Noah J. Goldstein

Bing (’86) and Alice Liu Yang Endowed Term Chair in Teaching Excellence; Professor of Management and Organizations; Faculty Advisor, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

About

Noah Goldstein holds joint appointments at UCLA in the Psychology Department and at the David Geffen School of Medicine. His primary line of research involves the study of the factors that lead people to change their behaviors in a variety of contexts, including management, marketing and health. Goldstein teaches the psychology of persuasion and advises corporate and government organizations, where his insights from tested persuasion research have had substantial impact. He coauthored two widely acclaimed books on persuasion: New York Times best-seller Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive and The Small BIG, which presents new science showing how small, often ignored changes to one’s influence strategies can pay disproportionately big dividends.

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11 Articles

Personal perspective view of a female doctor talking with a patient Research Brief / Nudges

A Psychological Approach to Helping Doctors Do Better at Doing No Harm

Behavioral nudges reduced doctors’ overprescribing and overtesting of older patients

Piggy bank over orange background Research Brief / Finance

Oversight of Borrowed Money Creates Animosity

Friends lending to friends, taxpayers bailing out businesses feel it’s still their money and have opinions on how it’s spent

A close-up of a single opioid pill resting on top of a prescription pill bottle. Research Brief / Health Care

A Supportive Letter to Doctors on Best Practices Reduces Opioid Prescriptions 

In LA, doctors who lose a patient to opioid overdose get a letter from the coroner; tweaking that letter had a substantial impact

A side view of feet on a scale Research Brief / Health

Modest Financial Incentives Help with Weight Loss

Tying payments to weight, rather than behaviors, marginally more effective

Illustration of hands holding paddles with thumbs up or down Research Brief / Nudges

When Feedback Backfires and When It Works

Over- or underperformer? Responses vary widely

Doctor reading through paperwork Feature / Nudges

Replicating a Successful Nudge in Health Care: Advice for Skeptics

How it often goes wrong and key observations for effective strategies

Two letters from UCLA Health Research Brief / Health Care

Carefully Crafted Messaging Boosts Uptake in Cancer Screening

Embedding psychological nudges in mail reminding people to get tested improves compliance

Raised fists with one in red Research Brief / Bias

How to Encourage the Discriminated-Against to Band Together

Membership in a stigmatized group doesn’t predispose acceptance of other stigmatized groups

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

Protest outside the White House Feature / Behavioral Economics

How to Harness Individual Outrage for Lasting Social Change

A practical guide to enlisting, mobilizing and continually engaging like-minded people

Pharmacists preparing perscriptions Feature / Health Care

Curbing Over-Prescription of Antibiotics: Ranking Clinicians Is a Nudge That Sticks

Peer ranking might cut dangerous antibiotic overuse