Latest Insights
Are Our Own Behavioral Biases Biasing Us Against Behavioral Science?
There have been a lot of juicy headlines in behavioral science around replicability and the falsification of data. I can’t help but wonder whether these spotlights are distracting (read: biasing) us from the potential and existing contributions of the field as a whole. Perceptions of behavioral science are just as vulnerable to our perceptions and biases. Is it possible that the field is suffering from the effects of its own contributions?
The Rapid Growth of Behavioral Science
The field of behavioral science is growing. Practitioners are now spread across 72 countries, facing challenges such as making the case for behavioral science (see also the BE Guide 2023 editorial) and measuring its impact. Our survey aims to understand this growth and welcomes participation from practitioners and researchers worldwide, especially from regions outside Western developed countries.
How to Not Get Nudged
Nudging and manipulation in modern society, driven by advancements in technology and behavioral sciences, are pervasive. However, there are ways for individuals to resist and develop immunity to these persuasion tactics. By being forewarned, recognizing manipulation attempts, and undergoing debiasing interventions, individuals can better protect themselves. Additionally, they can avoid vulnerable moments, utilize avoidant resistance, and listen to their intuition. While escaping all influences is impossible, individuals can still choose their influencers and free their minds from undue manipulation.
The ChatGPT Effect: How Will Our Skillset Evolve in the Age of AI?
In the digital age, technology has made life more convenient but has also led to the outsourcing of essential skills. The rise of ChatGPT, an AI language model, which offers multiple incredible abilities including enhanced writing abilities, raises the concern that it may diminish our ability to express ourselves properly and complete a task all by ourselves. Like the "Google Effect", we risk relying on AI to the point of losing our writing prowess and cognitive skills. To harness the benefits without sacrificing other skills, we must strike a balance between utilizing AI tools and nurturing our own abilities.
Behavioural Insights and the Curious Case of Crime
Many successful behavioural policies are noteworthy for the impact they achieve with seemingly simple interventions. But complex behaviours and policy ecosystems require behavioural science practitioners to adapt their approaches. Here, Matthew Davies and Simon Ruda outline lessons in applying behavioural insights to crime reduction building on their recently published paper in Behavioural Public Policy.
How the Science of Storytelling Can Drive Behavior
Research suggests that human beings have a natural tendency towards seeing deeper meaning in ordinary things. We don’t just appreciate an object’s physical features, we also perceive its deeper, hidden meaning; its soul. This is especially true when it comes to products. The perceived "soul" of a product deeply impacts how a consumer values it. Marketers can directly craft the deeper meaning of their products through clever storytelling.