LSE Department of Psychological & Behavioural Science

The Engine of Scientific Discovery: How New Methods and Tools Spark Major Breakthroughs Abstract. How do we spark new scientific discoveries? Why do some breakthroughs seem even accidental? And most importantly, how can we accelerate them and

⚗️🔭 How do we spark new scientific discoveries? Why do some breakthroughs seem accidental?

The new book 'The Engine of Scientific Discovery' by CPNSS Research Associate Alexander Krauss is for anyone who wants to understand how we make discoveries.

➡ Link to the book: doi.org/10.1093/oso/...

Tell don’t ask: how to use social media to mobilise local collective climate action - npj Climate Action npj Climate Action - Tell don’t ask: how to use social media to mobilise local collective climate action

🪧 How can climate movements drive engagement on social media?

@gangashreedhar.bsky.social & colleagues tested different Facebook ads with 350,000+ people across 3 UK cities & found that:

📌 Urgent messages beat polite ones
📌Climate impact images engage best
📌Using both gives the strongest results

Can sustainability transitions succeed if policymakers misunderstand the social contracts that actually hold food systems together? Saadi Lahlou The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) @lsepbs.bsky.social discusses: faculti.net/how-social-c... #Sustainability #FoodSecurity

Human behaviour isn’t simple — and that’s exactly why it’s fascinating.

We’re excited to welcome Professor Paul Dolan from LSE to BSPHN 2026, where he’ll explore wellbeing, behaviour & the complexity of the environments that shape our choices.

#Behaviouralscience#Complexity#Publichealth#BSPHN26

The tyranny of ‘‘could’’: why limits give life meaning

Why are burnout, anxiety and perfectionism rising so sharply?

In this LSE Research Showcase, Dr Thomas Curran explores the “tyranny of the could” and why humans need limits to thrive.

🗓️ Tuesday 17 March
🕚 11-11.30am

Open to LSE staff, students, alumni & prospective LSE students. More info ⬇️

Perspective-Getting, -Taking and -Integrating: Cultivating procedural justice turn-by-turn to manage heated conflicts - Joshua M. Phelps, Emilie Komnæs, Alex Gillespie, 2025 Organisational authorities must sometimes manage heated multiparty conflicts in uncontrolled settings. In these dynamic conflicts, satisfying all parties is rar...

🗣️ New research by Prof Alex Gillespie & co-authors shows how thoughtful communication can shape fairness in heated conflicts. Inviting perspectives, showing understanding and coordinating viewpoints helped police trainees build trust and neutrality in a fast moving scenario.

To Change Company Culture, Start with One High-Impact Behavior Most organizations try to change workplace behavior through education, communication campaigns, and training, but these efforts are costly and rarely translate into measurable shifts in how people…

🏢 How can behavioural science drive change in organisations?

A new HBR article, co-authored by PBS Visiting Senior Fellow James Elfer, presents the 4T model. This practical framework targets specific behaviours, designs timely interventions & tests what works.

📸 This could be you next January ⬇️

Our current cohort of Executive MSc Behavioural Science students have just completed their second teaching block. We're now recruiting for the next intake, starting in Sept 2026. Join our next info session to learn more:

📅 Thurs 29 Jan
🕐 1-2pm
buff.ly/oPGDXCG

🤝 This week it was our turn to host the biannual PBS and Warwick Business School conference. This event, hosted once a year at LSE and once a year at WBS, brings PhD students and early career researchers from both schools together to present research, gain feedback & network.

#PhD #Research

Exploring the PhD experience in Psychological and Behavioural Science Dr Alyssa Pandolfo reflects on her PhD journey in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, sharing insights on the challenges, opportunities and her top tips for future candidates.

Are you curious to learn what it’s really like to pursue a PhD in our department? Dr Alyssa Pandolfo, who recently completed her PhD on safety listening (how people respond to raised safety concerns in organisations), shares her experience & offers practical advice 👇

Why being “European enough” matters for cooperation - EUROPP Being recognised as "European enough" by western powers directly impacts on a nation's willingness to cooperate with the EU, NATO, and Schengen.

New research shows that when states are recognised as being European, their citizens are more likely to support European cooperation.

✍ Sandra Obradović @lsepbs.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

💫 At the end of last year, we brought together some of our 2024/25 and 2025/26 AKO scholarship holders for a catch-up. It was inspiring to hear how these scholarships are making a difference and to learn about the exciting plans our first cohort has for life after LSE.

Learn more: buff.ly/Y6CyAHJ

Professor Alex Voorhoeve, Veronika Luptakova and Dr Matteo M Galizzi

🎓 Another day, another Doctor! We're thrilled to share that Veronika Luptakova successfully defended her PhD thesis, "Inconsistency in Moral Judgments", this week.

Veronika is pictured here with her supervisors, Professor Alex Voorhoeve and Dr @mmglz.bsky.social.

Congratulations Veronika! 🎉

🎉 Congratulations to Nils Mallock, who successfully defended his PhD thesis today!

The thesis, "Pathways to Political Violence and Peaceful Protest in Conflict-Affected Environments," explores why some individuals choose violence for political purposes, despite high personal risks and costs.

YouTube video by LSE What is the sixth mass extinction? #COP30 #ClimateChange #LSE

🦏🐅 Are we living through a sixth mass extinction?

Dr Ganga Shreedhar from @lsepbs.bsky.social delivers a stark reality check about the urgent need for climate action.

Once people understand what Degrowth is, the majority support it (74–84% in the UK and 67–73% in the US), regardless of the label. See our new research in @thelancet.com www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

@giorgoskallis.bsky.social @jasonhickel.bsky.social @F. Basso @lsepbs.bsky.social @cusp.ac.uk

🏆 Congratulations to our 2025 LSE Excellence in Education Award winners! Pictured here are our colleagues Dr Sakshi Ghai and Chris Roberts, together with Prof Emma McCoy & Prof Alex Voorhoeve.

Learn more and see all winners: buff.ly/Dq57XPt

Dr Tom Reader, Alyssa Pandolfo and Professor Alex Gillespie

Professor Sharon Clarke, Alyssa Pandolfo and Professor Liz Stokoe

📣 Introducing Dr Alyssa Pandolfo! 👏

We're delighted to share that Alyssa successfully defended her PhD thesis, "Safety listening: Conceptualizing and assessing responses to safety voice in organizations", this week.

Congratulations Alyssa, on this fantastic achievement!

#PartofLSE #PhD #Viva

Teaching happiness: LSE’s leading role in wellbeing education Discover how LSE equips students to shape happier societies through innovative wellbeing courses, policy training, and global research engagement.

🎯 Teaching happiness: turning insight into real-world impact

At LSE, wellbeing teaching spans master’s courses like Happiness and Wellbeing for Policy, world-first Summer School options, dedicated seminars, as well as the MSc Behavioural Science Wellbeing Specialism.

Learn more ⬇️

🌠 Today we brought together our current AKO Master’s Scholars for a lovely lunch. Meeting such a diverse and inspiring group of students was a highlight & we can’t wait to see where their LSE journey takes them!

ℹ️ About the scholarships buff.ly/bBierfM
🎓 Meet last year’s scholars buff.ly/mMnv7pD

The Hypocrisy Trap with Dr Michael Hallsworth Dr Hallsworth will explore how the "hypocrisy trap" — our relentless drive to expose inconsistency — either breeds more hypocrisy or exhausts our belief in shared standards altogether.

Rather than follow our instincts, there's a more constructive way to understand and respond to hypocrisy. Join "The Hypocrisy Trap" author @mhallsworth.bsky.social at @lsepbs.bsky.social next week on Wednesday, Nov. 19th, when he will discuss tools for moving from outrage to outcomes:

Executive MSc Behavioural Science Taught by world-leading behavioural science experts, our Executive MSc Behavioural Science combines rigorous academic training with practical insights.

🚀 Thinking about accelerating your career with behavioural science?

Join us for an online information session to learn everything you need to know about our world-leading Executive MSc Behavioural Science.

📅 25 Nov
🕐 1pm GMT
📍 Zoom
✍️ Sign up: lse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

📣 We're hiring: Assistant Professor in Psychological & Behavioural Science of Sustainability 🌱

This exciting role sits within PBS and contributes to the Global School of Sustainability (GSoS) under the Building Sustainable Societies theme.

⏳ Apply by 25 Jan
🔗 buff.ly/WPe9gRb

The Hypocrisy Trap with Dr Michael Hallsworth Dr Hallsworth will explore how the "hypocrisy trap" — our relentless drive to expose inconsistency — either breeds more hypocrisy or exhausts our belief in shared standards altogether.

Our lives are full of accusations of hypocrisy, yet little seems to change. Join "The Hypocrisy Trap" author @mhallsworth.bsky.social at @lsepbs.bsky.social on Wednesday, Nov. 19th, where he will discuss tools for moving from outrage to outcomes with Professor @liamdelaney2025.bsky.social:

What makes us human ? One of the enduring questions for humanity is what makes humans so different from other animals. The answer to that question is that we discovered a new source of information to guide our behavior tha...

🧠 Michael Muthukrishna @michael.muthukrishna.com, professor of Economic Psychology at LSE @lsepbs.bsky.social, explores our “collective brain.” Unlike other animals, humans build on cultural knowledge, enabling us to solve new challenges together.

www.joinexpeditions.com/exps/1266

#PLPEXPeditions

🌿 We’re hiring! Assistant Professor in Social Psychology / Environmental Psychology 🌿

The successful candidate will join our world-leading community of scholars & contribute to teaching across our programmes, including the MSc Societal and Environmental Psychology.

🔗 buff.ly/hamafbo

Not better or worse, just different - LSE Psychological & Behavioural Science What’s it like to go back to university after a long and successful career? In this post, Mark Robinson reflects on his return to university and his experience studying for an MSc in Organisational…

🎓 What happens when a seasoned professional becomes a student again?

In a new post for the PBS blog, Mark Robinson reflects on his return to university and his experience studying for an MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology as a mature student.

PBS homepage screenshot https://www.lse.ac.uk/pbs

Come and work with my wonderful colleagues @lsepbs.bsky.social!

Assistant Professor in Social #Psychology / Environmental Psychology

#AcademicSky

jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Is there a better way to organise the global economy? - LSE Review of Books Why We’re Getting Poorer by Cahal Moran critiques the inequality of the global economy & proposes alternative policies to make things fairer & more sustainable.

NEW✨ Is there a better way to organise the global economy?

Why We’re Getting Poorer: A Realist’s Guide to the Economy and How we fix it by Cahal Moran @lsepbs.bsky.social @wmcollinsbooks.bsky.social reviewed by Vamika Goel.

The looping effects of psychological theories: From anomaly to opportunity - Alex Gillespie, Brady Wagoner, 2025 Looping effects were introduced by philosopher Ian Hacking to refer to the two-way interactive relationship between scientific classifications and the people cl...

Alex Gillespie & Brady Wagoner extend the concept of “looping effects”, where scientific classifications change the people classified, to psychological theories.

Traditionally seen as destabilising or problematic, looping effects, the authors argue, are essential & valuable.