Low take-up of government services continues to challenge public investments in social services. Behaviorally informed interventions, so-called nudges, can overcome barriers that keep eligible individuals from accessing services. We report results from a pre-registered randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test email-based interventions to increase the take-up of publicly funded employment services in British Columbia, Canada. Our RCT design distinguishes between getting people ‘to-the-door’ (awareness and interest) and ‘through-the-door’ (enrollment). We find that emails with concise information that route individuals directly to online enrollment are most effective. The best-performing interventions more than doubled enrollment within 14 days, relative to a control group that received no communication. Using machine learning identify subgroups within the population who benefit most from our interventions. Yet despite these positive effects on take-up, we find that converting expressions of interest into enrollments remains a challenge. To increase take-up, policymakers must identify the nature of the challenge: getting people to-the-door or through-the-door. We also contribute to current debates about the quality of public service delivery.

The research of many decades by behavioral economists and psychologists has shown that the standard rationality axioms do not describe how individuals actually behave in many circumstances. Nevertheless, behavioral economists still argue for the normative character of the axioms: they describe how individuals should behave. Violations of the axioms are red flags for some type of pathology. This article argues that the history of the axiomatic approach in economics does not lend support to the normative case. Furthermore, it is argued analytically that the rationality axioms are vacuous. The attribution of irrationality to behavior can only be accomplished by reference of a more inclusive idea of rationality. The axioms are too thin and misleading. They do not have policy significance.

Behavioural status and demographic characteristics of target groups influence the implementation and effects of interventions to reduce and prevent harm. We examine the implementation of a statutory identification regime and associated monetary limit-setting in the context of electronic gambling machine gambling in Finland. Mandatory identification of players is a prerequisite for various policy measures aimed at preventing and reducing gambling harms. We use a large account-based dataset (N = 28,351) from the state gambling monopoly to examine behavioural differences between those who identified voluntarily before and those who did so only after identification became mandatory. The identification regime was implemented in steps. Consequently, we defined player groups based on different implementation phases. We compare these groups in terms of demographic variables and consumption patterns. Results show that those who identified for the first time only after identification became mandatory experienced the highest average losses. Mandatory loss limits were associated with a clear reduction in overall consumption across all three groups. We conclude that when implementing harm prevention policies, it is important to consider differences across gambler groups. Furthermore, preventive policies need to be rules-based. Voluntary measures, although favoured and actively lobbied by the gambling industry, are not as effective.

We provide the first large-scale statistical investigation of the role of the saliency of (dis)honesty on future behavior in a multi-wave experiment with 1,260 subjects. In the first wave, we vary the saliency of subjects’ past dishonesty and explore the impact on behavior in tasks that include the scope to lie. In the second wave, we vary the degree of competitiveness in one of our core tasks. In a real effort task with individual incentives, being asked to recall experiences that involve honesty, or dishonesty reduces dishonesty in the task. This effect persists, albeit with a smaller effect size, when we purposefully introduce competitive incentives to this task in wave 2. On the other hand, in a competitive environment in which subjects could earn more by lying to their counterparts, inducing them to think more about (dis)honesty pushes them toward becoming more dishonest.

Our daily lives are shaped by the digital platforms we engage with, presenting both challenges and opportunities in the pursuit of health and social well-being. Despite extensive public efforts to increase physical activity, sedentary lifestyles and car-dependence persist; often exacerbated by digital apps functioning at odds with these initiatives. With growing urbanization, walking for transportation becomes a feasible way for many Americans to achieve daily activity goals. This work explores the potential of leveraging nudges within digital apps, specifically Google Maps, to encourage walking. I found that displaying walking directions as the default in Google Maps, instead of driving, and complemented by graphics depicting social norms, significantly increased the hypothetical choice to walk — particularly among less active individuals. This underscores the power of digital environments in shaping our choices and outcomes; and highlights the need for us to critically assess digital app design. I advocate for collaboration between ‘big tech’, policymakers, and the public to create digital tools that balance our immediate convenience with long-term health and environmental sustainability goals. Re-envisioning technology’s role in daily life, we can potentially harness its vast influence to foster choices that contribute to both personal well-being and the collective good.

This study tests the causal link between corruption perception and corruption in the public sector by using stereotyping theories. Using three experiments, this study manipulates corruption perception in 1,356 Anglo-Saxon public servants through information consistent with corrupt bureaucrat stereotypes. While the treatment significantly influenced their belief in the stereotype, it did not alter dishonest behaviors. However, public servants selectively use the information in line with how acceptable they perceive the corrupt behavior to be to decide whether they will engage in corruption. The findings shed light on how public servants process corruption-related information and its implications on anti-corruption policies.

System change and individual behavior change are often conceptualized as contrasting, mutually exclusive strategies for climate change mitigation, with system change usually considered more powerful, direct or urgent. We argue that this alleged duality is misguided and that system change and behavior change are fundamentally co-dependent: system change is often effective to the extent that it promotes individual behavior change and, vice versa, individual behavior change contributes to the critical mass that is needed to spur system change. We map four pathways that link behavior change and system change, driven by consumer activism, consumer demands, policies that address people as part of a community and the provision of collective action arrangements. Together, these pathways illustrate that system and behavior change are often interconnected and suggest promising avenues for developing climate mitigation policies that jointly promote system and behavior change.

One relatively recent pivot in the discussion concerning the possibility of interpersonal utility comparisons (IUCs) centers on evolutionary biological considerations. In particular, it has been suggested that, since all human beings are part of the same species, we should expect our utility functions to be structured similarly and thus be comparable. However, a closer look at this argument shows that it is not compelling as it stands: since cultural learning plays a crucial role in our cognitive evolution, the conclusion that we evolved to be psychologically similar to each other needs to be revised. This, though, does not mean that evolutionary theory has nothing to say about the possibility of IUCs. In fact, as this paper makes clear, by expanding the evolutionary argument with work in gene–culture–technological coevolutionary theory, it becomes possible to support the contention that IUCs may well be sometimes possible. This has important implications for the analysis and design of social institutions.

For all their differences, the two rival theories of human behavior have many unfortunate similarities. Standard rational choice theory posits that individuals use rational techniques to pick ends that meet their set of private preferences. Modern theories of behavioral economics point to systematic deviations from those principles. Both approaches assume that all preferences are individually based. However, the evolutionary principle of inclusive fitness insists that in family situations, it is the welfare of the unit, not of any of single individual, that explains various forms of natural love and affection that arise because of the interdependence of − and the redistribution of − wealth it requires. Likewise, both standard theories ignore variations in tastes and in competence levels that allow for gains from trade across competence levels. This paper then reinterprets the common treatment of nudges and the various legal doctrines dealing with disabilities, product liability, and firm structure where the standard assumptions of uniform behavior miss the salient features of human behavior and social interactions.

It is perhaps uncontroversial to claim that behavioral science research is playing an increasingly important role in practice. However, practitioners largely rely on media reports rather than original research articles to learn about the science. Do these media reports contain all the information needed to understand the nuances of the research? To assess this question, we develop a set of rubrics to evaluate the fidelity of the media report to the original research article. As an illustration, we apply these rubrics to a sample of media reports based on several research articles published in one journal and identify common patterns, trends, and pitfalls in media presentations. We find preliminary evidence of low fidelity in presenting participant characteristics, contextual elements, and limitations of the original research. The media also appear to misreport correlational evidence as causal and sometimes miss acknowledging the hypothetical nature of evidence when hypothetical scenarios were used as the sole basis of conclusions. Furthermore, the media often present broad conclusions and personal opinions as directly backed by scientific evidence. To support more discerning consumption of behavioral insights from media sources, we propose a checklist to guide practitioners in evaluating and using information from media sources.

Especially in the context of climate adaptation policy, creating support for hard policy instruments and convincing people that their individual contributions do matter are two significant challenges. In this study, we test the effect of an individually versus collectively framed gain-appeal infographic on the acceptance of hard policy instruments and this in the context of strictly private climate change adaptation behaviour. We used a mixed methods approach focussing on reducing private paving in domestic gardens in Belgium. Evidence from an online survey experiment (n = 3,389) showed that policy makers implementing a collectively framed infographic can increase the acceptance of a more strict permit policy and a yearly financial contribution, while simultaneously enhancing personal and collective self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs. Complementary insights from qualitative data learned that perceived (in)equity is a crucial point of attention when designing climate policies addressing private paving. A collectively framed infographic may convey the message ‘yes, we ánd I can’. With these “findings, we want to trigger new opportunities in climate policies beyond the current policy scopes.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a stark reminder that societies will struggle to address global challenges unless they are able to change behaviour at scale. The widely adopted ‘nudge’ approach epitomizes an individualistic, deficit model of human cognition and motivation that leverages or overcomes people’s weaknesses and biases to get them to do things they would otherwise not. By contrast, we argue that tackling the challenges facing humanity requires a collective, capacity-building approach – one that boosts the competences, opportunities, and motivations of individuals to act together.

When aiming to change behavior, policymakers confront the challenge of implementing behavioral interventions across contexts. However, the effectiveness of behavioral solutions often hinges on context, posing a significant hurdle to scaling interventions. This study explores the application of a behavioral pattern language approach as a means to enhance intervention efficacy and support policymakers and practitioners who seek to solve problems at scales that cross diverse contexts. The study demonstrates how a pattern language can inform contextually aware solutions, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders. Additionally, the research finds practitioners deploy multiple solutions within complex systems to achieve more difficult behavioral change goals. Despite challenges related to replicability and evolving methodologies, the findings suggest that pattern languages offer a promising avenue for systematically generating and disseminating behavioral insights. This research contributes to advancing applied behavioral science by providing a structured approach for collaborative policymaking and research endeavors that are contextually relevant and effective.

Considering the alarming energy demand for cooling and seeking sustainable cooling alternatives to over-reliance on air conditioning, our pre-registered study is the first attempt to apply social norm nudges on two cooling behaviors – lighter clothing and the use of personal cooling devices (PCDs). To examine and compare the effectiveness of a descriptive norm message, an injunctive norm signal from leadership, and the two norms combined, we conducted an online randomized controlled survey experiment among financial employees (n = 743) in Guangdong, China. We measured their behavioral intentions before and after the intervention, and their level of commitment to these behaviors as an alternative outcome. We found that while single-norm conditions did not lead to desirable increases in lighter clothing, the both-norm condition nudged participants toward selecting lighter work clothes and boosted commitment to lighter clothing. Outcomes related to the use of PCDs were not affected by any of the norm conditions. These mixed findings present a cautionary tale for designing social norm interventions in office spaces and highlight the boundaries of their effectiveness in energy-saving behaviors.

This study tests whether citizens’ evaluations of the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) in public policies are subject to motivated reasoning. Specifically, we test whether respondents’ preferences for AI regulation or their subjective attitudes toward AI are sources of motivated reasoning across varying use cases, differing in nature, complexity, safety-criticality and normative considerations: AI in municipal services, self-driving cars and recidivism prediction. Experimental results from two preregistered studies conducted among German citizens reveal that subjective attitudes toward AI cause substantial and robust motivated reasoning across all three policy domains. Regulatory preferences are only a selective source for motivated reasoning about AI in public policy. Overall, the results point to the cognitive limitations of strategies that attempt to objectify the benefits of AI without considering the context of the application domain. Politicians and policymakers need to consider these limitations in their attempts to increase citizens’ appreciation of AI in public policy.

Mobile-based trading apps have made investing easier than ever before, but this includes enabling access to risky investments that many investors may not be able to trade safely. The UK financial regulator thereby requires Contract for Difference (CFD) trading apps to make disclosures such as, ‘89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider’. However, these disclosures might be counteracted by either their suboptimal implementation, or by other aspects of these apps’ deceptive choice architecture. Therefore, the present study audited choice architecture characteristics of demo-modes of the 14 most-popular CFD trading apps in the UK. A content analysis found for example that 31.6% of risk warnings did not comply with the regulator’s standards, and that only 35.7%% of apps contained risk warnings within the app’s main tabs. A thematic analysis suggested that apps’ educational resources could instil users with the hope of winning, by emphasising practice, strategies and psychological mindset – instead of acknowledging luck as the predominant factor underlying CFD trading profitability. Overall, this study added to previous research highlighting the similarities between certain high-risk investments and gambling, and added to the behavioural public policy literature on deceptive choice architecture.

Littering involves throwing away waste in places not designated for it, harming the environment. This study introduces a strategy to encourage more use of Littergram, an app designed to fight littering. Littergram allows users to photograph litter and share these images publicly, alerting local councils to clean up the waste. The study aimed to increase user engagement with Littergram by implementing an intervention designed using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), a comprehensive framework for developing behaviour change interventions. We developed and applied a digital campaign through emails, following BCW guidelines. The process began with identifying the behaviour we wanted to change. We conducted a survey to understand what influences this behaviour and selected techniques for changing behaviour based on these insights. The campaign involved sending targeted emails to Littergram users. There was an increase in the use of Littergram during the campaign, and growth returned to initial levels after the campaign ended. This outcome shows that the approach can effectively increase engagement temporarily. Future research should focus on challenges in maintaining long-term behaviour change.

Possibly the most important argument for the permissibility of choice architecture is the inevitability argument (IA), which states that if choice contexts are to inevitably influence individuals in some way, they should be arranged to best promote their welfare. Opponents point out a moral difference between influence from unmodified environments (including environments designed without any thought given to behavioral influence) and environments modified specifically to produce behavioral effects. Only the latter are said to subvert the will of those affected, and thereby raise concerns pertaining to manipulation, mistreatment of rational agency, etc. We argue, however, that if choice architects can reliably predict the behavioral effects of both the unmodified environment and available alternatives, the moral difference between these environments seems insignificant. In such cases, one version of the IA persists. This version establishes the permissibility of choice architecture in circumstances of reliable prediction, but is itself neutral toward available normative directions.