Behavioural Science

How do we stop hating the people we disagree with? - LSE Review of Books Beliefism by behavioural scientist Paul Dolan examines a type of polarisation, hostility towards opposing views, & offers empathy-driven solutions to reduce it

How do we stop feeling angry towards the people we disagree with?

Beliefism by Paul Dolan @lsepbs.bsky.social @hachetteuk.bsky.social takes a behavioural science approach to this problem in our age of #polarisation.

#Review by Nauman Asghar @liverpooluni.bsky.social

🎟️Early Bird tickets are now LIVE for the BSPHN Conference 2026!🎟️

9-10 March 2026 | De Montfort University

Will you be at the largest gathering of leaders and practitioners in behavioural science, social science, and public health in the UK?

Book Now! 🔗 www.tinyurl.com/bsphnconference2026

Deadline is approaching for submitting abstracts for the scientific programe for our annual conference. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to get your work noticed by others in the applied behavioural science and public health community. 7th December! www.bsphn.org.uk/news-and-eve...

Multiple Suggested Care Alternatives and Decision-Making of PCPs This randomized clinical trial investigates whether providing primary care physicians (PCPs) with 1 vs 2 or more appropriate treatment alternatives in a choice set has an effect on the odds that they ...

In time for the @pennchibe.bsky.social meeting, our paper about how the number of alternatives influences physician decision-making.

#MedSky #BehaviouralScience

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - BSPHN Conference 2026!

Theme: Complexity and Behavioural Science: Practical Strategies for Complex Problems.

Submit for oral/poster presentations or symposia by 7 Dec 2025.

🔗 www.bsphn.org.uk/news-and-eve...

We're live at our latest webinar- Citizen-led commissioning: how can the public help ensure public health interventions work? 💡

Thank you to our exceptional speakers and panel, @Dr Paul Chadwick , @Sue Weaver, @Caroline Cook @Dr Tiago Moutela, and our chair @Ian Fannon

Sport may be ‘beautiful’ to some, but that is not really why most people are so into sports.
The truth about sport, writes @lionelpage.bsky.social, is that it is a status game—for individuals *and* for groups:

open.substack.com/pub/lionelpa...

(PDF) Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution PDF | In the past decade, behavioural science has gained influence in policymaking but suffered a crisis of confidence in the replicability of its... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...

"Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution" is this week's paper, arguing that if we stopped chasing main effects and considered diverse context-dependent dynamics as the norm, policy research could get better models.

Notes at: ferd.ca/notes/paper-...

Why behavioural science facts falter where false information flourishes | Chantal den Daas & Marie Johnston

Misinformation spreads, in part, because its messages are short and easy to grasp - meanwhile, reality is complex, nuanced, and hard to make succinct

🤝Creating a society that values care

Framing & narrative webinar | Tues. 23 Sept, 12:00–13:30 (Online)

Over the last few years, we have been working on a range of projects that are all, at their heart, focused on creating a society that really values care…

Is Everything BS? - by Rory Sutherland - Behavioral Scientist BS (behavioral science) without creativity—indeed BS without a tiny little whiff of BS (meaning bullshit)—is actually suboptimal.

In this weekend’s read from the archive, Rory Sutherland makes the case that a little bullshit makes behavioral science better.

Neuroscience calls the response to surprise a prediction error; jazz musicians call it improvisation around a theme. Both trigger the exact same chemical nudge that turns a one-time reader into a repeated opener.
Most creators obsess over subject lines or free PDFs.

Notion – The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases. A new tool that blends your everyday work apps into one. It's the all-in-one workspace for you and your team

#BehavioralScience

Here is a database of 100 nudge case studies and research papers, for those who are interested:

That Dropped Call With Customer Service? It Was on Purpose. Endless wait times and excessive procedural fuss—it’s all part of a tactic called “sludge.”

on "sludge" --

"Turns out there’s a word for it. In the 2008 best seller _Nudge_, the legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein and the economist Richard H. Thaler marshaled behavioral-science research to show how […]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/customer-service-sludge/683340/

Inside the scandal that rocked behavioural science – and paved the way for revolution Five years after a widely revered study was debunked as totally bogus, Helen Coffey asks the experts whether trust in the sexiest branch of science has been irrevocably eroded – and how to discern bet...

Nice, ultimately hopeful, article on the flawed field of behavioural science, with some pretty big clues about why the field has such problems: “A whole strata of academics became akin to rock stars thanks to their ability to explain why humans behaved the way they did”

Flawed by Design: Is AI just as biased as we are? And is behavioural science doomed? - Claremont Flawed by Design: Is AI just as biased as we are? And is behavioural science doomed?

💡 Is AI just as biased as we are?

In our latest blog we explore:
- Why AI bias isn't just a tech glitch
- How lack of representation fuels the problem
- The role of behavioural science in building fairer AI

👉 Read the full blog here! claremontcomms.com/2025/06/flaw...

#BehaviouralScience #AI

It takes a village to end malaria — and behavioural science can guide it | Blog | Malaria Consortium Malaria Consortium Blog Post: It takes a village to end malaria — and behavioural science can guide it

💬 "Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), vaccines and antimalarial medications only work when people use them correctly and consistently."

@malariaconsortium.bsky.social's CEO James Tibenderana on how behavioural science is key to a malaria-free future. 👇

www.malariaconsortium.org/blog/it-take...

We're live at our latest behaviour change briefing webinar: Safety: Is it a public health thing? 💡

Thank you to our exceptional speakers and panel.

We'll be sharing a recording on our website after the event 📹

#BehaviourChange #BehaviouralScience #Webinar #Safety #PublicHealth

Calorie counts on menus and food labels may not help consumers choose healthier foods, new research shows Knowing how many calories a food contains has become a familiar part of eating. But it may muddy rather than clarify a person’s understanding of how healthy that food is.

New piece in The Conversation: People often trust their gut when reading calorie labels—but that confidence can mislead them. We explore the "illusion of calorie fluency" and what it means for informed eating.
Read more 👉 theconversation.com/calorie-coun...
#BehavioralScience #Nutrition #FoodPolicy

Check out our new online conversation series, Frontiers. The series will showcase behavioral science perspectives on contemporary issues, cutting edge approaches to applying behavioral science, and conversations on the craft of behavioral science and design.

behavioralscientist.org/event-2025-f...

Creating the long-running 50 things to do before you're 11¾ - Behaviour Change In 2012 we created 50 Things to do Before You’re 11¾ for the National Trust and the award winning campaign has since become their most successful behaviour change initiative to date. Designed to…

Liked this breakdown of the #behaviouralscience behind an initiative to get kids outside more.
The key takeaway? Consider kids AND parents:
- It was exciting for kids, but also nostalgic for parents.
- Using a scrapbook engaged kids, but also gave parents a momento to keep after.

If you're a researching faces (emotive/affective signals, identity, embodiment, recognition, development, neural processing etc etc) reply here so I can add you to my sparkly new Face Researcher Starter Pack! Let's make it easier to find & connect with each other 🤩(pls share!)

go.bsky.app/ABzJ4Mg

Cover of the March 29, 2025 issue of The Lancet. Quote on cover reads: “Our findings show the potential for low-cost or no-cost behavioural interventions to increase participation in screening and reduce deaths from colorectal cancer [by] adding one sentence to the invitation letter.”

Understanding colorectal cancer screening behaviour is key to increasing uptake.

In our latest issue, a recent trial evaluates the impact of two behavioural interventions on uptake of FIT colorectal screening.

Find this & more 👉 tinyurl.com/y9sjj4hc

When ‘Cancer’ Gets in the Way of Treatment Some oncologists suggest that, for certain early cancers not at risk of spreading, the term “cancer” should be avoided.

Great to see my friend and colleague @ldscherer.bsky.social and Kirsten McCaffery from @sydneyhealthlitlab.bsky.social in today's New York Times talking about how calling something "cancer" may not be helpful for decision making about DCIS!

Tagging @smdm.bsky.social for amplification.

Pentagon abruptly ends all funding for social science research More than 90 studies on threats such as climate change, extremism, and disinformation are halted

Pentagon abruptly ends all funding for social science research | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Research by Rasmussen et al suggests headlines featuring both negative *and* identity language increase the clickrate by twice the amount that each feature on its own produces: buff.ly/J1U1hY1
HT coauthor @jayvanbavel.bsky.social

BSPHN Conference 2025: Keeping Ahead of Change Join the largest gathering in the UK of leaders and practitioners in behavioural science, social science and public health

⏰ Time is running out! ⏰

Don't miss your chance to attend the BSPHN conference! Get your tickets before sales close at midday on Thursday, 27th Feb! 🎟️⬇️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bsphn-conf...

#publichealth #behaviouralscience #BSPHN2025

Episode 79: Understanding Behavioural Science to Address Health Inequalities RCP Medicine Podcast · Episode

Excellent @rcphysicians.bsky.social Medicine Podcast on the critical role of behavioural science in addressing health inequalities featuring @susanmichie.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/2ppT...
#BehaviouralScience #HealthPsychology