1.
Epistemic Humility—Knowing Your Limits in a Pandemic
“Ignorance,” wrote Charles Darwin in 1871, “more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”
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2.
Why Triggering Emotions Won’t Lead to Lasting Behavior Change
How can we generate long-term behavior change when compliance isn’t exciting anymore? (Hint: don’t build “Piano Stairs.”)
3.
Black Lives Matter: Now What?
If you find yourself asking what you can do to spark change and help prevent the next George Floyd murder, my advice is: start engaging in positive deviance.
4.
Responding to COVID-19 in the Developing World
Advice that can seem grounded in “universal” human tendencies often isn’t. The actions that developing countries take will have to be carefully tailored to their specific circumstances.
5.
Self-actualizing in the 21st Century: A Q&A with Scott Barry Kaufman
In his newest book, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman updates Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs for the twenty-first century.
6.
To Achieve Sustainability, We Need to Go Upstream in the Design Process
Behavioral scientists have a crucial role to play in the world’s quest for environmental sustainability. But to realize the potential of our work, we need to work with designers not just end users.
7.
Behavioral Public Policy Faces a Crisis
Our field wasn’t ready for a pandemic. We must learn its lessons before the next emergency.
8.
Behavioral Scientist’s Summer Book List 2020
What would summer be without a good reading list? A list of our favorite behavioral science reads from 2020 so far.
9.
We Have a Rare Opportunity to Create a Stronger, More Equitable Society
If things return to the way they were, we will have failed.
10.
Research Lead: Personalized Nudges, Milgram’s Shock Experiment in VR, A Vote for Vote-By-Mail, and More
The Research Lead is a monthly digest connecting you to noteworthy academic and applied research from around the behavioral sciences. Here are our picks for April 2020.
