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Ruggeri K, Stock F, Haslam SA, Capraro V, Boggio P, Ellemers N, Cichocka A, Douglas KM, Rand DG, van der Linden S, Cikara M, Finkel EJ, Druckman JN, Wohl MJA, Petty RE, Tucker JA, Shariff A, Gelfand M, Packer D, Jetten J, Van Lange PAM, Pennycook G, Peters E, Baicker K, Crum A, Weeden KA, Napper L, Tabri N, Zaki J, Skitka L, Kitayama S, Mobbs D, Sunstein CR, Ashcroft-Jones S, Todsen AL, Hajian A, Verra S, Buehler V, Friedemann M, Hecht M, Mobarak RS, Karakasheva R, Tünte MR, Yeung SK, Rosenbaum RS, Lep Ž, Yamada Y, Hudson SKTJ, Macchia L, Soboleva I, Dimant E, Geiger SJ, Jarke H, Wingen T, Berkessel JB, Mareva S, McGill L, Papa F, Većkalov B, Afif Z, Buabang EK, Landman M, Tavera F, Andrews JL, Bursalıoğlu A, Zupan Z, Wagner L, Navajas J, Vranka M, Kasdan D, Chen P, Hudson KR, Novak LM, Teas P, Rachev NR, Galizzi MM, Milkman KL, Petrović M, Van Bavel JJ, Willer R. A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19. Nature 2024; 625:134-147. [PMID: 38093007 PMCID: PMC10764287 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06840-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Scientific evidence regularly guides policy decisions1, with behavioural science increasingly part of this process2. In April 2020, an influential paper3 proposed 19 policy recommendations ('claims') detailing how evidence from behavioural science could contribute to efforts to reduce impacts and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we assess 747 pandemic-related research articles that empirically investigated those claims. We report the scale of evidence and whether evidence supports them to indicate applicability for policymaking. Two independent teams, involving 72 reviewers, found evidence for 18 of 19 claims, with both teams finding evidence supporting 16 (89%) of those 18 claims. The strongest evidence supported claims that anticipated culture, polarization and misinformation would be associated with policy effectiveness. Claims suggesting trusted leaders and positive social norms increased adherence to behavioural interventions also had strong empirical support, as did appealing to social consensus or bipartisan agreement. Targeted language in messaging yielded mixed effects and there were no effects for highlighting individual benefits or protecting others. No available evidence existed to assess any distinct differences in effects between using the terms 'physical distancing' and 'social distancing'. Analysis of 463 papers containing data showed generally large samples; 418 involved human participants with a mean of 16,848 (median of 1,699). That statistical power underscored improved suitability of behavioural science research for informing policy decisions. Furthermore, by implementing a standardized approach to evidence selection and synthesis, we amplify broader implications for advancing scientific evidence in policy formulation and prioritization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Ruggeri
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, NY, USA.
- Policy Research Group, Centre for Business Research, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- 274th ASOS, US Air Force/New York Air National Guard, Syracuse, NY, United States.
| | - Friederike Stock
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Paulo Boggio
- Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology on Social and Affective Neuroscience, CNPq, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - David G Rand
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Eli J Finkel
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | | | - Michael J A Wohl
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Richard E Petty
- Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Joshua A Tucker
- Department of Politics & Center for Social Media and Politics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Azim Shariff
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Jolanda Jetten
- University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul A M Van Lange
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Global Faculty, Social and Economic Behavior, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Ellen Peters
- Center for Science Communication Research, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Psychology Department, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | | | - Alia Crum
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Nassim Tabri
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Linda Skitka
- University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Sarah Ashcroft-Jones
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Anna Louise Todsen
- Department of Social Policy and Evaluation, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Marlene Hecht
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rayyan S Mobarak
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Markus R Tünte
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Siu Kit Yeung
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - R Shayna Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Žan Lep
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Centre for Applied Epistemology, Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Yuki Yamada
- Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | | | | | | | - Eugen Dimant
- Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- CESifo, Munich, Germany
| | - Sandra J Geiger
- Environmental Psychology, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hannes Jarke
- Policy Research Group, Centre for Business Research, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tobias Wingen
- University of Bonn, University Hospital Bonn, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jana B Berkessel
- Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Silvana Mareva
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Psychology Department, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Lucy McGill
- University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Francesca Papa
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Eike K Buabang
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marna Landman
- Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Felice Tavera
- Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jack L Andrews
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- University College, Oxford, UK
| | - Aslı Bursalıoğlu
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Zorana Zupan
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Lisa Wagner
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joaquín Navajas
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - David Kasdan
- Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Patricia Chen
- University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | | | - Paul Teas
- University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nikolay R Rachev
- Department of General, Experimental, Developmental, and Health Psychology, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Matteo M Galizzi
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics, London, UK
| | | | - Marija Petrović
- Department of Psychology & Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jay J Van Bavel
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Robb Willer
- Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Morewedge CK, Mullainathan S, Naushan HF, Sunstein CR, Kleinberg J, Raghavan M, Ludwig JO. Human bias in algorithm design. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1822-1824. [PMID: 37985907 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01724-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jon Kleinberg
- Department of Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | | | - Jens O Ludwig
- Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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3
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Abstract
Chater & Loewenstein, superb and distinguished social scientists, have misfired. Their complaint is baseless: In the real world of policymaking, behavioral science is mostly being used to reform systems, not to alter individual behavior. Nor is there empirical support for the proposition that interventions aimed at helping individuals make systemic reform less likely.
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Rockwell MS, Frazier MC, Stein JS, Dulaney KA, Parker SH, Davis GC, Rockwell JA, Castleman BL, Sunstein CR, Epling JW. A "sludge audit" for health system colorectal cancer screening services. Am J Manag Care 2023; 29:e222-e228. [PMID: 37523455 DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2023.89402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES "Sludge," or the frictions or administrative burdens that make it difficult for people to attain what they want or need, is an unexplored health care delivery factor that may contribute to deficiencies in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. We piloted a method to identify and quantify sludge in a southeastern US health system's delivery of CRC screening services. STUDY DESIGN Mixed methods sludge audit. METHODS We collected and analyzed quantitative (insurance claims, electronic health record, and administrative files) and qualitative (stakeholder interviews and process observations) data associated with CRC screening for instances of sludge. Because they contribute to sludge and reduce system capacity for high-value screening, we also evaluated low-value CRC screening processes. RESULTS Although specific results were likely amplified by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sludge audit revealed important areas for improvement. A 60.4% screening rate was observed. Approximately half of screening orders were not completed. The following categories of sludge were identified: communication, time, technology, administrative tasks, paperwork, and low-value care. For example, wait times for screening colonoscopy were substantial, duplicate orders were common, and some results were not accessible in the electronic health record. Of completed screenings, 32% were low-value and 38% were associated with low-value preoperative testing. There was evidence of a differential negative impact of sludge to vulnerable patients. CONCLUSIONS Our sludge audit method identified and quantified multiple instances of sludge in a health system's CRC screening processes. Sludge audits can help organizations to systematically evaluate and reduce sludge for more effective and equitable CRC screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle S Rockwell
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, 1 Riverside Circle, Ste 102, Roanoke, VA 24016.
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5
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Sunstein CR. Discerning blue from purple: How prevalence affects what is perceived as normal. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
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Abstract
Why people do or do not change their beliefs has been a long-standing puzzle. Sometimes people hold onto false beliefs despite ample contradictory evidence; sometimes they change their beliefs without sufficient reason. Here, we propose that the utility of a belief is derived from the potential outcomes associated with holding it. Outcomes can be internal (e.g., positive/negative feelings) or external (e.g., material gain/loss), and only some are dependent on belief accuracy. Belief change can then be understood as an economic transaction in which the multidimensional utility of the old belief is compared against that of the new belief. Change will occur when potential outcomes alter across attributes, for example because of changing environments or when certain outcomes are made more or less salient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tali Sharot
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | - Max Rollwage
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London
| | | | - Stephen M Fleming
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London
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7
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Böhm R, Betsch C, Litovsky Y, Sprengholz P, Brewer NT, Chapman G, Leask J, Loewenstein G, Scherzer M, Sunstein CR, Kirchler M. Crowdsourcing interventions to promote uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines. EClinicalMedicine 2022; 53:101632. [PMID: 36090456 PMCID: PMC9444232 DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 booster vaccine uptake rates are behind the rate of primary vaccination in many countries. Governments and non-governmental institutions rely on a range of interventions aiming to increase booster uptake. Yet, little is known how experts and the general public evaluate these interventions. METHODS We applied a novel crowdsourcing approach to provide rapid insights on the most promising interventions to promote uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines. In the first phase (December 2021), international experts (n = 78 from 17 countries) proposed 46 unique interventions. To reduce noise and potential bias, in the second phase (January 2022), experts (n = 307 from 34 countries) and representative general population samples from the UK (n = 299) and the US (n = 300) rated the proposed interventions on several evaluation criteria, including effectiveness and acceptability, on a 5-point Likert-type scale. FINDINGS Sanctions were evaluated as potentially most effective but least accepted. Evaluations by expert and general population samples were considerably aligned. Interventions that received the most positive evaluations regarding both effectiveness and acceptability across evaluation groups were: a day off work after getting vaccinated, financial incentives, tax benefits, promotional campaigns, and mobile vaccination teams. INTERPRETATION The results provide useful insights to help governmental and non-governmental institutions in their decisions about which interventions to implement. Additionally, the applied crowdsourcing method may be used in future studies to retrieve rapid insights on the comparative evaluation of (health) policies. FUNDING This study received funding from the Austrian Science Fund (SFB F63) and the University of Vienna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Böhm
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen; 1354 Copenhagen K, Denmark
- Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS), University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author at: Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Universitätsstrasse 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Cornelia Betsch
- Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Germany
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences (CEREB), University of Erfurt, Germany
- Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Yana Litovsky
- Department of Banking and Finance, University of Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Philipp Sprengholz
- Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Germany
- Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Noel T. Brewer
- Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Gretchen Chapman
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
| | - Julie Leask
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
| | - George Loewenstein
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
| | - Martha Scherzer
- Consultant, Behavioral and Cultural Insights Unit, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Michael Kirchler
- Department of Banking and Finance, University of Innsbruck, Austria
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8
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9
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10
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Abstract
As health care becomes increasingly personalized to the needs and values of individual patients, informational interventions that aim to inform and debias consumer decision-making are likely to become important tools. In a randomized controlled experiment, we explore the effects of providing participants with published fact boxes on the benefits and harms of common cancer screening procedures. Female participants were surveyed about breast cancer screening by mammography, while male participants were surveyed about prostate cancer screening by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. For these screening procedures, we expect consumers to have overly optimistic prior beliefs about the benefits and harms. We find that participants update their beliefs about the net benefits of screening modestly, but we observe little change in their stated preferences to seek screening. Participants who scored higher on a numeracy test updated their beliefs about screening benefits more in response to the fact boxes than did participants who scored lower on the numeracy test.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Eber
- Harvard University, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Cass R Sunstein
- Harvard University, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - James K Hammitt
- Harvard University, Center for Risk Analysis, Boston, MA USA; Toulouse School of Economics, Université Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Jennifer M Yeh
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Altieri
- Department of Communications, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
| | - John Grove
- Department of Quality Assurance, Norms and Standards, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Katrine Bach Habersaat
- Vaccine-preventable Diseases and Immunization, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Susan Michie
- Centre for Behavioural Change, University College London, London, England
| | - Cass R Sunstein
- Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States of America
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12
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Habersaat KB, Betsch C, Danchin M, Sunstein CR, Böhm R, Falk A, Brewer NT, Omer SB, Scherzer M, Sah S, Fischer EF, Scheel AE, Fancourt D, Kitayama S, Dubé E, Leask J, Dutta M, MacDonald NE, Temkina A, Lieberoth A, Jackson M, Lewandowsky S, Seale H, Fietje N, Schmid P, Gelfand M, Korn L, Eitze S, Felgendreff L, Sprengholz P, Salvi C, Butler R. Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 4:677-687. [PMID: 32581299 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Governments around the world have implemented measures to manage the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of these measures are proving effective, they have a high social and economic cost, and response strategies are being adjusted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that communities should have a voice, be informed and engaged, and participate in this transition phase. We propose ten considerations to support this principle: (1) implement a phased approach to a 'new normal'; (2) balance individual rights with the social good; (3) prioritise people at highest risk of negative consequences; (4) provide special support for healthcare workers and care staff; (5) build, strengthen and maintain trust; (6) enlist existing social norms and foster healthy new norms; (7) increase resilience and self-efficacy; (8) use clear and positive language; (9) anticipate and manage misinformation; and (10) engage with media outlets. The transition phase should also be informed by real-time data according to which governmental responses should be updated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cornelia Betsch
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Margie Danchin
- The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Robert Böhm
- Department of Psychology, Department of Economics, and Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Armin Falk
- University of Bonn and Institute on Behavior and Inequality (BRIQ), Bonn, Germany
| | - Noel T Brewer
- Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Saad B Omer
- Yale Institute for Global Health, Department of Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Martha Scherzer
- WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sunita Sah
- Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Edward F Fischer
- Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrea E Scheel
- WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Daisy Fancourt
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Shinobu Kitayama
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Eve Dubé
- Département d'Anthropologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada
| | - Julie Leask
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mohan Dutta
- Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), Massey University, Aotearoa, New Zealand
| | - Noni E MacDonald
- Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Anna Temkina
- Department of Sociology, European University of St. Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Russia
| | - Andreas Lieberoth
- Danish School of Education, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mark Jackson
- Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and WHO Collaborating Centre on Culture and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Stephan Lewandowsky
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Holly Seale
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nils Fietje
- WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Philipp Schmid
- Department of Psychology, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Michele Gelfand
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Lars Korn
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Sarah Eitze
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Lisa Felgendreff
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Philipp Sprengholz
- Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Cristiana Salvi
- WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Robb Butler
- WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark
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13
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Lorenz-Spreen P, Lewandowsky S, Sunstein CR, Hertwig R. How behavioural sciences can promote truth, autonomy and democratic discourse online. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 4:1102-1109. [PMID: 32541771 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0889-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Public opinion is shaped in significant part by online content, spread via social media and curated algorithmically. The current online ecosystem has been designed predominantly to capture user attention rather than to promote deliberate cognition and autonomous choice; information overload, finely tuned personalization and distorted social cues, in turn, pave the way for manipulation and the spread of false information. How can transparency and autonomy be promoted instead, thus fostering the positive potential of the web? Effective web governance informed by behavioural research is critically needed to empower individuals online. We identify technologically available yet largely untapped cues that can be harnessed to indicate the epistemic quality of online content, the factors underlying algorithmic decisions and the degree of consensus in online debates. We then map out two classes of behavioural interventions-nudging and boosting- that enlist these cues to redesign online environments for informed and autonomous choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Lorenz-Spreen
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Stephan Lewandowsky
- School of Psychological Science and Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | | | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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14
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Bavel JJV, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, Crockett MJ, Crum AJ, Douglas KM, Druckman JN, Drury J, Dube O, Ellemers N, Finkel EJ, Fowler JH, Gelfand M, Han S, Haslam SA, Jetten J, Kitayama S, Mobbs D, Napper LE, Packer DJ, Pennycook G, Peters E, Petty RE, Rand DG, Reicher SD, Schnall S, Shariff A, Skitka LJ, Smith SS, Sunstein CR, Tabri N, Tucker JA, Linden SVD, Lange PV, Weeden KA, Wohl MJA, Zaki J, Zion SR, Willer R. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nat Hum Behav 2020. [PMID: 32355299 DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/y38m9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay J Van Bavel
- Department of Psychology & Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Katherine Baicker
- University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Paulo S Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Valerio Capraro
- Department of Economics, Middlesex University London, London, UK
| | - Aleksandra Cichocka
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Kent, UK
- Department of Psychology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Mina Cikara
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Alia J Crum
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - James N Druckman
- Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - John Drury
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Oeindrila Dube
- University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Naomi Ellemers
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Eli J Finkel
- Department of Psychology and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - James H Fowler
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health and Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Michele Gelfand
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Jolanda Jetten
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Shinobu Kitayama
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Lucy E Napper
- Department of Psychology and Health, Medicine & Society Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | | | - Gordon Pennycook
- Hill/Levene Schools of Business, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Ellen Peters
- School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Richard E Petty
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - David G Rand
- Sloan School and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stephen D Reicher
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Simone Schnall
- Department of Psychology University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Azim Shariff
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Linda J Skitka
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sandra Susan Smith
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Cass R Sunstein
- Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Nassim Tabri
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joshua A Tucker
- Department of Politics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Paul van Lange
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kim A Weeden
- Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Michael J A Wohl
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jamil Zaki
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sean R Zion
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Robb Willer
- Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Marks J, Copland E, Loh E, Sunstein CR, Sharot T. Epistemic spillovers: Learning others' political views reduces the ability to assess and use their expertise in nonpolitical domains. Cognition 2019; 188:74-84. [PMID: 30342868 PMCID: PMC6522687 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
On political questions, many people prefer to consult and learn from those whose political views are similar to their own, thus creating a risk of echo chambers or information cocoons. We test whether the tendency to prefer knowledge from the politically like-minded generalizes to domains that have nothing to do with politics, even when evidence indicates that politically like-minded people are less skilled in those domains than people with dissimilar political views. Participants had multiple opportunities to learn about others' (1) political opinions and (2) ability to categorize geometric shapes. They then decided to whom to turn for advice when solving an incentivized shape categorization task. We find that participants falsely concluded that politically like-minded others were better at categorizing shapes and thus chose to hear from them. Participants were also more influenced by politically like-minded others, even when they had good reason not to be. These results replicate in two independent samples. The findings demonstrate that knowing about others' political views interferes with the ability to learn about their competency in unrelated tasks, leading to suboptimal information-seeking decisions and errors in judgement. Our findings have implications for political polarization and social learning in the midst of political divisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Marks
- Affective Brain Lab, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Eloise Copland
- Affective Brain Lab, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eleanor Loh
- Affective Brain Lab, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Tali Sharot
- Affective Brain Lab, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
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Thorndike AN, Sunstein CR. Obesity Prevention in the Supermarket-Choice Architecture and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Am J Public Health 2019; 107:1582-1583. [PMID: 28902555 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2017.303991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne N Thorndike
- Anne N. Thorndike is with Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, and the General Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Cass R. Sunstein is with Harvard Law School, Cambridge
| | - Cass R Sunstein
- Anne N. Thorndike is with Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, and the General Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Cass R. Sunstein is with Harvard Law School, Cambridge
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Hall MG, Marteau TM, Sunstein CR, Ribisl KM, Noar SM, Orlan EN, Brewer NT. Public support for pictorial warnings on cigarette packs: an experimental study of US smokers. J Behav Med 2018; 41:398-405. [PMID: 29411272 PMCID: PMC5924634 DOI: 10.1007/s10865-018-9910-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 01/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding factors that influence public support for "nudging" policies, like pictorial cigarette pack warnings, may offer insight about how to increase such support. We sought to examine factors that influence smokers' support for requiring pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. METHODS In 2014 and 2015, we randomly assigned 2149 adult US smokers to receive either pictorial warnings or text-only warnings on their cigarette packs for 4 weeks. The outcome examined in the current study was support for a policy requiring pictorial warnings on cigarette packs in the US. RESULTS Support for pictorial warnings was high at baseline (mean: 3.2 out of 4). Exposure to pictorial warnings increased policy support at week 4 (β = .05, p = .03). This effect was explained by increases in perceived message effectiveness (p < .001) and reported conversations about policy support (p < .001). Message reactance (i.e., an oppositional reaction to the warning) partially diminished the impact of pictorial warnings on policy support (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS Exposing people to a new policy through implementation could increase public support for that policy by increasing perceived effectiveness and by prompting conversations about the policy. Reactance may partially weaken the effect of policy exposure on public support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa G Hall
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Theresa M Marteau
- Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Kurt M Ribisl
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 324 Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Seth M Noar
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Elizabeth N Orlan
- Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 324 Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Noel T Brewer
- Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 324 Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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Lazer DMJ, Baum MA, Benkler Y, Berinsky AJ, Greenhill KM, Menczer F, Metzger MJ, Nyhan B, Pennycook G, Rothschild D, Schudson M, Sloman SA, Sunstein CR, Thorson EA, Watts DJ, Zittrain JL. The science of fake news. Science 2018; 359:1094-1096. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1359] [Impact Index Per Article: 226.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Abstract
Do people think better in a foreign language? In some ways, yes. There is considerable evidence to this effect, at least to the extent that they are less likely to rely on intuitions that can lead to serious errors. This finding reinforces, and makes more plausible, a central claim in regulatory policy, which involves the value of cost-benefit analysis. In a sense, cost-benefit analysis is a foreign language, and it reduces the risk that people will rely on intuitions that cause serious errors.
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Sunstein CR. Default Rules Are Better Than Active Choosing (Often). Trends Cogn Sci 2017; 21:600-606. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Revised: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Bobadilla-Suarez S, Sunstein CR, Sharot T. The intrinsic value of choice: The propensity to under-delegate in the face of potential gains and losses. J Risk Uncertain 2017; 54:187-202. [PMID: 29070920 PMCID: PMC5652145 DOI: 10.1007/s11166-017-9259-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Human beings are often faced with a pervasive problem: whether to make their own decision or to delegate the decision task to someone else. Here, we test whether people are inclined to forgo monetary rewards in order to retain agency when faced with choices that could lead to losses and gains. In a simple choice task, we show that participants choose to pay in order to control their own payoff more than they should if they were to maximize monetary rewards and minimize monetary losses. This tendency cannot be explained by participants' overconfidence in their own ability, as their perceived ability was elicited and accounted for. Nor can the results be explained by lack of information. Rather, the results seem to reflect an intrinsic value for choice, which emerges in the domain of both gains and of losses. Moreover, our data indicate that participants are aware that they are making suboptimal choices in the normative sense, but do so anyway, presumably for psychological gains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Bobadilla-Suarez
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, WC1H 0AP, London, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB UK
| | | | - Tali Sharot
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, WC1H 0AP, London, UK
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Abstract
Governments are increasingly adopting behavioral science techniques for changing
individual behavior in pursuit of policy objectives. The types of “nudge”
interventions that governments are now adopting alter people’s decisions without
coercion or significant changes to economic incentives. We calculated ratios of
impact to cost for nudge interventions and for traditional policy tools, such as
tax incentives and other financial inducements, and we found that nudge
interventions often compare favorably with traditional interventions. We
conclude that nudging is a valuable approach that should be used more often in
conjunction with traditional policies, but more calculations are needed to
determine the relative effectiveness of nudging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomo Benartzi
- 1 Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles
| | | | | | | | | | - Maya Shankar
- 6 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Washington, DC
| | | | | | - Steven Galing
- 8 United States Department of Defense, Washington, DC
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Abstract
Many nations have shown mounting interest in a simple idea for the regulation of risk: In case of doubt, follow the precautionary principle (O'Riordan T, Cameron J eds. Interpreting the precautionary principle, 2002). Avoid steps that will create a risk of harm. Until safety is established, be cautious; do not require unambiguous evidence. In a catchphrase: Better safe than sorry.
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Abstract
Findings in behavioral science, including psychology, have influenced policies and reforms in many nations. Choice architecture can affect outcomes even if material incentives are not involved. In some contexts, default rules, simplification, and social norms have had even larger effects than significant economic incentives. Psychological research is helping to inform initiatives in savings, finance, highway safety, consumer protection, energy, climate change, obesity, education, poverty, development, crime, corruption, health, and the environment. No nation has yet created a council of psychological advisers, but the role of behavioral research in policy domains is likely to grow in the coming years, especially in light of the mounting interest in promoting ease and simplification (“navigability”); in increasing effectiveness, economic growth, and competitiveness; and in providing low-cost, choice-preserving approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cass R. Sunstein
- Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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Sunstein CR. Choosing not to choose. Duke Law J 2014; 64:1-52. [PMID: 25330554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Choice can be an extraordinary benefit or an immense burden. In some contexts, people choose not to choose, or would do so if they were asked. In part because of limitations of "bandwidth," and in part because of awareness of their own lack of information and potential biases, people sometimes want other people to choose for them. For example, many people prefer not to make choices about their health or retirement plans; they want to delegate those choices to a private or public institution that they trust (and may well be willing to pay a considerable amount to those who are willing to accept such delegations). This point suggests that however well accepted, the line between active choosing and paternalism is often illusory. When private or public institutions override people's desire not to choose and insist on active choosing, they may well be behaving paternalistically, through a form of choice-requiring paternalism. Active choosing can be seen as a form of libertarian paternalism, and a frequently attractive one, if people are permitted to opt out of choosing in favor of a default (and in that sense permitted not to choose); it is a form of nonlibertarian paternalism insofar as people are required to choose. For both ordinary people and private or public institutions, the ultimate judgment in favor of active choosing, or in favor of choosing not to choose, depends largely on the costs of decisions and the costs of errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Dominici
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Rosenthal MB, Farley T, Gortmaker S, Sunstein CR. Health promotion and the state. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:e34. [PMID: 23782202 DOI: 10.1056/nejmp1306631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Sunstein CR. Due process traditionalism. Mich Law Rev 2008; 106:1543-1570. [PMID: 18595214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In important cases, the Supreme Court has limited the scope of "substantive due process" by reference to tradition, but it has yet to explain why it has done so. Due process traditionalism might be defended in several distinctive ways. The most ambitious defense draws on a set of ideas associated with Edmund Burke and Friedrich Hayek, who suggested that traditions have special credentials by virtue of their acceptance by many minds. But this defense runs into three problems. Those who have participated in a tradition may not have accepted any relevant proposition; they might suffer from a systematic bias; and they might have joined a cascade. An alternative defense sees due process traditionalism as a second-best substitute for two preferable alternatives: a purely procedural approach to the Due Process Clause, and an approach that gives legislatures the benefit of every reasonable doubt. But it is not clear that in these domains, the first-best approaches are especially attractive; and even if they are, the second-best may be an unacceptably crude substitute. The most plausible defense of due process traditionalism operates on rule-consequentialist grounds, with the suggestion that even if traditions are not great, they are often good, and judges do best if they defer to traditions rather than attempting to specify the content of "liberty" on their own. But the rule-consequentialist defense depends on controversial and probably false assumptions about the likely goodness of traditions and the institutional incapacities of judges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cass R Sunstein
- Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, USA
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Arrow KJ, Forsythe R, Gorham M, Hahn R, Hanson R, Ledyard JO, Levmore S, Litan R, Milgrom P, Nelson FD, Neumann GR, Ottaviani M, Schelling TC, Shiller RJ, Smith VL, Snowberg E, Sunstein CR, Tetlock PC, Tetlock PE, Varian HR, Wolfers J, Zitzewitz E. The Promise of Prediction Markets. Science 2008; 320:877-8. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 183] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth J. Arrow
- Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Robert Forsythe
- College of Business, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Michael Gorham
- Stuart School of Business, Illnois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60661, USA
| | - Robert Hahn
- Reg-Markets Center at American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC 20036, USA
| | - Robin Hanson
- Department of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - John O. Ledyard
- Department of Economics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Saul Levmore
- University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | | | - Paul Milgrom
- Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Forrest D. Nelson
- Department of Economics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - George R. Neumann
- Department of Economics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Marco Ottaviani
- Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Thomas C. Schelling
- School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | | | | | - Erik Snowberg
- Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | | | | | - Philip E. Tetlock
- Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Hal R. Varian
- School of Information, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Justin Wolfers
- The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Eric Zitzewitz
- Department of Economics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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Abstract
with respect to questions of fact, people use heuristics – mental short-cuts, or rules of thumb, that generally work well, but that also lead to systematic errors. people use moral heuristics too – moral short-cuts, or rules of thumb, that lead to mistaken and even absurd moral judgments. these judgments are highly relevant not only to morality, but to law and politics as well. examples are given from a number of domains, including risk regulation, punishment, reproduction and sexuality, and the act/omission distinction. in all of these contexts, rapid, intuitive judgments make a great deal of sense, but sometimes produce moral mistakes that are replicated in law and policy. one implication is that moral assessments ought not to be made by appealing to intuitions about exotic cases and problems; those intuitions are particularly unlikely to be reliable. another implication is that some deeply held moral judgments are unsound if they are products of moral heuristics. the idea of error-prone heuristics is especially controversial in the moral domain, where agreement on the correct answer may be hard to elicit; but in many contexts, heuristics are at work and they do real damage. moral framing effects, including those in the context of obligations to future generations, are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cass R Sunstein
- University of Chicago Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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37
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Sunstein CR. Valuing life: a plea for disaggregation. Duke Law J 2004; 54:385-445. [PMID: 15940845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Each government agency uses a uniform figure to measure the value of a statistical life (VSL). This is a serious mistake. The very theory that underlies current practice calls for far more individuation of the relevant values. According to that theory, VSL should vary across risks. More controversially, VSL should vary across individuals -- even or especially if the result would be to produce a lower number for some people than for others. One practical implication is that a higher value should be given to programs that reduce cancer risks. Another is that government should use a higher VSL for programs that disproportionately benefit the wealthy -- and a lower VSL for programs that disproportionately benefit the poor. But there are two serious complications here. First, bounded rationality raises problems for the use of private willingness to pay, which underlies current calculations of VSL. Second, the beneficiaries of regulation sometimes pay only a fraction or even none of its cost; when this is so, the appropriate VSL for poor people might be higher, on distributional grounds, than market evidence suggests. An understanding of this point has implications for foundational issues about government regulation, including valuation of persons in poor and wealthy nations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cass R Sunstein
- University of Chicago, Law School and Deparment of Political Science
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38
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Meadow WL, Bell A, Sunstein CR. Statistics, not memories: what was the standard of care for administering antenatal steroids to women in preterm labor between 1985 and 2000? Obstet Gynecol 2003; 102:356-62. [PMID: 12907113 DOI: 10.1016/s0029-7844(03)00510-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We determined the frequency of antenatal corticosteroid use for mothers with threatened premature delivery in 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000. We next compared published data to the surveyed recollections of 302 obstetricians who were practicing during these years. Two points emerged. First, published reports reveal that the use of antenatal corticosteroids increased steadily, from 8% in 1985 to 20% in 1990, 52% in 1995, and 75% in 2000 (P <.001). Second, "expert" opinions derived from the recollections of practicing obstetricians consistently overestimated the actual use of antenatal corticosteroids during the year in question-31% versus 8% for 1985, 56% versus 20% for 1990, 78% versus 52% for 1995, and 92% versus 72% for 2000 (all Ps <.001). The use of antenatal corticosteroids by obstetricians in the past 15 years reveals a phenomenon that is widely recognized elsewhere-retrospective memories are often wrong, and when they are wrong they are not randomly wrong. Rather, recollections are systematically skewed toward an outcome that, in hindsight, is considered desirable (the "Monday morning quarterback" phenomenon). We offer a simple proposal. In determining the "standard of medical care," the legal system should rely on statistical data about doctors' performance rather than the recollections of experts about doctors' performance. The fallible memories of isolated experts are a crude second-best, far inferior to the data that they approximate. Widespread adoption of this view by professional physician organizations would dramatically increase the rationality of expert testimony in medical malpractice tort law.
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Affiliation(s)
- William L Meadow
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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Sunstein CR. Is there a constitutional right to clone? Hastings Law J 2002; 53:987-1005. [PMID: 15508211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cass R Sunstein
- Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, USA
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Meadow W, Sunstein CR. Statistics, not experts. Duke Law J 2001; 51:629-646. [PMID: 11963938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- W Meadow
- MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago, USA
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Abstract
One of the characteristics of a free society should be a strong presumption in favor of full patient control over personal information. The presumption is rebutted when disclosure to others is necessary (1) for good patient care, as in the case of consultations and medical teams; (2) to compile information that will produce scientific or medical progress; (3) to protect third parties from serious risks of harm; and (4) to prevent harm to patients themselves. In all of these cases, identifying information should be removed unless it is necessary. Principles of this sort should be implemented via physician norms, in fact publicly acknowledged physician norms, and (only) if necessary, by more formal regulations, private and public.
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Affiliation(s)
- C R Sunstein
- Law School, and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, USA
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Midgley M, Nussbaum MC, Sunstein CR, Reiss M, Straughan R, Rifkin J. Alchemy Revived. Hastings Cent Rep 2000. [DOI: 10.2307/3528314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Sunstein CR. Is the Clean Air Act unconstitutional? Mich Law Rev 1999; 98:303-394. [PMID: 10848112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
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Sunstein CR. Is tobacco a drug? Administrative agencies as common law courts. Duke Law J 1998; 47:1013-69. [PMID: 10557544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Professor Cass Sunstein argues that the FDA has the authority to regulate tobacco products. He considers the text of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which supports the FDA assertion, and the context of its enactment, which argues against the FDA. He resolves the tension between text and context in favor of FDA jurisdiction by turning to the emerging role of administrative agencies. In modern government, he contends, administrative agencies have become America's common law courts, with the power to adapt statutory regimes to new facts and new values when the underlying statute is ambiguous. Professor Sunstein's Article, like the other pieces in this volume, was written after the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina decided Coyne Beahm v. FDA, but before a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed that decision in Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. FDA. In Coyne Beahm, the District Court held that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorized the FDA to regulate tobacco products, but not tobacco advertising. The Fourth Circuit rejected the District Court's jurisdictional ruling and invalidated the FDA's regulations in their entirety. The Clinton Administration has since requested an en banc rehearing before the Fourth Circuit.
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Sunstein CR. The right to die. Yale Law J 1997; 106:1123-1163. [PMID: 11656791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
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Sunstein CR. Neutrality in constitutional law (with special reference to pornography, abortion, and surrogacy). Columbia Law Rev 1992; 92:1-52. [PMID: 11658112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
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Sunstein CR. Why the unconstitutional conditions doctrine is an anachronism (with particular reference to religion, speech, and abortion). Boston Univ Law Rev 1990; 70:593-621. [PMID: 15739275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- C R Sunstein
- Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, USA
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