Tag: wellbeing

Eco home with solar panels, rooftop garden, and surrounding neighborhood

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

Clay human figure with colorful cords extending to ears, eyes, and hands

(Dis)embodied behavioural design? On embodiment’s effect on autonomy and agency

May 5, 2026

Decision-making is not just above-the-neck cognitive processing. It occurs within a specific, embodied human form who experiences the world in a physical way. This needs to be given due attention when designing and implementing behavioural interventions. … More (Dis)embodied behavioural design? On embodiment’s effect on autonomy and agency

Giving Workers a Voice Boosts Productivity

October 13, 2025

What if the secret to boosting productivity isn’t stricter rules or higher pay, but something as simple as giving workers a voice? Sherry Jueyu Wu shares a field experiment from the production floors of a Chinese factory, which asked whether participatory meetings – in which workers spoke and supervisors listened – could increase productivity. The … More Giving Workers a Voice Boosts Productivity

Meat and manhood: Unpacking resistance to reduced meat consumption

December 26, 2024

Excessive meat consumption is increasingly scrutinised for its impacts on the environment, animal welfare, and public health. Men’s consumption of meat is higher than women’s, driven not just by taste preferences and higher caloric needs, but also social expectations surrounding men’s diets. Public messaging to reduce a behaviour as deeply ingrained as meat eating—a food that humans have consumed for at least 2.5 million years—can expect to face significant resistance. Behavioural public policy may offer unique tools to address this, but has to be careful not to trigger psychological defences.   … More Meat and manhood: Unpacking resistance to reduced meat consumption

The Future of Trust

March 7, 2024

In this blog Ros Taylor, author of “The Future of Trust” highlights the complex causes of distrust. Causes that can be invisible to those who interactions with the state may be occasionally frustrating rather than existential. Modern society requires large amounts of institutional trust in order to function. Policymakers need to understand and engage with the causes of distrust. … More The Future of Trust

Why a calorie count won’t spoil a good feast

December 6, 2022

Sarah Watters investigates the evidence on the weak effect of “physical activity calorie equivalent” food menu labelling. Why might it not work in the real world, and what might this mean for policy … More Why a calorie count won’t spoil a good feast

Social Contact: A human approach to mental illness stigma

July 21, 2022

Behavioural science has shown the importance of considering social context for policy design. The context of mental illness is often that stigma and norms stand in the way of engagement, treatment and recovery. “It’s OK to not be OK” public information can only go so far in tackling this. Research suggests that direct, intentional social contact between those with and without mental illness should be a focus for further progress in tackling this global challenge to wellbeing. In this blog the authors explain the evidence in favour of “social contact” as a targeted, behavioural approach to breaking the stigma of mental illness … More Social Contact: A human approach to mental illness stigma

Sustainable Hedonism: Not an oxymoron

June 13, 2022

In this blog Orsolya Lelkes explains Sustainable Hedonism as a strategy for the pursuit of happiness, that does not harm oneself, others, or the planet. Sustainable hedonism implies an increase in consumption for those with unmet basic needs, and a decrease in consumption for others. We can become better hedonists, assisted by public policies to ensure that basic needs are met and all are afforded the opportunity to live a good life … More Sustainable Hedonism: Not an oxymoron

On the Design of Everyday Space: Closing the gender gap

September 17, 2021

The design of everyday space has important effects. It impacts on the the exercise of the most basic human rights. In this blog the authors report on experiments in the impact of urban design on women’s freedom and confidence to move through and access public space without fear. … More On the Design of Everyday Space: Closing the gender gap