Behavioural Science Explained

Through 3 papers we explore Geert Hofstede's model of national cultural dimensions. One source details the model's six dimensions (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint), its development, and applications. Another discusses using the model to understand business practices and employee...

We  explore behavioural game theory , examining how  people's actual decisions in strategic situations  differ from predictions made by traditional game theory models. Several chapters  analyse experimental data  from various games, such as the ultimatum game and prisoner's dilemma, to  illustrate deviations from rational self-interest . Different models are proposed to  explain observed behaviour...

We discuss the concept of decision fatigue and its impact across various professional settings.  One source  examines decision fatigue among emergency department physicians, offering strategies to mitigate its effects.  Another  investigates decision fatigue in financial analysts, demonstrating how it influences forecast accuracy and market reactions.  A third  discusses decision fatigue's imp...

We cover Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its applications in various contexts. One study investigates SDT's role in understanding work motivation, contrasting autonomous and controlled motivation and examining the impact of reward systems on intrinsic motivation and performance. Another study uses SDT to profile shopper types in a retail setting based on their perceptions of mall attribute...

We examine Several studies that explore the impact of social learning theory on various behaviours.  One examines how social learning mediates the effect of structural variables on college student binge drinking. Another investigates the rise of physical aggression in girls, attributing it to social learning processes influenced by family, community, and media. A third study looks at the applicati...

We discuss  hedonic treadmill , a psychological theory suggesting that despite significant life events, happiness levels tend to revert to a baseline. It details the theory's origins, mechanisms (including  hedonic adaptation ,  desensitisation , and  sensitisation ), and criticisms, highlighting that individual differences and certain pursuits (like  eudaimonic well-being ) may circumvent thi...

We explore the Health Belief Model (HBM), a framework for understanding health behaviours. The sources detail the HBM's history, components (perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy), and applications in various health contexts, such as vaccination and cancer screening. Criticisms of the HBM, including its limitations in addressing social and en...

We discuss the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a tool for investigating behaviour change. The TDF is used in various studies to identify factors influencing behaviours, primarily in healthcare settings, but also in other contexts. The research uses qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, surveys, and systematic reviews, to explore barriers and facilitators to behaviour cha...

We try to understand Jeffrey Alan Gray's biopsychological theory of personality. This theory posits two interacting brain systems: the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS), associated with anxiety and avoidance of punishment, and the Behavioural Activation System (BAS), linked to impulsivity and reward seeking. Several sources detail the theory's components, supporting research (including s...

We explore the applications of the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour) to understand and influence behaviour change across various contexts. One study investigates the adoption of "Brede Welvaarts Denken" (broad prosperity thinking) in Dutch policymaking, identifying barriers and facilitators using the COM-B framework. Another examines wearable activity tracker u...

We explain the famous Fogg Behaviour Model (FBM), a framework for understanding and influencing behaviour change. Several sources detail the model's core components—motivation, ability, and prompts—and their interplay in achieving desired actions. Applications across diverse fields are examined, including marketing, website design, and public health interventions, with case studies illustratin...

We detail out motivational interviewing (MI), a technique for boosting motivation to change behaviour. Several sources explore MI's core principles, including collaborative partnerships, empathy, and respecting client autonomy. Specific MI skills are examined, such as reflective listening, open-ended questioning, and responding to ambivalence and resistance. Practical applications are illustra...

We discuss Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), a learning theory focusing on the limitations of working memory. Sweller's work establishes CLT's foundation, explaining its principles based on evolutionary psychology and cognitive architecture. Sithole applies CLT to accounting education, offering practical guidelines for instruction design. Sawicka proposes a model-based approach to studying CLT&...

We explore behaviour change through various lenses. One study analyses how macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions differentially affect household grocery shopping behaviour, revealing nuanced responses to income changes and economic cycles. Another examines the relationship between attitude and behaviour change, proposing that the sequence depends on the level of uncertainty surrounding outcom...

We examine action bias, a cognitive bias favouring action over inaction, across diverse contexts. One study analyses this bias in elite soccer goalkeepers, demonstrating their preference for jumping (action) during penalty kicks, even when statistically, staying in the centre (inaction) would be more effective. Another explores action bias within the water industry, highlighting how the urge to ac...

Through some research papers we explore individual variations in incentive salience attribution, focusing on how cues associated with rewards, particularly drugs and social interactions, influence behaviour. Studies using Pavlovian conditioning in rats reveal distinct behavioural phenotypes: sign-trackers, who attribute high motivational value to cues, and goal-trackers, who focus on the reward it...

We discuss social identity theory and its applications in understanding intergroup conflict and peacebuilding. They examine how social categorisation, group membership, and identity management strategies influence intergroup relations, focusing on various contexts including religious communities, political movements, and national identities. We analyse how power relations, ideology, and historical...

We explore optimism bias, a cognitive bias where individuals overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate negative ones. Several studies examine this bias in different contexts: financial decision-making in insurance markets, prediction of future adverse life events influenced by dopamine levels, cost overruns in large-scale bridge projects, risk perception during the COVID-19...

We explore William T. Powers's control theory, arguing that behaviour is fundamentally about controlling one's perception of the self and environment, rather than simply reacting to stimuli. The theory is presented as a negative feedback loop model, applicable across various domains. Empirical evidence supporting this model, primarily from manual tracking tasks, is discussed alongside its...

The sources discuss how physiological and psychological factors involved with sex and sexual arousal's impact decision-making. One study investigated how working memory capacity (WMC) moderates the relationship between physiological arousal and sexual decision-making in men. The study found that men with lower WMC who were more aroused by non-consensual sexual images, indicated a higher likeli...

Behavioural targeting (BT) is a technique used in online advertising to monitor users' browsing behaviour in order to provide them with individually targeted advertising. BT uses information about user behaviour such as website visits, search queries, and videos watched to predict consumer interests. Levis.com was an early adopter of BT, using cookies and web beacons to gather this data from their...

We discuss Imposter Syndrome through 4 papers which investigate and deep dive into the subject. "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention" : This source describes the impostor phenomenon , where high-achieving individuals feel inadequate despite success. It suggests that family dynamics and societal expectations contribute to the phenomenon's developme...

Prospect theory is a descriptive model of decision-making under risk and uncertainty that suggests individuals evaluate outcomes based on perceived gains and losses relative to a reference point , rather than absolute outcomes. The theory proposes a value function that is concave for gains (risk aversion) and convex for losses (risk seeking), with a steeper slope for losses than for gains, reflect...

We examine the concept of  choice overload , which refers to the negative consequences that can arise when individuals are presented with too many options. These sources explore how choice overload influences individuals' motivations, specifically their perceptions of a decision's value and their self-efficacy in making a good choice. The studies use various methods, including laboratory experimen...

We examine the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias where individuals with low competence in a given area overestimate their abilities. The first text, a scientific paper, critiques the typical methods for testing the Dunning-Kruger effect, arguing that the observed results are largely due to statistical artefacts, particularly the "better-than-average" effect and regression to the mean. They p...