Tag: Behavioural science

Is a transparent nudge a better one? The evidence paints a mixed picture

August 24, 2026

The worry is that nudges may bypass deliberate choice-making and leave people feeling manipulated by steering behaviour without their awareness. The most popular response is simply to tell people they are being nudged through a disclosure message attached to the intervention. But does disclosing a nudge actually make people feel more in control? And does it make the nudge any more effective? … More Is a transparent nudge a better one? The evidence paints a mixed picture

The Power and Peril of “Behavioural” in Public Policy

August 20, 2026

Research on behavioral public policy (BPP) has rapidly increased in the past decade, with a notable rise in publications from 891 articles (1980-2018) to 876 in just five years (2019-2024). The analysis reveals BPP’s growing geographical diversity and engagement with contemporary issues. Additionally, BPP plays a critical role in policy legitimacy beyond intervention effectiveness. … More The Power and Peril of “Behavioural” in Public Policy

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Why Don’t People Retrofit? Lessons from Behavioural Science and Community Co-Creation

August 18, 2026

Achieving net zero will require transforming the homes we already live in, improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Retrofitting will depend on technologies, finance, and infrastructure – and also on trust, participation, and collective ownership. It is about working with the people who live in them. … More Why Don’t People Retrofit? Lessons from Behavioural Science and Community Co-Creation

From i-frame slogans to s-frame solutions: How counter-industry gambling messages can replace individual responsibility with systemic accountability

May 27, 2026

Messages like “gamble responsibly” frame gambling harms as a matter of individual responsibility. Counter-industry warnings such as “gambling products are designed to be addictive” instead highlight systemic drivers of harmful gambling. In this blogpost, Maira Andrade and Philip Newall show how policymakers could best use such counter-industry warnings. … More From i-frame slogans to s-frame solutions: How counter-industry gambling messages can replace individual responsibility with systemic accountability

Algorithms and Autonomy: Regulating Recommender Systems in the Age of Hyper-Nudging

September 2, 2025

Recommender systems are online algorithms that can help users, reducing complexity and search costs. But they also target and exploit behavioral biases. Recommender systems lend themselves to regulation through ‘budges’. … More Algorithms and Autonomy: Regulating Recommender Systems in the Age of Hyper-Nudging

Why New Year’s resolutions matter: The psychology behind the tradition

December 31, 2024

Ivo Vlaev, Professor of Behavioural Science, University of Warwick New Year’s resolutions represent more than just a fleeting tradition; they offer a powerful opportunity for self-reflection and intentional growth. Rooted in six fundamental psychological needs shared by all humans, resolutions serve as a catalyst for meaningful change. Here’s why they matter and how they can … More Why New Year’s resolutions matter: The psychology behind the tradition

Communicating by Numbers: How and What

October 13, 2023

Communicators often use their intuitions to decide what to present, and they don’t always use numbers. Including numbers can have beneficial effects, for example in the willingness to vaccinate. In this blog Ellen Peters and Brittany Shoots-Reinhard share the lessons from 20 years of research into communicating with numbers. … More Communicating by Numbers: How and What

Did you miss the gorilla? Choice architecture is not the solution to inequality

January 10, 2023

Nudges to make tax credit claims easier as an anti-poverty tactic just shift attention from the gorilla. The promotion of policies based on tweaking choice architecture risks becoming a new ‘trickle down’ mantra, for the sake of very marginal gains. Tania Burchardt responds to the article in the October 2022 issue of the journal by Kendra Tully “Odd bedfellows: How choice architecture can enhance autonomy and mitigate inequality” … More Did you miss the gorilla? Choice architecture is not the solution to inequality

Behaviour Change through Choice Architecture: Where do we stand?

June 16, 2022

What does a decade of attention to Choice Architecture in policy tell us about the effectiveness of interventions? Are some types of intervention more effective than others? Are choice architecture interventions more effective in some behavioural domains than others? In this blog the authors of a recent meta-analysis of the behavioural public policy literature covering past interventions reflect on their findings looking at the variations in effects and on publication bias in the choice architecture literature. They argue that regardless of absolute effect sizes, which need to be treated with some caution, the meta-analysis may be useful to guide policymakers in choices between types of interventions. … More Behaviour Change through Choice Architecture: Where do we stand?

Pay or Pledge: Winning in Gambling

February 18, 2021

Wei proposes a “Pay or Pledge” choice for gamblers. By creating a new “game within the game” gamblers would be helped to think about their game plans and stick to them. The blog is based on Wei’s 2020 prize-winning essay at the LSE … More Pay or Pledge: Winning in Gambling