Behavioral Public Policy and Economics GmbH
The use of auto-renewals in free-trial offers, which seek to lure us into entering a long term subscription, has been exploding recently. But are these offers really successful in changing our subscription behaviors? Or are we gradually becoming suspicious and eventually immune toward them?
Cycling does not only improve your health but is also the most eco-friendly mode of urban transport. For these reasons, many countries have introduced financial incentives to encourage commuters to get on their bikes. But how effective are they in boosting cycling?
Sociologists have observed that humans tend to value symmetric social relations. That is, when we think of someone as a close friend, we also believe that they consider us as theirs.
Of course, not every social relation is symmetric. The other person might think differently about us. However, we tend to overlook such differences and, instead, overgeneralize our view.
In many areas of personal growth, the goals we set are coupled with discomfort and pain that challenge our perseverance and initial motivation. But what if we could embrace the pain as a positive indicator for progress instead of a negative sign of difficulties?
People are naturally attracted towards beauty in many areas of life. What may be less apparent, however, is that beauty can produce overgeneralizations: when we think something is beautiful, we also tend to believe that it has better qualities.
Can cultural participation make us more resilient during times of crises? In a recent study, Annie Tubadji (2021) tries to shed light on this question. Using data from an online survey conducted in the first year of the pandemic in several countries, she examines the relationship between culture, happiness and pro-sociality.
Can prompting self-reflection help young job seekers find a job faster? If so, how much impact can we expect from such interventions?
Have you ever wondered how exposure to fake news could affect your behavior? It might be deeper than you think.
What is the most effective policy instrument to encourage long-term use of public transport? To answer this question, Gravert and Collentine (2021) collaborated with a local transport agency in Southern Sweden on a large-scale field experiment.
Social norms are the unwritten rules of societies. As social creatures, we have learned to internalize these rules to reduce uncertainty in social interactions, avoid sanctioning, and increase our sense of belonging and identity. Therefore, information that emphasizes a social norm can potentially alter individual behavior, for better or for worse.