Topic: Behavioral Decision Making
In Some Places, Fertility Rates Declined Before the Industrial Revolution
Using parish records, researchers examine fundamental changes in society following the French Revolution
In Adversity, Some High Performers Give Up Rather than Dig In
The world of tennis sheds light on a potential downside to office ranking systems
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
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
How Will You Spend Your IPO Windfall?
“Uh, I already bought a house”: Tech workers spend ahead of actual stock sales
How to Spot a Nudge Gone Rogue
Researchers find common warning signs in persuasion projects that went wrong
How to Make Sustainable Products More Appealing to Consumers
Magali Delmas proposes a “green bundle,” combining environmental good with product traits — quality, healthiness, performance, status — that have always sold
How to Encourage the Discriminated-Against to Band Together
Membership in a stigmatized group doesn’t predispose acceptance of other stigmatized groups
How People Gather Information — or Don’t — to Make Decisions
Personal beliefs, especially among the less educated, often outweigh actual data
How Clinton and Trump Voters Behave in — and Spread — a Pandemic
Estimates are based on smartphone data and precinct-level 2016 vote results
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
Household Energy Conservation: Appeal to Cost Savings or Environmental and Health Impacts?
Money-saving messages lose impact over time, while worry about dangerous pollution helps consumers show discipline
Hospital Hand-Washing: The Limits of Electronic Monitoring
The anti-infection procedure rises for a time, when workers are watched, and then falls off
Historical Case for Immigrants Sending Home More Than Money
France’s lower fertility rates spread to regions that sent the most emigrants to live there
Helping People Make Wise Decisions for Retirement Income
Nudges, long aimed at saving behavior, are needed for people converting a nest egg into income
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