Events

Abstract Speaking in a non-native language is cognitively challenging, and leads to bias; perceivers evaluate those with a non-native accent more negatively compared to native speakers. But could speaking in a non-native language also have positive outcomes? Existing research demonstrates that when speaking a non-native language, individuals engage in more System 2 processing, evidenced by...

Abstract Do Politicians Underestimate Public Support for Net Zero Policies? Evidence from Experimental Studies with Elected Officials. Perceived political risk and anticipated public backlash are frequently cited as constraints on politicians pursuing more ambitious climate policy. But are these perceptions accurate? Drawing on experimental studies with 100 current UK Members of Parliament and 611 European...

Abstract Perhaps to the surprise of some, it has been nearly a decade since Richard Thaler coined the term ‘sludge’ to describe choice architectures that make choices harder. In that decade, behavioural policy researchers have dedicated much time to unpackaging the idea of sludge, investigating where it comes from, and developing tools to overcome it....

Abstract This research explores what makes people decide to reach out and offer support to others. Charities and health organisations increasingly use multimedia content to promote prosocial actions for mental health support, yet little is known about how effective different formats can be to nudge people to act. We examined (1) whether a professionally-produced film...

Abstract Food waste remains a major sustainability challenge, with imperfect fruits and vegetables often rejected due to their appearance. Prior studies suggest that food choices are mostly automatic, implicit, and habitual, rather than made via deliberated choice. Such insights suggest why explicit messaging to increase consumers’ imperfect food purchasing has shown limited effectiveness and highlight...

Abstract When consumers own sets of functionally similar products that vary on secondary attributes (e.g., pens in different colors, wine in different varieties), the distribution of these possessions, whether uniform (e.g., two blue, two red, and two black pens) or non-uniform (e.g., two blue, one red, and three black pens), can systematically influence subsequent decisions....

Abstract This talk examines how the sense of reality emerges from the perceptual processes that allow humans to act effectively in the world. Rather than constructing a detailed internal replica of the environment, the mind selectively organises sensory information to extract the cues most useful for guiding behaviour. Research on depth estimation and grasping shows...

Abstract In many experimental settings, individuals appear to either underreact or overreact to information when making decisions about the future. Less is known about how individuals react to information when making decisions in naturalistic settings. In this paper, I study the ability of individual decision makers to incorporate information about past outcomes when making judgements...

Abstract Valence framing, where equivalent information is presented in either a positive or negative light, is a nuanced topic that has previously not been well accounted for in choice modelling literature. We endeavour to introduce a valence framing typology into a choice modelling study in a transport context, to illustrate that different types of framing...

Abstract Public health interventions usually mean pain now with (possible) benefit later. Sludge – unnecessary barriers to engagement – compounds this problem. Whether it involves form-filling, inconsistent instructions, or multistep paperwork, sludge can distract, delay and confuse people into missing out on health promoting choices. In this presentation, I will describe approaches to identifying and...