1:00 - 1:30 PM	Registration and Networking Wexner Lobby, Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)
1:30 - 1:45 PM	Welcome Remarks HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Conference Co-Chairs: Jennifer Lerner, Elizabeth Linos & Julia Minson BSPA Co-Presidents: Craig Fox & Sim Sitkin
1:45 - 2:45 PM	Plenary Session I: Fireside Chat Look Again: The Gift and the Curse of Habituation HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Speakers: Cass Sunstein (Harvard University) Tali Sharot (University College London; MIT)
2:45 - 3:00 PM	Coffee/Tea Break
3:00 - 4:00 PM	Breakout Paper Session I

TOPIC A: AI and Algorithmic Decision-Making

Wexner Building, Room 436

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Don Moore (University of California, Berkeley)
Confidence Calibration in Large Language Models

Talk 2: Sasha Brietzke (Geisinger Health)
A Prospective Randomized Trial of Algorithmically Selected Nudges to Increase Influenza Vaccinations

Talk 3: Yunhao Zhang (University of California, Berkeley)
Spillover Effects of Deepfake Labeling on Subsequent Judgments of Video Authenticity

Talk 4: Bethany Hsiao (University of Pennsylvania)
Perceptions of Fairness in Algorithmic Decision-Making

TOPIC B: “Millions Served:” The Applied Behavioral Science of Influence

Wexner 330

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Steve Martin (Influence at Work)
The Persuaders v. The Evaders: How Social Norms Are Helping to Reduce Public Transport’s Free-Rider Problem.

Talk 2: Markus Brauer (University of Wisconsin)
Leveraging Social Norms to Promote Diversity and Inclusion.

Talk 3: Eloise Copland (Influence at Work)
Delivering Sustained and Beneficial Environmental Change.

Session Respondent: Bob Cialdini (Arizona State)

TOPIC C: Energy and Environmental Policy

Wexner 332

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Sara Constantino (Stanford University)
Intergenerational Transmission of Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors

Talk 2: Trisha Shrum (University of Vermont)
Dear Tomorrow: Conversations with the Future

Talk 3: Anandita Sabherwal (Princeton University & Boston College)
Increasing Outcome Efficacy Beliefs Galvanizes Support for Congestion Pricing

TOPIC D: Behavioral Science for Inclusive Policy Design

Rubenstein Building 306

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Crystal Hall (University of Washington)
A Structural Approach to Equity in Policy Design: From Bias to Systems

Talk 2: Danyao Li (University of Southern California)
Cool the Heat: Does Deliberation Reduce Polarization on DEI Policies and When?

Talk 3: Rima-Maria Rahal (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
From Cognition to Action: Informing Inclusive Policy Design with Cross-Cultural Basic Research

Talk 4: Jose Cervantez(University of Pennsylvania)
Does Making it Easier to Find Racial Minorities Increase Diversity? A Field Experiment in STEM

4:15 - 5:15 PM

Breakout Paper Session II

TOPIC A: New Methods in Intervention Design

Wexner 436

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Michael Hallsworth (Behavioral Insights Team)
When Designing Interventions, What is the Best Division of Labor Between Human and Artificial Intelligence?

Talk 2: Joseph Reiff (University of Maryland, College Park)
Behavioral Intervention Construal: A Framework for Understanding Inferences from Interventions

Talk 3: Max Spohn (Harvard University)
Barriers to Evidence Adoption: A Conjoint Analysis of Policymakers’ Preferences for Evidence

Talk 4: Felipe Araujo (Lehigh University)
Policy Learning for Payment Compliance: Out-of Time Evidence on the Value—and Limits—of ML Targeting

TOPIC B: Political Polarization

Wexner 330

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Morela Hernandez (University of Michigan)
The Social Dynamics of Political Polarization

Talk 2: Audrey Feldman (Harvard University)
Sports Fandom Is a Social Virtue

Talk 3: Rhea Kim Kothari (University of California, Berkeley)
They Saw a Headline: Partisan Evaluations of Credibility and Engagement in Identical News Headlines

Talk 4: Cristina Figueroa Sisniega (University of Amsterdam)
Stories of the Past and Present Day Polarization

TOPIC C: Poverty and Social Policy

Wexner 332

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Elana Safran (Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES), General Services Administration)
Evidence from the SSI Program

Talk 2: Soon Hyeok Choi (Rochester Institute of Technology)
The Winner's Curse in Housing Markets

Talk 3: Will von Geldern (University of Washington)
Administrative Burdens in Tenant Right to Counsel Programs: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Topic D: Social Norms for Behavior Change

Rubenstein 306

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Todd Rogers (Harvard University)
OPOWER for Student Absenteeism: Scaling a Norms Intervention

Talk 2: Wen Wen Teh (Ideas42)
From scarcity to agency: narrative-informed behavioral design for cash transfers

Talk 3: George Kinkead (King’s College London)
Do Group Chats Moderate Message Campaigns?: Harnessing Shared Knowledge to Support Students

5:30 - 6:45 PM	Poster Session & Cocktail Reception HKS Garden Room & Café, Wexner Building Ground Floor
7:00 PM onward	Networking Dinners (optional; meet in lobby) On your own or in theme-based groups (sign-up available)

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Monday, June 8, 2026

8:00 - 8:45 AM	Breakfast Buffet and Networking Wexner Hallway and Classrooms Curated tables of approximately 8 people by area of interest
9:00 - 10:00 AM	Plenary Session II: Predicting an Uncertain Future — Forecasting and Predicting Low-Probability, High-Consequence Events HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Speakers: Phil Tetlock (University of Pennsylvania & Forecasting Research Institute) Ezra Karger (Forecasting Research Institute & Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) Juliette Kayyem (Harvard University)
10:15–11:15 AM	Breakout Paper Session III

TOPIC A: Institutionalizing Behavioral Science

Wexner 436

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Amira Boland (New Practice Lab & Georgetown University)
How to Win Friends and Influence Policy: Doing Behavioral Science with Government Collaborators

Talk 2: Irene Lee (Harvard University)
Leaders as Choice Architects: Scaling Decision Improvement Through Training

Talk 3: Sally Toms and John Burkhardt (International Monetary Fund)
Why Reforms Stall: A Behavioral Lens to Make Public Sector Modernization Effective in Practice

Talk 4: Aline Menezes and Liliane Harue Kishi (Brazilian School of Public & Business Administration)
Nudging Taxpayers: How Behavioral Evidence and Better Information Strengthen Public Policy

Topic B: Political Polarization and Intergroup Dynamics

Wexner 330

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Einav Hart (George Mason University)
From Disagreement to Better Information: Embracing Discomfort to Build Intellectual Humility

Talk 2: Dilan Tulan (Harvard University)
Bridge or Sink: Reducing Partisan Animosity with a Cooperative Game Show

Talk 3: Tyler Salley (University College London)
The Hidden Politics of Work: Policy Levers for Cue-Based Political Differences

Talk 4: Daniel Connolly (Princeton University)
Does Noise Trump Bias? Evidence from Voter Beliefs

Topic C: Markets and Economic Behavior

Wexner 332

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Judd Kessler (University of Pennsylvania)
The Economics of Hidden Markets and Getting “Lucky by Design”

Talk 2: Nathaniel Posner (Columbia University)
How Markets Replace Favors: The Psychological Process and Social Costs of Help-Seeking Crowd-Out

Talk 3: Shibeal O’Flaherty (Office of Evaluation Sciences, General Services Administration)
Evidence from the Small Business Administration (SBA)

Talk 4: Bo Cowgill (Columbia University)
Clause and Effect: Theory and Field Experimental Evidence on Noncompete Clauses

Topic D: Education and Training

Rubenstein 306

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Daniel Oppenheimer (Carnegie Mellon University)
Harnessing pre-commitment to improve student attendance and participation in post-secondary classrooms

Talk 2: Nuria Tolsa Caballero (Indiana University)
Same performance, yet feeling far behind: Lower ranks undermine expectancy, discouraging reengagement

Talk 3: Tom Tasche (ideas42)
Why Most Educational Nudges Fail—and How Subtraction Fixes Them

11:30 - 12:30 PM	Plenary Session III: Fireside Chat Behavioral Science and Public Policy: Past, Present, and Future HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Speakers: Robert Cialdini (Arizona State) Betsy Levy Paluck (Princeton University) Format: 40-minute presentation, 20-minute Q&A
12:30 – 1:00 PM	Networking and Lunch Buffet Wexner Main Lobby, First Floor
1:00 - 2:00 PM	Seated Lunch & TED-Style Book Panel #1 (Published Sept 2025-August 2026) HKS John F. Kennedy Forum Book authors: Julia Minson (Harvard University), How to Disagree Better Judd Kessler (University of Pennsylvania), Lucky by Design Michael Hallsworth (Behavioral Insights Team), The Hypocrisy Trap
2:15 - 3:15 PM	Breakout Paper Session IV

Topic A: Taking Behavioral Evidence to Scale

Wexner 436

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Iris Bohnet (Harvard University)
Fairness at Work: Behavioral Science in Organizations

Talk 2: Janna Ter Meer (Scripps Research Translational Institute)
The role of cohort effects on efficacy reduction at scale: Evidence from the rollout of a large dig

Talk 3: Feiyi Wang (University of Pennsylvania)
Integrating Behavioral Science Theory with Large Language Models to Study Persuasion at Scale

Talk 4: Linnea Gandhi (University of Pennsylvania)
Do Social Welfare Nudges Generalize Over Wordings, Behaviors, Individuals, & Time? A 380k Megastudy

2:15 - 3:15 PM

Breakout Paper Session IV

Topic B: Public Narratives and Opinion Change

Wexner 330

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Jan Gerrit Voelkel (Cornell University)
Using Crowdsourced Megastudies to Identify the Most Effective Strategies for Changing Public Opinion

Talk 2: Christian Elbaek (Aarhus University)
Megastudy testing 20 treatments to increase support for wealth redistribution

Talk 3: Molly Moore (Washington University in St Louis)
Stories That Move People: Examining Public Narrative in Leadership

Topic C: Behavior Science in Organizations

Wexner 332

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Julia Lee Cunningham (University of Michigan)
Humanizing the frontlines: Individuating connections reduce customer mistreatment

Talk 2: Yuan Pei (Asian Development Bank)
Adopting Effective Management Practices: Experimental Evidence on Supporting Workplace Mental Health

Talk 3: Cassandra Merritt (University of Notre Dame)
AI Adoption, Manager Beliefs, and Hiring Intentions

Talk 4: Brenda Sciepura (University of California, Berkeley & Harvard University)
Highlighting pay backfires in international health worker recruitment.

Topic D: Behavior Science in Health Policy

Rubenstein 306

Talk 1 / Session Chair: Gretchen Chapman (Carnegie Mellon University)
Differential Views of Influenza and COVID Vaccines

Talk 2: Jeffrey Linder (Northwestern University)
Effect of Personalized Risk Communication, Precommitments, and Accountability on Opioid Prescribing

Talk 3: Sarah (Shih-Hua) Chen (Harvard University)
Same Emotion, Opposite Effects: The Role of Emotional Relevance in Public Health Campaigns

Talk 4: Amir Goren (Geisinger Health)
Nudges Can Help Crack the Nut of Emergency Department Overuse: Evidence from Five Field Trials

3:15 - 3:30 PM	Coffee/tea break 3rd Floor Wexner Building
3:30 - 4:30 PM	TED-Style Book Panel #2 HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Book authors: Angela Duckworth (University of Pennsylvania),Situated: Finding the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best Baruch Fischhoff (Carnegie Mellon), Decisions: Studying and Supporting People Facing Hard Choices Nick Epley (University of Chicago), A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, & Connection
4:45 - 5:45 PM	Closing Plenary IV: Behavioral Science for Strengthening Democracy HKS John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Speaker: Danielle Allen (Harvard University) Moderator: Nancy Gibbs (Harvard University)
5:45 - 6:45 PM	Cocktail Reception & Awards Ceremony HKS Winter Garden, Wexner Building Ground Floor
7:00 PM on	Networking Dinners (optional) Location TBD On your own or in groups (sign-up available)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, & Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University.

BSPA Conference is held in collaboration with Duke Behavioral Science & Policy Center, Behavioral Grooves, and Behavioral Scientist.