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A half century of research on how people make decisions has shown that rational choice theory fails to describe how people do choose. Nevertheless, it has remained at the center of things, as the normative answer to questions about how people should choose.
The current political moment makes equity-grounded research harder. But that’s precisely the reason we need to keep doing it.
On Friday, February 6, join us for an online event exploring the latest work and thinking at the intersection of behavioral science and peace and conflict.
The theory that underpins much of decision-making science falls short as a way to think about how we actually make decisions and how decisions should be made.
When Václav Havel spoke to the citizens of Czechoslovakia as their president on New Year’s Day in 1990, it was the first time in 40 years a democratic leader delivered the annual address. Havel had the responsibility of ushering in a new year, new government, and new era for the nation.
Our list of noteworthy behavioral science books published in 2025.
Take a moment to dive into the pieces you and your fellow readers turned to most this year.
In February, Behavioral Scientist will team up with the peace science organization Neuropaz to host an online event exploring the latest work and thinking at the intersection of behavioral science and peace and conflict.
What if organizations decided to treat their entire hiring process (not just who they hire), as a competitive advantage rather than a wearisome chore?
Alex Imas and Richard Thaler teamed up to update a landmark book in behavioral economics. In doing so, they chart where behavioral economics began, where it is now, and where it could go next.
For reasons I can’t fully explain, people’s failure to return their carts bothers me more than it probably should. But then I realized I can do something about it.
