Behavioral Science
What is Behavioral Science?
Behavioral science is a multidisciplinary field that examines human behavior by combining insights from psychology, sociology, neuroscience, economics, along with other areas of study. Through a process of systematic experimentation and observation, a main focus of behavioral science is to study decision-making by exploring the cognitive and social factors that drive behavior, often applying these insights to areas like public policy, healthcare, and marketing.
The Basic Idea
Why do people often behave irrationally or make decisions that aren’t in their best interest? What drives people to stay in unhealthy relationships? Engage in behaviors that are detrimental to their health? Make purchases they can’t really afford? These kinds of questions have been subjects of scientific inquiry for decades. Behavioral science—the field dedicated to studying human behavior—aims to uncover the complex mechanisms behind our often-perplexing thoughts and actions.
Behavioral science draws insights from multiple disciplines. From psychology to neuroscience, the field derives theories and research methods for understanding and studying the mental processes that affect decision-making. Insights from sociology and anthropology encourage behavioral scientists to consider social context, group dynamics, and cultural factors that shape individual behaviors. Behavioral science even draws from fields like economics, using economic insights to examine why people often fail to make “optimal” financial decisions even when they have all the information and tools needed to do so.1
Studying behavior through this multidisciplinary lens is key to finding commonalities in the way humans process information, a goal of behavioral science. Behavioral scientists strive to identify broad behavioral patterns to contextualize our reasoning and make predictions about our future behavior.2
These generalizations are not just theoretical but have practical applications as well. Insights from behavioral science are frequently used to inform policies or marketing strategies. For instance, companies might apply behavioral science principles to improve their operations while governments might use insights to design effective interventions in areas such as public health or sustainability.
With countless applications, behavioral science has become integral to addressing societal challenges and promoting positive change in individuals, organizations, and even the world at large.
The methods of science have been enormously successful wherever they have been tried. Let us then apply them to human affairs.
— B.F. Skinner, influential behavioral psychologist
About the Author
Kira Warje
Kira holds a degree in Psychology with an extended minor in Anthropology. Fascinated by all things human, she has written extensively on cognition and mental health, often leveraging insights about the human mind to craft actionable marketing content for brands. She loves talking about human quirks and motivations, driven by the belief that behavioural science can help us all lead healthier, happier, and more sustainable lives. Occasionally, Kira dabbles in web development and enjoys learning about the synergy between psychology and UX design.
