Behavioural Public Policy Blog

Mass media routinely portray information about COVID-19 deaths on logarithmic graphs. But do their readers understand them? Experimentation suggests that they don’t. What is perhaps more relevant: Respondents looking at a linear scale graph have different attitudes and policy preferences towards the pandemic than those shown the same data on a logarithmic graph. Merely changing the scale the data is presented on can alter public policy preferences and the level of worry, even at a time when people are routinely exposed to a lot of COVID-19 related information. … More Flatten the (Logarithmic) Curve

Governments are facing two difficult policy challenges: managing the transition from a COVID19 lockdown, and establishing a “new normal”. Individuals and policymakers may now recognise the importance of wellbeing as an outcome from their actions. Behavioural insights have much to offer in tackling these challenges, and incorporating wellbeing into public policies. … More Plus ca change?

In 2020 a pandemic made a policy priority of hygiene. In her prize-winning MSc essay Cristina Parilli reported on an exercise in testing reciprocity-based messaging to promote cleanliness in a fitness centre. Might this be a route to sustaining hygiene habits post-COVID? … More A reciprocal exercise in hygiene habit formation

Kunreuther & Slovic highlight the challenges in understanding the deceptive nature of exponential growth: What initially looks benign takes off in a torrent of harm. COVID-19 gives a vital lesson on exponential growth. This understanding needs to be applied to serious problems caused by climate change. … More A Lesson for Climate Change from the Coronavirus Pandemic: Act Now!

Erik Angner and Gustaf Arrhenius explain the context of Sweden’s response to COVID-19, seen as straying well away from the mainstream. They argue that every country faces the same uncertainties in the coronavirus pandemic. Responses are framed by local constitutional and cultural norms, and by other factors including behavioural insights. In this Sweden is no different, but its strategy is set by its experts not by politicians. … More The Swedish Exception?

An interesting aspect of the current pandemic is that authoritarian solutions, typified by complete lockdowns of citizens’ movements, seem increasingly popular. Even in England, where self-determination is given high importance and police powers are relatively limited, there seems strong support for “lockdown” policies. In unusual situations should governments put more effort into soliciting public opinion in their decisions, rather than relying upon attitudinal assumptions derived from more normal times.
… More Popular Paternalism: Has a Pandemic turned people towards authoritarianism?

Reciprocity is a fundamental driver of human behaviour. There will probably be few times in our lives when the will to act reciprocally will be more important than it is right now. It could be used in the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic … More Durian Is Not The Only Fruit: On Reciprocity and Hoarding in the Age of the Coronavirus

The World’s hopes are pinned on a #vaccine for Coronavirus, while the WHO lists #Vaccine Hesitancy as a major threat. Time for #Behavioural policy to step up? @lexhortal … More Breathing Life into Vaccination

Uni students whose education choices are driven by intrinsic motivation perform better than those driven by financial return. @L_Bunce shows how marketised education may bring new challenges for policymakers and educators. … More Learning v. Earning