Original and thought-provoking reports from the front lines of behavioral science. Learn more: behavioralscientist.org
Operating as usual
Law needs a behavioral revolution.
In a new article, Benajmin van Rooij and Adam Fine make the case for a behavioral jurisprudence.
There is now a large body of empirical work that calls into question the traditional legal assumptions about how law shapes behavior.
Research Lead: A Traffic Intervention Backfires, How Love in Literature Tracks Economic Development, and More
The Research Lead is a monthly digest connecting you to noteworthy academic and applied research from around the behavioral sciences. Here are our picks for May 2022.
The Five Vital Signs of a Scalable Idea and How to Avoid a Voltage Drop by John A. List
One of the first steps to reaching scale is not losing steam as your idea grows. Here are five specific and universal causes of voltage drops and how to avoid them.
Jane McGonigal designs simulations that transport people into possible futures to test our response to the threats, risks, and challenges we might face. And to help us feel less anxious, more creative, and helpful as we forge ahead.
One of the first steps to reaching scale is not losing steam as your idea grows. John List has identified five specific and universal causes of voltage drops and how to avoid them.
One of the first steps to reaching scale is not losing steam as your idea grows. Here are five specific and universal causes of voltage drops and how to avoid them.
The Craft of Forecasting Our Possible Futures: A Conversation with Jane McGonigal
Jane McGonigal designs simulations that transport people into possible futures to test our response to the threats, risks, and challenges we might face. And to help us feel less anxious, more creative, and helpful as we forge ahead.
"When taxes are more frustrating, people are more opposed to the general idea of taxation. This drives movements to reduce taxes more and more, achieving the aims of the anti-tax lobbyists, but not necessarily those of the American people at large."
Special interests in the U.S. want the tax process to be opaque and difficult. Is it any wonder Americans hate taxes?
"The process of actually paying your taxes is comically difficult in the United States. This is not an accident."
Special interests in the U.S. want the tax process to be opaque and difficult. Is it any wonder Americans hate taxes?
Special interests in the U.S. want the tax process to be opaque and difficult. Is it any wonder Americans hate taxes? — Why We Hate Taxes, and Why Some People Want Us To by Syon Bhanot and Reed Orchinik
Special interests in the U.S. want the tax process to be opaque and difficult. Is it any wonder Americans hate taxes?
Barry Schwartz on why we work and what the dismal state of our workplaces tells us about the power of our theories of human nature to shape our world—even if those theories are false.
"Given the present historical moment’s critical need for science, we wondered: What if scientists allowed skeptics in the general public to look under the hood at how their studies were conducted? Could opening up the basic ideas of open science beyond scholars help combat the epidemic of science skepticism?"
What if scientists allowed skeptics in the general public to look under the hood at how their studies were conducted? Could opening up help combat the epidemic of science skepticism?
What if scientists allowed skeptics in the general public to look under the hood at how their studies were conducted? Could opening up help combat the epidemic of science skepticism?
"If you can structure when you work, so that the work you do is integrated with the rest of your life, that makes unbearable work bearable … But it also does not address what is to me the fundamental question, which is, What is it that you’re doing when you’re doing it, no matter where you’re doing it?" — Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz on why we work and what the dismal state of our workplaces tells us about the power of our theories of human nature to shape our world—even if those theories are false.
"This notion that people work for pay, period, is false. But, perhaps more importantly, it could become true if you create workplaces that essentially deprive people of any other satisfaction that might come from work." — Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz on why we work and what the dismal state of our workplaces tells us about the power of our theories of human nature to shape our world—even if those theories are false.
Barry Schwartz on why we work and what the dismal state of our workplaces tells us about the power of our theories of human nature to shape our world—even if those theories are false.
Are incorrect ideas about 'why we work' driving the Great Resignation? A conversation with Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz on why we work and what the dismal state of our workplaces tells us about the power of our theories of human nature to shape our world—even if those theories are false.
Have you reserved your copy + ticket yet? Last chance for free global shipping today!
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths t...
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Print Edition #2 — Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas.
Look inside Brain Meets World for a preview of the forthcoming issue....
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths t...
Behavioral science teams: Head here to reserve Brain Meets World copies and tickets for your team today. (There's still time to take advantage of free shipping.) Check out the options here:
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths t...
We've been quiet recently, but it's been for a good reason. We were putting the finishing touches on our second print edition. Introducing Brain Meets World....
Orders placed today and tomorrow, March 8 and 9, will snag free shipping anywhere in the world, as a thanks for your early support.
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths t...
We're excited to announce Brain Meets World, our second print edition and event. Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas.
Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths that our ideas take—and take us on.
What happens to our ideas and theories when they leave their cozy, ordered homes and venture into the chaos and disorder of the real world? Find out with Brain Meets World.
https://behavioralscientist.org/print-edition-2-brain-meets-world/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=behavioral+scientist+in+print
Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (161 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths t...
Have you every said "At Least" or "If Only" as you think about how things could have gone differently? From Dan Pink's new look at regret: "At Least counterfactuals preserve our feelings in the moment, but they rarely enhance our decisions or performance in the future....If Only counterfactuals degrade our feelings now, but—and this is key—they can improve our lives later."
When we use mental time travel to imagine what might have been, “at least” delivers comfort and consolation in the moment, but the sting of “if only” motivates us to be better in the future.
"Two decades of research on counterfactual thinking exposes an oddity: thoughts about the past that make us feel better are relatively rare, while thoughts that make us feel worse are exceedingly common." Dan Pink explains why and goes into how this feeling can be productive.
When we use mental time travel to imagine what might have been, “at least” delivers comfort and consolation in the moment, but the sting of “if only” motivates us to be better in the future.
The Olympic podium offers a portal into the science and experience of regret, explains Dan Pink.
When we use mental time travel to imagine what might have been, “at least” delivers comfort and consolation in the moment, but the sting of “if only” motivates us to be better in the future.
In his new book, The Power of Regret, @DanielPink details our experiences with “what might have been” and explores the science behind it. In an excerpt from the book this week, Pink dives into the counterfactual thinking that accompanies regret, as we contemplate an alternative course of events.
When we use mental time travel to imagine what might have been, “at least” delivers comfort and consolation in the moment, but the sting of “if only” motivates us to be better in the future.
Today is Presidents’ Day in the United States, so it seems like a good time to revisit Geoffrey Cohen’s lesson on leadership. Cohen’s piece asks an intriguing question about the hidden psychological influence our leaders can wield over us: What view of human nature are they conveying through their rhetoric and actions, and how does it affect our own views?
Cohen is particularly perturbed by the penchant to paint everything as a threat. “Science tells us that the world is not Hobbesian, at least not necessarily. But leaders and media pundits can make it Hobbesian by spreading a view of society as filled with threats,” he writes. “Who we are depends on how we are led, especially how we are led to understand each other.”
https://behavioralscientist.org/what-our-politicians-and-pundits-need-to-know-about-leadership/
Leaders can profoundly influence our worldview. Too often, they peddle a false theory of human nature that weakens social ties.
What can we learn from the solace of ‘At Least’ and the sting of ‘If Only’? The Olympic podium offers a portal into the science and experience of regret, explains @DanielPink.
When we use mental time travel to imagine what might have been, “at least” delivers comfort and consolation in the moment, but the sting of “if only” motivates us to be better in the future.
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