Topic: Behavioral Decision Making

Illustration of a manga cartoon Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

What’s in Your Social Media Feed?

On anime sites, what one’s friends are watching is the most persuasive prompt to engage

Pink hot air balloon Feature / Behavioral Decision Making

How to Spot a Nudge Gone Rogue

Researchers find common warning signs in persuasion projects that went wrong

Illustration of a factory Feature / Cultural History

In Some Places, Fertility Rates Declined Before the Industrial Revolution

Using parish records, researchers examine fundamental changes in society following the French Revolution

Laptop with a calendar Research Brief / Time Management

You’ll Be Interrupted — Why Not Plan for It?

A team of researchers weighs contingent planning against traditional time management

Collage of Matt Lauer, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Louis CK Research Brief / Gender

#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.

Monochrome image of a church facade Research Brief / Ethics

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

Illustration of characters with thought bubbles containing dollar signs Research Brief / Compensation

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

Building facade with old air conditioners Research Brief / Energy

Motivating Households in India to Reduce Energy Consumption

The same message that works with U.S. households is effective in the developing world

LA Dodger Manny Ramirez taking a swing Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

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

Illustration of a young man looking into a mirror, reflecting his older self Feature / Time

The Healthy Upside of Thinking about an Older You

Consciously imagining our older self can spur us to take better care of ourselves now

Illustration of a character wearing a hat covering their ears Research Brief / Investing

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

Five illustrated figures interact with coffee and snacks Research Brief / Cultural History

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

Collage of women forming a larger image of a woman Research Brief / Cultural History

Using Ancestral Characteristics to Study Modern Economics

A database of pre-industrial sampling supports historical and ethnographic research

Illustration of the word NOW Research Brief / Happiness

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

Illustration of a woman with reflection of line chart going up Research Brief / Investing

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

A laptop with Netflix Research Brief / E-commerce

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