Behavioral Science in the Wild

by Nina Mažar (Editor), Dilip Soman (Editor)

Overview

Behavioral Science in the Wild helps managers understand how best to incorporate key research findings to solve their own behavior change challenges in the real world – from lab to field.

Behavioral Science in the Wild helps managers to implement research findings on behavioral change in their own workplace operations and to apply them to business or policy problems.

As the second book in the Behaviourally Informed Organizations series, Behavioral Science in the Wild takes a step back to address the "why" and "how" behind the origins of behavioral insights, and how best to translate and scale behavioral science from lab-based research findings. Governments, for-profit enterprises, and welfare organizations have increasingly started relying on findings from the behavioral sciences to develop more accessible and user-friendly products, processes, and experiences for their end-users. While there is a burgeoning science that helps us to understand why people act and make the decisions that they do, and how their actions can be influenced, we still lack a precise science and strategic insights into how some key theoretical findings can be successfully translated, scaled, and applied in the field.

Nina Mažar and Dilip Soman are joined by leading figures from both the academic and applied behavioral sciences to develop a nuanced framework for how managers can best translate results from pilot studies into their own organizations and behavior change challenges using behavioral science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487527518
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	05/15/2022
Series:	Behaviorally Informed Organizations
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Nina Mažar is a professor of marketing at Boston University Questrom School of Business and the co-founder of BEworks, a commercial consulting team dedicated to the application of behavioral economics to real-world challenges.
Dilip Soman is the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Behavioural Science and Economics, a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the director of Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre at Rotman [BEAR].

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface: Behavioral Science in the Wild

Part 1: The Translation and Scaling Challenge

1. The Science of Translation and Scaling
Nina Mažar and Dilip Soman
                          
2. When Governments Use Nudges: Measuring Impact "At Scale"
Elizabeth Linos

3. Prescriptions for Successfully Scaling Behavioral Interventions
Laura Goodyear, Tanjim Hossain, and Dilip Soman

4. The Last Yard Problem: Tailoring of Behavioral Interventions for Scale
Saugato Datta, Alissa Fishbane, Piyush Tantia, and Cassie Taylor

5. The Limited Importance of External Validity in Experimental Economics
Colin F. Camerer

Part 2: Some Popular Behavioral Interventions

6. Why Many Behavioral Interventions Have Unpredictable Effects in The Wild: The Conflicting Consequences Problem
Indranil Goswami and Oleg Urminsky

7. Norm Nudging: How to Measure What We Want to Implement
Cristina Bicchieri

8. The Fresh Start Effect: Motivational Boosts Beyond New Year’s Resolutions
Jason Riis, Hengchen Dai, and Katherine L. Milkman

9. Reminders: Their Value and Hidden Costs
Christina Gravert

Part 3: Domain Specific Behavior Change Challenges

10. Applying Behavioral Insights to Cultivate Diversity and Inclusion
Joyce C. He, Grusha Agarwal, and Sonia K. Kang   

11. Sustainable Nudges for The Wild: Recommendations from Shift
David J. Hardisty, Katherine White, Rishad Habib, and Jiaying Zhao

12. Start Communicating Effectively: Best Practices for Educational Communications
Jessica Lasky-Fink and Carly D. Robinson

13. A Psychological "Vaccine" Against Fake News: From The Lab to Worldwide Implementation
Sander van der Linden and Jon Roozenbeek

14. Developing Effective Healthy Eating Nudges
Romain Cadario and Pierre Chandon

15. Wellness Rewarded: A "How To" On Designing Behavioral Science-Informed Financial Incentives To Improving Health (That Work)
Marc Mitchell and Renante Rondina

16. Increasing Blood and Plasma Donations: Behavioral Ethical Scalability
Nicola Lacetera and Mario Macis

17. Evidence-Based Interventions for Financial Well-Being
Daniel Fernandes

18. Financial Inclusion: Lab-Based Approaches for Consumer Protection Policymaking in The Wild
Rafe Mazer

Part 4: Tools and Techniques

19. Implementing Behavioral Science Insights with Low-Income Populations in The Global South
Chaning Jang, Neela A. Saldanha, Anisha Singh, and Jennifer Adhiambo

20. If You Want People to Accept Your Intervention, Don’t Be Creepy
Patricia de Jonge, Peeter Verlegh and Marcel Zeelenberg

21. Digital Nudging: Using Technology to Nudge for Good
Michael Sobolev

22. To Effectively Apply and Scale Behavioral Insights, Practitioners Must Be Scientific
Nathaniel Barr, Michelle C. Hilscher, Ada Lê, David R. Thomson, and Kelly Peters

23. It’s All About the Soul! Why Sort, Order and Use Labeling Results in Smart Scorecards
Claire Heard, Elena Reutskaja, and Barbara Fasolo

24. Applying Behavioral Interventions in A New Context
Barnabas Szaszi, Krisztian Komandi, Nandor Hajdu, and Elisabeth Tipton

Contributors

What People are Saying About This

Cass R. Sunstein

"What a gold mine! Full of insights, and fun and inspiring to boot. This book can change the world."

Ayelet Fishbach

"I loved reading Behavioral Science in the Wild. It's a great collection of essays on how to apply insights from behavioral science to interventions that will actually work. Mažar and Soman are the world experts on designing successful interventions, and they have assembled an impressive list of authors who explain the complexity of behavioral interventions in clear and simple terms. The result is a guide that is both practical and fun. If you design behavioral interventions, you need to read it. If you're curious about the behavioral science, you'll enjoy reading it. If, like me, you're both, it's a double win."

John A. List

"Containing the voices of leading thinkers on topics as far-ranging as the science of using science and how situational features affect choice, this tour de force is a must-read for anyone who hopes to change the world with empiricism. Bravo! Generations of students, teachers, researchers, business leaders, and practitioners will mine the gems in this book for decades to come."

Katy Milkman

"This book is a must-read for anyone in government or industry working to nudge better decisions at scale. Behavioral Science in the Wild shares key insights from research and practice that will make your work easier. It will help you better leverage cutting-edge science on the job to generate positive results."

Caroline Webb

"This is an absolute gold mine of practical wisdom from deep experts in real-world applications of behavioral science. It's brimming with examples that give precious guidance on what to expect when science makes the leap from laboratory to real life — leaving the reader feeling both informed and inspired to rise to the challenge. A precious resource for anyone serious about driving change in their company or community."

Eric J. Johnson

"This book shines a wise and nuanced light on the study of behavioral insights. It helps us understand the questions of when interventions will work and how large of an effect we can expect. A great collection of case studies supplements important discussion of how to do interventions effectively. The field will be better and more effective because of this book."

Editorial Reviews

"What a gold mine! Full of insights, and fun and inspiring to boot. This book can change the world."—Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University
"This book is a must-read for anyone in government or industry working to nudge better decisions at scale. Behavioral Science in the Wild shares key insights from research and practice that will make your work easier. It will help you better leverage cutting-edge science on the job to generate positive results."—Katy Milkman, Wharton Professor, author of How to Change, and host of the Choiceology podcast
"Containing the voices of leading thinkers on topics as far-ranging as the science of using science and how situational features affect choice, this tour de force is a must-read for anyone who hopes to change the world with empiricism. Bravo! Generations of students, teachers, researchers, business leaders, and practitioners will mine the gems in this book for decades to come."—John A. List, Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago and author of The Voltage Effect
"I loved reading Behavioral Science in the Wild. It's a great collection of essays on how to apply insights from behavioral science to interventions that will actually work. Mažar and Soman are the world experts on designing successful interventions, and they have assembled an impressive list of authors who explain the complexity of behavioral interventions in clear and simple terms. The result is a guide that is both practical and fun. If you design behavioral interventions, you need to read it. If you're curious about the behavioral science, you'll enjoy reading it. If, like me, you're both, it's a double win."—Ayelet Fishbach, Jeffrey B. Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation
"This book shines a wise and nuanced light on the study of behavioral insights. It helps us understand the questions of when interventions will work and how large of an effect we can expect. A great collection of case studies supplements important discussion of how to do interventions effectively. The field will be better and more effective because of this book."—Eric J. Johnson, Norman Eig Professor of Business, Columbia Business School, Columbia University and author of The Elements of Choice
"This is an absolute gold mine of practical wisdom from deep experts in real-world applications of behavioral science. It's brimming with examples that give precious guidance on what to expect when science makes the leap from laboratory to real life – leaving the reader feeling both informed and inspired to rise to the challenge. A precious resource for anyone serious about driving change in their company or community."—Caroline Webb, author How to Have A Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life

From the Publisher