People are “consistently inconsistent” in how they reason about controversial scientific topics There are various issues on which there is a scientific consensus but great public controversy, such as anthropogenic climate change and the safety of vaccines. One previously popular … Continue reading Tailoring education
Behavioral Emails Increase Flu Vaccine Uptake among City Employees To increase uptake of flu vaccines and maintain a healthy workforce during the 2016-17 flu season, New York City’s Behavioral Design Team (NYC BDT) partnered with WorkWell NYC to design behaviorally … Continue reading Enhanced active choice
From Nudge to Sludge In the previous post I outlined the basic premise of nudging, and examplified it. The examples are well-known throughout academic research and have gathered a lot of popularity as such. Simple changes lead to big outcomes. … Continue reading The forms of sludge
Why Doctors Hate Their Computers On a sunny afternoon in May, 2015, I joined a dozen other surgeons at a downtown Boston office building to begin sixteen hours of mandatory computer training. We sat in three rows, each of us … Continue reading Medical decision making
The ‘nudge unit’: the experts that became a prime UK export David Halpern pauses at the mention of a quote from one of the government’s senior Brexiters – that “people in this country have had enough of experts” – and … Continue reading Civil servants
Durham’s Plan to ‘Nudge’ Drivers Out of Cars There are 19,000 parking spots in downtown Durham, North Carolina, and an estimated 3,700 more on the way to satisfy driver demand. But if the city can help it, drivers could be … Continue reading Getting people into public transit
What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick? The Chain of Office of the Dutch city of Leiden is a broad and colorful ceremonial necklace that, draped around the shoulders of Mayor Henri Lenferink, lends a magisterial air to official … Continue reading The quarantine of the placebo effect
