Suggested News and Media

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  Behavioral Science & Policy’s Latest Issue is Out

  The new issue of Behavioral Science & Policy focuses on a range of topics, including nudges to promote health and safety, leadership training and development in organizations, and policies to encourage the use of public transportation and enhance the well-being of families and communities. For example, Daniella Meeker, Jason Doctor and colleagues provide experimental evidence for how lotteries can motivate exercise class enrollment and encourage persistence with the class over time.

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  CALL FOR PAPERS: BSPA Annual Conference 2022

  On May 5-6, 2022 over 500 leading behavioral scientists, policymakers, executives, and press will join Eric Johnson, Ayelet Fishbach, John List, Ellen Peters, representatives of governments and behavioral units from U.S.A. Canada, U.K., Australia, South Africa and many others to gather for the 2022 BSPA Online Conference.

  All of the programming uniquely fit for digital will be hosted online with live streaming and interactive sessions from 11am-5pm (EST) on May 5th and 6th.

  BSPA seeks proposals by February 7, 2022 for short (TED talk style) presentations highlighting research in five thematic areas in which behavioral scientists could have significant influence on policy. These areas are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  Click on the following link to learn more and to submit: https://behavioralpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BSPA-Call-For-Presenters-1-2022-LV.pdf

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  Thinking More Deeply About Positive Thinking

  People like feeling in control of where their lives are headed, and the pandemic has made it especially difficult to feel this way. There’s little we can do to change the harsh realities of the current crisis, but professor Arthur C. Brooks describes how we can adopt a more positive mindset to better cope with these realities in The Atlantic. Is positive thinking always the answer to our problems, or can it sometimes lead us astray? In SPSP’s Character and Context blog, professor Trysh Travis describes some of the less-known perils of positive thinking-- for example, someone who has uncritically internalized a belief in thinking positively may feel it’s their own fault if they remain marginalized from systemic racism. Finally, Annie Duke weighs in on the power of negative thinking.

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  The Psychological Burden of Remote Learning

  The pandemic has taken education out of its social context, and schools haven’t fully accounted for the psychological burden this imposes on students, writes psychologist Tess Wilkinson-Ryan for The Atlantic. Remote learning also exacerbates racial and economic gaps in achievement, reports the LA Times.

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  Twitter’s Proposed Solution to Digital Political Polarization

  In recent Congressional testimony, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reviewed a “health” initiative for users, including how Twitter could serve as a space to reconcile political opposition. Yet Sociologist Christopher Bail (Duke) cautions against policy action to support Dorsey’s efforts. Bail’s work shows that Twitter may actually lead to further polarization.

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  Decision-Making as a Required Course in School?

  Behavioral science probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think of grade school curricula, but writer Steven Johnson is trying to change that. This week, Johnson makes the case for integrating decision-making courses into lower grades. Also, in the Behavioral Scientist, Tom Wein shows us how we can integrate behavioral science into “edutainment” to benefit people at different ages, from kids in school to adults making decisions for later in life.