Topic: Behavioral Decision Making
The Limited Payoff in Auto Insurance Advertising
Ads aimed at brand awareness are shown to be more effective
Streaming Choices: Do We Follow the Big Crowd or Our Friends?
The ubiquitous community-wide customer rating is the biggest pull in helping us pick a movie or show
How an Excess of Stock Analyst Optimism Lands on Companies Least Deserving of It
Results of financially weak firms are difficult to forecast; in uncertainty, Wall Street’s views are overly generous
Happiness and Living in the Moment: Westerners Haven’t Quite Put Them Together Yet
Asians, more than Americans and Europeans, make a point of experiencing joy in the short term
Using Ancestral Characteristics to Study Modern Economics
A database of pre-industrial sampling supports historical and ethnographic research
Why Can’t We All Get Along? On Some Things, We Do
The narrative of a growing cultural divide, while partly true, conceals a more nuanced picture
Ignorance — About One’s Investments, Anyway — Isn’t Always Bliss
Valentin Haddad’s research looks at the phenomenon of “information aversion,” when individual investors stop tracking their portfolios for fear of bad news
The Healthy Upside of Thinking about an Older You
Consciously imagining our older self can spur us to take better care of ourselves now
Not All Second Chances Are Good Ones
Hengchen Dai finds that hitting the reset button can help those who have recently struggled, but erodes the motivation and execution of top performers
Motivating Households in India to Reduce Energy Consumption
The same message that works with U.S. households is effective in the developing world
It’s OK if the Boss Earns More, but a Problem When Co-Workers Do
Study of a large corporation explores how salary comparisons affect employee behavior
In a Global Church, Even a Widely Publicized Scandal’s Impact is Decidedly Local
Revisiting research on Catholic clergy sex abuse: Pennsylvania can expect fewer churchgoers and a painful decline in charitable contributions
#MeToo: Company Responses to Harassment Claims Can Mitigate Reputation Damage
New research looks beyond attitudes toward specific executives accused of harassment to focus on people’s perceptions of corporatewide gender culture.
You’ll Be Interrupted — Why Not Plan for It?
A team of researchers weighs contingent planning against traditional time management
In Some Places, Fertility Rates Declined Before the Industrial Revolution
Using parish records, researchers examine fundamental changes in society following the French Revolution
How to Spot a Nudge Gone Rogue
Researchers find common warning signs in persuasion projects that went wrong