We humans like to believe we’re rational. Some accept they are “a little biased.” However, our reasoning often serves a deeper purpose—to protect our sense of self. Homobiasos explores how the human species justifies, reinterprets, and anesthetizes what is true in the name of morality and emotional stability.
We’re thrilled to announce the launch the Behavioral Economics Institute (BEI)—a global hub that brings together behavioral science, data, and behavioral intelligence to turn knowledge into action. The BEI will help organizations move beyond fragmented data and insights to build strategies that create both business value and societal impact. With a global community of over 100,000 professionals as our foundation, our partners, sponsors, advisors, and members will be the driving force in advancing this mission.
In the quest for originality, behavioural scientists often create new effects and frameworks—even when existing ones suffice. Dubbed the 'Pioneer Effect' phenomenon (with a tongue firmly in cheek) highlights the challenges of overlapping constructs, fragmented research, and duplicated effort. This article explores why psychology’s proliferation of terms isn’t just confusing—it could be holding the discipline back, and what we can do to course-correct.
Behavioral science has continued to evolve, but there remains a need to shift our focus beyond individual-focused nudges toward a more systemic approach. In Antiracist by Design, we begin to explore how the field of Applied Behavioral Science can identify the impact of social and economic contexts as we explore opportunities to promote more equitable, impactful interventions in the field.
Geert Hofstede revolutionized cultural research in the 1970s with a massive survey of IBM employees worldwide, using factor analysis to identify six key cultural dimensions. While his framework remains influential, it's essential for behavioral scientists to explore beyond these dimensions, acknowledge within-country diversity, and leverage modern research methods and technology. This nuanced approach can lead to more accurate and culturally sensitive insights in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
The pursuit of expertise has been a longstanding goal for us humans. Drawing from key research on how we build skills, we highlight the intrinsic connection between joy and the development of expertise in one’s field. By understanding joy as a vital component of expertise, we propose the concept of joyful expertise – a holistic approach to skill development. Potential contributors to joyful expertise include social connection, grit and resilience building, finding aligned environments, and the prioritization of holistic well-being.
Selecting the right methodology for researching and exploring human behaviour can be a challenge. This article provides an overview of different applied behavioural science methodologies and offers some simple steps toward selecting the most suitable approach to gain insights into human behaviour.
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 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.
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.
