this in order to fix the problem of low voter turnout.
Overcoming The Allure Of Fake News
Many have claimed after this election that we now live in a post-truth society. Yet like many fake news stories, that narrative is, at best, incomplete.
Globalization Policy (1/2): Is The Negative Narrative Justified?
In a world that seems directed towards more closure, can we find solutions that are efficient, fair and, most importantly, inclusive?
Need Not Greed: Bonuses, Risk–Taking And Evolution
Why would we seemingly be willing to take risks to earn more? What actually motivates and drives risk–taking? The answer may lie in how we have evolved.
To Marry Or Not To Marry? A Behavioral Science Perpsective
Roughly 39,000 children are married every day, pushing them further into poverty and despair. In this article, we explore how behavioral science can help.
More Slacking, Less Tracking: How Scarcity Affects the Working Poor
Insights from behavioural economics are used to explain why the poor are not poor simply by virtue of their bad decisions.
Is it too late for Trump and Clinton to become more likeable?
According to the old adage, one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. Might that hold true for the presidential candidates?
Can We Design An Environment That Facilitates Honesty?
Recent research on visual perception suggested to us that it may be possible that visual disorder could play a role in rule-breaking and honesty.
Improving Criminal Profiling With Decision Science
Forensic psychologists are working with law enforcement officials to integrate decision science into criminal profiling.
Your Vote Counts, But Does It Matter?
A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election. Why does voter turn out continue to be an issue?
Decision-Making Parallels Between Humans And Animals
How do animals make choices, and is their decision-making process anything like that of humans?
To Be Right or Liked? Evaluating Political Decision-Making
We can share our worldview like never before, yet we often feel worlds apart when assessing our shared reality.
Behavioral Economics on Fairness and Reciprocity
What defines what is fair or which actions are morally right? The answer to this question might come from a very promising science - behavioral economics.
Bridging The Divide Between Decision Science And Policy
The vast majority of decision scientists lack the resources, time, access, and incentives to directly influence policy decisions. We propose a solution to this issue.
Signs That The Government Is Embracing Behavioral Science
President Obama ordered government agencies to use behavioral science insights to “better serve the American people.”
How To Create Lasting Change
Human decision making is like a tiny rider on a massive elephant. The rider may think he’s in charge, but the elephant’s will always win.