research topics for behavioral science

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• A Research Guide
• Research Paper Topics
• 35 Human Behavior Research Topics & Questions

35 Human Behavior Research Topics & Questions

Useful information: Does a research paper need a thesis ?

• When human behaviour became human?
• What traits we consider typically human we can meet in animals?
• Nature versus nurture. To what extentthe natural behaviour can be corrected?
• The phenomenon of “Mowgli kids” and their behavior
• The stages of human development and their impact on behaviour patterns
• The impact of the family or parental substitutes on behaviour
• Mating rituals or chivalrous romance? How do people court their love interests?
• Habits and their development
• How advertising uses our typical behaviour patterns?
• The importance of happiness
• Games and behaviour. Why do we like to play so much?
• Cults and sects. How do people get involved?
• The psychology of the crowd. What happens to person inside the crowd?
• Does natural morality exist or is it a social construct?
• Sex, gender and behaviour
• Is it good or bad?
• The typical responses to danger: run, fight, hide. Are they hardwired into us?
• Nonverbal communication: is it international?
• Depression and its impact on human behaviour
• Do LGBTQ+ people have typical behavioural patterns?
• The impact of social media and Internet on behaviour
• Porn and sexual attractions
• What is bipolar disorder in terms of behaviour?
• Social hierarchy and behaviour
• Are behavioural patterns connected to self-esteem?
• Elderly people and changes in their behaviour
• Drugs that change behaviour
• IQ and EQ and their impact on behaviour
• Religion and behavioural norms
• Culture clash and behaviour of people of mixed origins
• Correcting dysfunctional behaviour
• Propaganda and behaviour
• Artificially created social groups and their behaviour
• Trauma, PTSD and behaviour
• Defensive behaviour

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Communication topics, criminal justice topics, linguistic topics, political science topics, psychology topics, sociology topics.

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• Education & Social Work
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• Natural and Physical Sciences

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• Agricultural practices
• Ancestors (role of)
• Ancient Roman culture
• Body modification
• Burial customs
• Clothing/costume
• Cultural appropriation
• Day of the Dead
• Easter Island statues
• Eating utensils
• Gender roles
• Gift giving customs
• Human universals
• John Frum movement
• Kennewick Man
• Kissing customs
• Language/linguistics
• Primate families
• Religious beliefs/practices
• Repatriation
• Rhine-Danube corridor
• Ritual masks
• Roma (gypsy) culture
• Social networks
• Subcultural groups (e.g. hippies, Hell's Angels, etc.)
• Totem poles
• Traditional medicine
• Untouchability

Related subject guide and suggested database

Articles in anthropology.

The Anthropological Index Online (AIO) is published by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) in cooperation with Anthropology Library and Research Centre at the British Museum. It is an index to articles in journals taken by the Library, which incorporates the former RAI holdings, covering all branches and areas of anthropology. In addition, AIO includes journals and periodicals of anthropological interest that are not in the Library’s catalogues. Films held at the Royal Anthropological Institute are equally indexed as part of the bibliography. The Library holds some 4,000 periodical titles (1,500 current). Nearly 650 journals, published in more than 40 languages, are indexed on a continuing basis. Records cover 1957 to the present.

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• Advocacy journalism
• Bot journalists
• Cancel culture
• Comic strips
• Disinformation
• Embedded journalism
• Greenwashing
• Hobo signs and signals
• Media ethics
• Newspapers' declining revenues
• Objectivity in journalism
• Press embargoes
• Section 230 (Communications Decency Act)
• Social media as social justice
• Social media influencers
• Social media literacy
• Social networking
• Underground newspapers
• Yellow journalism

Comprehensive coverage of communication topics in Communication Abstracts and Communication & Mass Media Complete.

Covers major journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study as far back as 1915. Includes indexing/abstracting for 600+ journals; full text of 500+ journals.

• Communication: A Guide to Library Research by Paul Streby Last Updated Oct 16, 2023 56 views this year
• Bail reform
• Cadaver dogs
• Capital punishment as deterrent
• Community policing
• Crime statistic reporting
• Cyber crime
• Death penalty
• Decarceration movement
• Domestic violence
• Fiber evidence
• For-profit prisons
• Forensic genealogy
• Forensic geology
• Hate crime / hate groups
• Identity theft
• Illegal drug use
• Innocence projects
• International terrorism
• Legalization of marijuana
• Lethal injection vs. electric chair
• Mandatory minimum sentencing
• Plea bargaining
• Presumptive parole
• Prison overcrowding
• Prostitution
• Racial profiling
• Rehabilitation in prison
• Serial killers
• Sodomy laws
• Undercover police
• Voting rights for felons
• Warren court
• Witness protection program

1968-present. Journals, books, and governmental & non-governmental reports.

• Criminal Justice: A Guide to Library Research by Reference Librarians Last Updated May 28, 2024 59 views this year
• African American Vernacular English
• American Sign Language
• Artificial languages
• Borrowed words
• Constructed languages
• English language learner
• Great Vowel Shift
• Indo-European language history
• Language revitalization
• Oral history
• Regional languages
• Secret languages
• Taboo language
• Southern dialect
• Whistled languages

Indexes literature in linguistics and related disciplines.

Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences. The database covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,500 serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, and dissertations. 

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• 2016 presidential campaign
• Arab Spring
• Automatic voter registration
• Campaign finance laws
• Congressional Review Act
• Democratization
• Effect of mass media
• Electoral College reform
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Executive actions
• Executive power, limits of
• Facebook campaigning
• Gerrymandering
• House of Representatives expansion
• Judicial review
• Line item veto
• Mutual defense alliances
• National Popular Vote Bill
• Open government
• Parliamentary system
• Pork barrel legislation
• Ranked choice voting
• Regulations
• Bernie Sanders
• Social democracy
• Supreme Court powers
• Transparency
• Donald Trump
• Voter turnout

Includes full-text journals, reference books, monographs, and conference papers, including those of the International Political Science Association.

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• Anger management
• Animal assisted therapy
• Asperger's Syndrome
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• Behaviorism
• Bipolar disorder
• Birth order
• Borderline personality disorder
• Compulsion loop
• Cross-dressing
• Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Emotional intelligence
• Family therapy
• Group therapy
• Internet addiction
• Kleptomania
• Mass psychogenic illness
• Megalomania
• Memory loss
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Panic attacks
• Peer pressure
• Personality types
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Postnatal (postpartum) depression
• Prescriptions for ADHD
• Replication Crisis
• Self-esteem
• Sexual assault victims
• Sleeping disorders
• Social anxiety disorder
• Speech disorders
• Theory of mind

1887-present. Includes journals, books, book chapters, and dissertations in psychology.  Short video tutorials on using PsycINFO

Includes the collections APA PsycInfo and APA PsycArticles.

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• Ambient awareness
• Anti-vaccination
• Black Lives Matter
• Conflict theory
• Consumerism
• Counter-cultures
• Cultural assimilation
• Family issues
• Fashion trends
• Flocking behavior
• Gender Issues
• Internet communities
• Nationality
• Occupy movement
• Online dating
• Police brutality
• Poverty gap
• Social media activism
• Social stratification
• Spirituality and religion
• Stereotypes
• Sub-cultures
• Superstitions

Provides access to the international literature in sociology, social services, and related disciplines, 1952-present.

Includes the databases Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Sociology Database, which may each be searched separately. Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,800 serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Many records from key journals in sociology, added to the database since 2002, also include the references cited in the bibliography of the source article. Each individual reference may also have links to an abstract and/or to other papers that cite that reference; these links increase the possibility of finding more potentially relevant articles. These references are linked both within Sociological Abstracts and across other social science databases available on ProQuest. Updated monthly, with approximately 30,000 records added per year. (Description from the publisher's website.)

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• Next: Business, Economics, & Management >>
• Last Updated: May 30, 2024 4:05 PM
• URL: https://libguides.umflint.edu/topics

Research Topics is a collection of previously published articles, features, and news stories. They are meant to serve as an information clearinghouse and represent some of APS’s most requested and publicly relevant subjects. Note: this content may reflect the accepted style and terminology of the date the articles were first published.

Trending Topics

Disaster response and recovery.

Disasters like Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut draw massive media coverage, trauma interventions, and financial donations to victims. But psychological research shows the efforts don’t always yield the intended benefits.

Environment and Climate Change

Psychological scientists are studying how we’re all weathering a warming planet.

Myths and Misinformation

How does misinformation spread and how do we combat it? Psychological science sheds light on the mechanisms underlying misinformation and ‘fake news.’

Learn about the mechanisms underlying our generous motivations and behaviors.

For psychological scientists, exploring the less pleasant aspects of individual and social nature, like violence and aggression, is an occasional necessity.

Aggression and Violence

Research is showing that aging equals anything but cognitive decline and unhappiness.

Psychological scientists have done extensive research on the aging brain, Alzheimer's Disease, different types of dementias, and much more.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias

How do pets influence our well-being? Why does the face of a puppy or the purr of a cat soothe us? Psychological research provides some insights.

Animal Behavior

Developments in AI and machine learning herald unprecedented leaps in many applications, including human psychology itself. Algorithmic bias is just one issue of concern.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

Whether you're driving, studying, or listening to a business presentation, keeping focused can be a challenge when boredom and distractions compete for your focus. Research findings have identified the factors that keep our minds on task -- or off track.

Attention and Distraction

Psychological science on the effects of prejudice, and how to counter these beliefs.

Bias and Stigma

Learn what researchers have discovered about the factors that lead to bullying and the long-term consequences it can have.

The World Health Organization has added "burnout" to its International Classification of Diseases. Learn what psychological scientists have discovered about the possible causes and symptoms of burnout.

Psychological research reveals the long-lasting cognitive, social, and neurobiological consequences of stress and trauma experienced in childhood.

Childhood Adversity

A growing body of research connects various aspects of children's environments and their emotional well-being.

Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health

Psychological scientists have designed cognitive tests that can help identify everything from memory deficits to cultural heritage.

Cognitive Testing

A collection of studies shows that compassion gets stronger with training and this training can even change brain function.

It's a big-time showdown for France and Croatia in the upcoming FIFA World Cup final. Science reveals how players and fans alike handle the pressure of climactic competition.

Competition

From international wars to political arguments at the dinner table, conflict is an integral part of the human experience. Psychological scientists have uncovered a wealth of knowledge about the ways cooperation and acceptance can overpower those clashes.

Conflict and Conflict Resolution

What drives people to believe in vast conspiracies and dismiss facts as hoaxes? Psychological research identifies some motivations.

Conspiracy Theories

The criminal justice system was designed to find and punish perpetrators guilty of the crimes of which they are accused. Psychological science helps repair and maintain the public’s trust in the system and eliminate threats to equal justice.

Criminal Justice

How do people respond to increasing cultural diversity in their communities, cities, and countries? Researchers investigate.

Cultural Diversity

Being curious about the world around us can have benefits at school, work, and other contexts, studies show.

Psychological scientists are exploring how we use digital media and the consequences, both positive and negative, it can have in everyday life.

Digital Media

Disasters like Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut draw massive media coverage, trauma interventions, and financial donations to victims. But psychological research shows the efforts don't always yield the intended benefits.

How do motorists develop the higher-order cognitive processes required to navigate safely? Research explores this and more.

Driving and Cars

Read what psychological researchers have discovered about the effects of eating on mood, behavior, and cognition.

Eating and Food

Psychological scientists are studying how we're all weathering a warming planet.

The psychology and science behind how individuals and groups respond to epidemics.

Epidemics and Public Health Behavior

Psychological scientists identify factors that prompt people to lie, cheat, bribe, and steal and strategies for addressing such unethical behavior.

What motivates us to exercise? And what effects does exercise have on mental function? Psychological scientists are exploring the ins and outs of physical activity.

Understanding the science behind eyewitness memory can have important implications for criminal justice procedures.

Eyewitness Memory

APS offers some scientific insights into family dynamics.

Family Relationships

Why are we scared of some things and not others? Psychological scientists are exploring the many facets of fear and the mechanisms that drive it.

Friendships are unique relationships that offer researchers a window into many aspects of life, including personality, longevity, health, and well-being.

Researchers explore the factors that perpetuate gender inequality and the effects that such bias can have on women in the workplace and beyond.

Gender and Bias

Effort, stamina, and purpose drive our accomplishments — science shows us what to do to keep motivation going.

Goals and Motivation

In some of the most famous cases of money laundering, corporate fraud, and tax evasion lies a relentless appetite for big profits and personal wealth. How does greed affect our sense of morality?

Greed and Corruption

Psychological scientists are leading the way in addressing the mental health issues resulting from traumatic events.

Grief and Trauma

Psychological science sheds light on happiness, from a personal to an economic level.

Learn how the human brain influences what our ears register - and what they don't.

Psychological science offers a variety of reasons to be hopeful about progress in science and the well-being of individuals and societies worldwide. Read about the most promising discoveries and advances of the past few years.

Learn about the research on what makes you laugh, why something you find funny is offensive to someone else, and more.

We’re averse to hypocrites because their disavowal of bad behavior sends a false signal about their true nature.

Unconscious bias can lurk below the level of conscious awareness, but researchers are working to uncover more effective methods of reducing these prejudices.

Implicit Bias

Psychological and educational interventions can make a positive difference in a person's trajectory or even their life. What factors influence how interventions either persist over the long term or fade out?

Interventions

Psychological science has played a leading role in busting misconceptions about sexual orientation and gender identity, and in changing people's attitudes toward individuals who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Psychology researchers are identifying how we build strong reading skills in early childhood and the factors that contribute to difficulty with reading comprehension.

Researchers explore the causes, impacts, and possible interventions for loneliness and social isolation.

Loneliness and Social Isolation

Frank Sinatra crooned that they go together like a horse and carriage, but in truth love and marital health can falter over time. Scientists have identified a number of factors that sustain love through better or worse.

Love and Attraction

Learn about the vast stores of memory research that psychological scientists have amassed in recent years.

Psychological scientists have amassed a vast amount of empirical knowledge on the causes of and best treatments for mental disorders.

Mental Health

Researchers explore how practices associated with mindfulness and meditation can affect decision-making and other cognitive processes.

Mindfulness and Meditation

Psychological scientists are identifying cognitive, developmental, and cultural aspects of music perception and the essential role that music plays in our everyday lives.

How does misinformation spread and how do we combat it? Psychological science sheds light on the mechanisms underlying misinformation and 'fake news.'

Scientists are increasingly busting some myths and making new discoveries about a dark personality trait.

Deal making at the international, business, and interpersonal levels involves a variety of emotional, social, and language factors that lead to a final agreement -- or a stalemate.

Negotiation

Read about the wealth of psychological studies on neurodiversity and the differences in learning, attention, and mood.

Neurodivergence

Psychological scientists are devoting an increasing amount of their research time examining the role of the brain in human behavior, emotion, and cognitive health.

Neuroscience

Recent news events have sparked a surge of interest in the Dunning-Kruger effect -- a distorted view of one's knowledge and ability. Learn how this cognitive bias can spark overconfidence among world leaders and corporate giants.

Overconfidence

Amid the epidemic of opioid addiction, psychological science has demonstrated that pain relief doesn't have to be pharmaceutical.

Pain Management

Personality tests are the center of countless psychological studies exploring targeted marketing, workplace dynamics, and different brain structures.

Personality Traits

Public trust in the police has remained flat for decades, a problem that has become especially salient due to recent events.

Policing and Law Enforcement

A scientific analysis upends the notion that people on the political right are more biased about their ideological views than are people on the left.

Political Differences

Why do we dawdle and delay, even on the most important tasks? Researchers explore the causes and consequences of procrastination.

Procrastination

Plenty of beliefs about human psychology are based on myth masquerading as facts. Psychological scientists have not only exposed the weak evidence for these notions, but can recommend strategies to help us to distinguish true science from bunk.

Pseudoscience

Psychological researchers are examining the complexities of racism and xenophobia at both the interpersonal and societal levels.

Racism and Discrimination

Psychological research explores how we evaluate, perceive, and choose whether to take risks.

Why does self-control fail, and how can we boost it? Researchers explore the mechanisms underlying this important ability and how it develops over time.

Self-Control

The #metoo movement has brought sexual harassment to the center of public consciousness, raising questions about the causes of predatory actions. Psychological research shows how feeling powerful relates to sexually coercive behavior.

Sexual Assault and Harassment

Insufficient sleep has been shown to have adverse effects at work, in driving, and even in court.

From the scent of flowers to the stench of hazardous chemicals, our sense of smell guides us through our environment and significantly influences our emotions, as scientists have discovered.

How does athletic engagement and competition affect our thoughts and behaviors? Learn what psychological science has uncovered.

New discoveries about the ill effects of psychological stress abound, but scientists are also learning about buffers to stress.

Psychological scientists delve into study strategies, math anxiety, reading comprehension, and more.

Studying and Learning

Research from APS on addiction and substance abuse.

Substance Abuse and Addiction

Scientists show how get-aways and enjoyable activities affect our work lives and relationships.

Taking a Break

Psychological research is fostering understanding of the important factors that contribute to effective teaching, from individual instruction to school climate.

The psychological mechanisms that lead us to have faith in certain people and be suspicious of others are vast. Learn what psychological researchers have discovered about interpersonal trust.

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. Read about the steps that psychological scientists are taking to identify and help people at risk of taking their own lives.

Understanding and Preventing Suicide

Psychological science suggests that behavioral 'nudges' which aim to alter individuals' actions rather than their attitudes are essential to promoting vaccination against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccination

The effects of playing video games on well-being seem to depend largely on why and how an individual chooses to partake.

Video Games

The way the brain and the human eye process visual stimuli, including illusions, is a thriving area of psychological science.

Researchers unravel the mystery of voting behavior, including why people vote in seemingly unpredictable or illogical ways.

How does weather, both ordinary and extreme, affect decision-making, behavior, and emotions?

Weather and Behavior

Research in psychological science reveals the causes and consequences of bullying behavior in the office.

Workplace Bullying

When done well, efforts to improve intergroup harmony at work can uplift individuals and lead entire organizations to perform at a higher level.

Workplace Diversity

Privacy overview.

Perspectives on Behavior Science

An Official Journal of the Association for Behavior Analysis International

• Presents articles on theoretical, experimental, and applied topics in behavior analysis.
• Includes literary reviews, re-interpretations of published data, and articles on behaviorism as a philosophy.
• Published quarterly.
• Welcomes diverse content such as reviews of theoretical and experimental topics, applied topics, and allied behavior sciences.
• Timothy Hackenberg

Societies and partnerships

Latest issue

Volume 47, Issue 1

Latest articles

Resurgence and behavioral contrast, compared and contrasted.

• Kennon A. Lattal
• Amanda K. Miles

Recent Developments in RFT Encourage Interbehavioral Field-Based Views of Human Language and Cognition: A Preliminary Analysis

• Colin Harte
• Dermot Barnes-Holmes

Abstinence as Choice: Exploring Voluntary Abstinence from Alcohol Self-Administration Using the Resurgence-as-Choice Framework

• Andrew R. Craig
• Sean W. Smith
• Henry S. Roane

Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Modeling (GLMM) of Functional Analysis Graphical Construction Elements on Visual Analysis

• Kasey Prime
• Corey Peltier

Analyzing the Functional Interdependence of Verbal Behavior with Multiaxial Radar Charts

• Maria Otero
• Alonzo Andrews

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Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and curious readers. Its 465 essays by leading scholars highlight some of the most compelling topics in current scholarship, presented through an interdisciplinary lens. The essays are fully cross-referenced with hyperlinks that illuminate connections between seemingly disparate ideas, promoting interdisciplinary and multi-layered awareness on key topics.

Emerging Trends provides an opportunity for leading scholars to share their expertise, and for readers to understand how groundbreaking ideas will shape the trajectory of research in the coming decades. It focuses the five core social and behavioral science disciplines – Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science – with select entries in Anthropology, Economics, and Education, as well as immigration, technology, and media.


By posting  Emerging Trends online alongside its own website, CASBS has made it openly accessible to any interested reader anywhere in the world. We hope it will be widely explored and used.

Bibliographic Information:

ISBN: 9781118900772

DOI: 10.1002/9781118900772

Publication Date: June 2022

Previous edition published by Wiley Online Library in 2016

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• Perspective
• Published: 20 March 2023

A manifesto for applying behavioural science

• Michael Hallsworth   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7868-4727 1  

Nature Human Behaviour volume  7 ,  pages 310–322 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Human behaviour

Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the use of behavioural science to address the priorities of public and private sector actors. There is now a vibrant ecosystem of practitioners, teams and academics building on each other’s findings across the globe. Their focus on robust evaluation means we know that this work has had an impact on important issues such as antimicrobial resistance, educational attainment and climate change. However, several critiques have also emerged; taken together, they suggest that applied behavioural science needs to evolve further over its next decade. This manifesto for the future of applied behavioural science looks at the challenges facing the field and sets out ten proposals to address them. Meeting these challenges will mean that behavioural science is better equipped to help to build policies, products and services on stronger empirical foundations—and thereby address the world’s crucial challenges.

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There has been “a remarkable increase in behavioural studies and interventions in public policy on a global scale” over the past 15 years 1 . This growth has been built on developments taking place over many preceding decades. One was the increasing empirical evidence of the importance of non-conscious drivers of behaviour. While psychologists have studied these drivers since at least as far back as the work of William James and Wilhelm Wundt in the nineteenth century, they received renewed attention from the research agenda that showed how “heuristics and biases” influence judgement and decision-making 2 . These and other studies led many psychologists to converge on dual-process theories of behaviour that proposed that rapid, intuitive and non-conscious cognitive processes sit alongside deliberative, reflective and self-aware ones 3 .

These theories challenged explanations that foregrounded the role of conscious attitudes, motivations and intentions in determining actions 4 . One result was the creation of the field of behavioural economics, which developed new explanations for why observed behaviour diverged from existing economic models 5 . For example, the concept of “mental accounting” showed how people assign money to certain purposes and—contrary to standard economic theory—are reluctant to repurpose those sums, even when they might benefit from doing so 6 .

Behavioural economics may represent only one strand of applied behavioural science, but it has attracted substantial attention. By the mid-2000s, these advances had an increasingly receptive audience among some governments and policymakers 7 . The publication of the book Nudge in 2008 responded to this demand by using the evidence mentioned earlier to create practical policy solutions (Box 1 ) 8 . Then, in 2010, the UK government set up its Behavioural Insights Team 9 . The creation of the Behavioural Insights Team is notable because it became “a paradigmatic example for the translation of behavioural insights into public policy” that acted as “a blueprint for the establishment of similar units elsewhere” 10 , 11 , 12 . Similar initiatives were adopted by many public sector bodies at the local, national and supra-national levels and by private companies large and small 1 , 11 , 13 , 14 . The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation has labelled this creation of more than 200 dedicated public entities a “paradigm shift” 15 that shows that applied behavioural science has “taken root in many ways across many countries around the world and across a wide range of sectors and policy areas” 16 .

This history is necessarily selective; it does not attempt to cover the full range of work in the behavioural sciences. Rather, my focus is on the main ways that approaches often grouped under the term ‘behavioural insights’ have been applied to practical issues in the public and private sectors over the past 15 years 17 (see Box 1 for definitions of these and other terms). These approaches have been adopted in both developed and developing economies, and their precise forms of implementation have varied from context to context 18 . However, a crucial point to emphasize is that they have gone far beyond the self-imposed limits of nudges, even if that label is still used (often unhelpfully) as a blanket term. Instead, a broader agenda has emerged that explores how behavioural science can be integrated into core public and private sector activities such as regulation, taxation, strategy and operations. This broader agenda is reflected in the creation of research programmes on “behavioural public policy” 19 or “behavioural public administration” 20 .

Proponents of these approaches can point to improved outcomes in many areas, including health 21 , education 22 , sustainability 23 and criminal justice 24 . Yet criticisms have emerged alongside these successes. For example, there is an ongoing debate about how publication bias may have inflated the published effect sizes of nudge interventions 25 , 26 . Other criticisms target the goals, assumptions and techniques associated with recent applications of behavioural science (Box 2 ).

This Perspective attempts to respond to these criticisms by setting out an agenda to ensure that applied behavioural science can fulfil its potential in the coming decades. It does so by offering ten proposals, as summarized in Table 1 . These proposals fall into three categories: scope (the range and scale of issues to which behavioural science is applied), methods (the techniques and resources that behavioural science deploys) and values (the principles, ideals and standards of conduct that behavioural scientists adopt). These proposals are the product of a non-systematic review of relevant literature and my experience of applying behavioural science. They are not an attempt to represent expert consensus; they aim to provoke debate as well as agreement.

Figure 1 shows how each proposal aims to address one or more of the criticisms set out in Box 2 . Figure 1 also indicates how responsibilities for implementing the proposals are allocated among four major groups in the behavioural science ecosystem: practitioners (individuals or teams who apply behavioural science findings in practical settings), the clients who commission these practitioners (for example, public or private sector organizations), academics working in the behavioural sciences (including disciplines such as anthropology, economics and sociology) and funders who support the work of these academics. These groups constitute the ‘we’ referred to in the rest of the paper, which summarizes a full-length, in-depth report available at www.bi.team .

The left side shows common criticisms made of the behavioural insights approach. The middle column presents ten proposals to improve the way behavioural science is applied. These proposals are organized into three categories (scope, methods and values), which are represented by red, blue and yellow, respectively. The arrows from the criticisms to the proposals show which of the latter attempt to address the former. The matrix on the right shows the four main groups involved with implementing the proposals: practitioners, clients, academics and funders. The dots in each column indicate that the relevant group will need to make a substantive contribution to achieving the goals of the proposal in the corresponding row.

Box 1 Glossary of main terms

Behavioural science . In its broadest sense, a discipline that uses scientific methods to generate and test theories that explain and predict the behaviour of individuals, groups and populations. This piece focuses particularly on the implications of dual-process theories of behaviour. Behavioural science is different from ‘the behavioural sciences’, which refers to a broader group of any scientific disciplines that study behaviour.

Behavioural insights . The application of findings from behavioural science to analyse and address practical issues in real-world settings, usually coupled with a rigorous evaluation of the effects of any interventions. In the current piece, this term is used interchangeably with ‘applied behavioural science’.

Behavioural economics . The application of findings from behavioural science to the field of economics to create explanations for economic behaviour that often diverge from the principles of neoclassical economic theory.

Nudge . The design of choices so that non-conscious cognitive processes lead individuals to select the option that leaves them better off, as judged by themselves. Nudges do not involve coercion or any substantial change to economic incentives, leaving people with a meaningful ability to choose a different option from the one that the choice architect intends.

Box 2 Criticisms of the behavioural insights approach

Limited impact . The approach has focused on more tractable and easy-to-measure changes at the expense of bigger impacts; it has just been tinkering around the edges of fundamental problems 29 , 50 , 172 .

Failure to reach scale . The approach promotes a model of experimentation followed by scaling, but it has not paid enough attention to how successful scaling happens—and the fact that it often does not happen 18 .

Mechanistic thinking . The approach has promoted a simple, linear and mechanistic approach to understanding behaviour that ignores second-order effects and spillovers (and employs evaluation methods that assume a move from A to B against a static background) 29 , 62 , 173 .

Flawed evidence base . The replication crisis has challenged the evidence base underpinning the behavioural insights approach, adding to existing concerns such as the duration of its interventions’ effects 79 , 174 .

Lack of precision . The approach lacks the ability to construct precise interventions and establish what works for whom, and when. Instead, it relies either on overgeneral frameworks or on disconnected lists of biases 80 , 92 , 94 .

Overconfidence . The approach can encourage overconfidence and overextrapolation from its evidence base, particularly when testing is not an option 175 .

Control paradigm . The approach is elitist and pays insufficient attention to people’s own goals and strategies; it uses concepts such as irrationality to justify attempts to control the behaviour of individuals, since they lack the means to do so themselves 176 , 177 .

Neglect of the social context . The approach has a limited, overly cognitive and individualistic view of behaviour that neglects the reality that humans are embedded in established societies and practices 125 , 178 , 179 .

Ethical concerns . The behavioural insights approach will face more ethics, transparency and privacy conundrums as it attempts more ambitious and innovative work 143 , 145 , 154 .

Homogeneity of participants and perspectives . The range of participants in behavioural science research has been narrow and unrepresentative 164 ; homogeneity in the locations and personal characteristics of behavioural scientists influences their viewpoints, practices and theories 124 , 166 .

Use behavioural science as a lens

The early phase of the behavioural insights movement was marked by scepticism about whether effects obtained in laboratories would translate to real-world settings 27 . In response, practitioners developed standard approaches that could demonstrate a clear causal link between an intervention and an outcome 28 . In practice, these approaches directed attention towards how the design of specific aspects of a policy, product or service influences discrete behaviours by actors who are considered mostly in isolation 29 .

These standard approaches are strong and have produced valuable results in many contexts around the world 20 , 30 . However, in the aggregate, they have also fostered a perspective centred on the metaphor of behavioural science as a specialist tool. This view mostly limits behavioural science to the role of fixing concrete aspects of predetermined interventions rather than aiding the consideration of broader policy goals 31 .

Over time, this view has created a self-reinforcing perception that only certain kinds of tasks are suitable for behavioural scientists 29 . Opportunities, skills and ambitions have been constricted as a result; a rebalancing is needed. Behavioural science also has much to say about pressing societal issues such as discrimination, pollution and economic mobility and the structures that produce them 32 , 33 . These ambitions have always been present in the behavioural insights movement 34 , but the factors just outlined acted against their being realized more fully 35 .

The first step towards achieving these ambitions is to replace the dominant metaphor of behavioural science as a tool. Instead, behavioural science should be understood as a lens that can be applied to any public or private issue. This change offers several advantages:

A lens metaphor shows that behavioural science can enhance the use of standard policy options (for example, revealing new ways of structuring taxes) rather than just acting as an alternative to them.

A lens metaphor conveys that the uses of behavioural science are not limited to creating new interventions. A behavioural science lens can, for example, help to reassess existing actions and understand how they may have unintended effects. It emphasizes the behavioural diagnosis of a situation or issue rather than pushing too soon to define a precise target outcome and intervention 31 .

Specifying that this lens can be applied to any action conveys the error of separating ‘behavioural’ and ‘non-behavioural’ issues: most of the goals of private and public action depend on certain behaviours happening (or not). Behavioural science should therefore be integrated into an organization’s core activities rather than acting as an optional specialist tool 36 .

It may seem odd to start with a change of metaphor, but the primary problem here is one of perception. Behavioural science itself shows us the power of framing: the metaphors we use shape the way we behave and therefore can be agents of change 37 . Metaphors are particularly important in this case because the task of broadening the use of behavioural science requires making a compelling case to decision makers 38 . The metaphor of behavioural science as a tool has established credibility and acceptance in a defined area; expanding beyond that area is the task for the next decade.

Build behavioural science into organizations

The second proposal is to broaden the scope of how behavioural science is used in organizations. Given that many dedicated behavioural science teams exist worldwide, it is understandable that much attention has been paid to the question of how they should be set up successfully. However, this focus has diverted attention from considering how to use behavioural science to shape organizations themselves 39 . We need to talk less about how to set up a dedicated behavioural science team and more about how behavioural science can be integrated into an organization’s standard processes. For example, as well as trying to ensure that a departmental budget includes provisions for behavioural science, why not use behavioural science to improve the way this budget is created (for example, are managers anchored to outdated spending assumptions) 40 ?

The overriding message here is for greater focus on the organizational changes that indirectly apply or support behavioural science principles, rather than just thinking through how the direct and overt use of behavioural science can be promoted in an organization. One advantage to this approach is that it can help organizations to address problems with scaling interventions 36 . If some of the barriers to scaling concern cognitive biases in organizations, these changes could minimize the effect of such biases 41 . Rather than starting with a behavioural science project and then trying to scale it, we could start by looking at operations at scale and understanding how they can be influenced.

It is useful to understand how this approach maps onto existing debates about how to set up a behavioural function in organizations. Doing so reveals six main scenarios, as shown in Table 2 . In the ‘baseline’ scenario, there is limited awareness of behavioural science in the organization, and its principles are not incorporated into processes. In the ‘nudged organization’, behavioural science awareness is still low, but its principles have been used to redesign processes to create better outcomes for staff or service users. In ‘proactive consultancy’, leaders may have set up a dedicated behavioural team without grafting it onto the organization’s standard processes. This lack of institutional grounding puts the team in a less resilient position, meaning that it must always search for new work. In ‘call for the experts’, an organization has concentrated behavioural expertise, but there are also prompts and resources that allow this expertise to be integrated into business as usual. Expertise is not widespread, but access to it is. Processes stimulate demand for behavioural expertise that the central team can fulfil. In ‘behavioural entrepreneurs’, there is behavioural science capacity distributed throughout the organization, through either direct capacity building or recruitment. The problem is that organizational processes do not support these individual pockets of knowledge. Finally, a ‘behaviourally enabled organization’ is one where there is knowledge of behavioural science diffused throughout the organization, which also has processes that reflect this knowledge and support its deployment.

Most discussions make it seem like the meaningful choice is between the different columns in Table 2 —how to organize dedicated behavioural science resources. Instead, the more important move is from the top row to the bottom row: moving from projects to processes, from commissions to culture. A useful way of thinking about this task is about building or upgrading the “choice infrastructure” of the organization 42 . In other words, we should place greater focus on the institutional conditions and connections that support the direct and indirect ways that behavioural science can infuse organizations.

Working out how best to build the choice infrastructure in organizations should be a major priority for applied behavioural science. Already we can see that some features will be crucial: reducing the costs of experimentation, creating a system that can learn from its actions, and developing new and better ways of using behavioural science principles to analyse the behavioural effects of organizational processes, rules, incentives, metrics and guidelines 36 .

See the system

Many important policy challenges emerge from complex adaptive systems, where change often does not happen in a linear or easily predictable way, and where coherent behaviour can emerge from interactions without top-down direction 43 . There are many examples of such systems in human societies, including cities, markets and political movements 44 . These systems can create “wicked problems”—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—where ideas of success are contested, changes are nonlinear and difficult to model, and policies have unintended consequences 45 .

This reality challenges the dominant behavioural science approach, which usually assumes stability over time, keeps a tight focus on predefined target behaviours and predicts linear effects on the basis of a predetermined theory of change 46 . The result, some argue, is a failure to understand how actors are acting and reacting in a complex system that leads policymakers to conclude they are being irrational—and then actually disrupt the system in misguided attempts to correct perceived biases or inefficiencies 47 , 48 , 49 .

These criticisms may overstate the case, but they point to a way forward. Behavioural science can be improved by using aspects of complexity thinking to offer new, credible and practical ways of addressing major policy issues. The first step is to reject crude distinctions of ‘upstream’ versus ‘downstream’ or the ‘individual frame’ versus the ‘system frame’ 50 . Instead, complex adaptive systems show that higher-level features of a system can actually emerge from the lower-level interactions of actors participating in the system 44 . When they become the governing features of the system, they then shape the lower-level behaviour until some other aspect emerges, and the fluctuations continue. An example might be the way that new coronavirus variants emerged in particular settings and then went on to change the course of the whole pandemic, requiring new overall strategic responses.

In other words, we are dealing with “cross-scale behaviours” 49 . For example, norms, rules, practices and culture itself can emerge from aggregated social interactions; these features then shape cognition and behavioural patterns in turn 51 . Recognizing cross-scale behaviours means that behavioural science could:

Identify “leverage points” where a specific shift in behaviour will produce wider system effects 52 . One option is to identify when and where tipping points are likely to occur in a system and then either nudge them to occur or not, depending on the policy goal 53 . For example, if even a subset of consumers decides to switch to a healthier version of a food product, this can have broader effects on a population’s health through the way the food system responds by restocking and product reformulation 54 .

Model the collective implications of individuals using simple heuristics to navigate a system. For example, new models show how small changes to simple heuristics that guide savings (in this case, how quickly households copy the savings behaviours of neighbours) can lead to the sudden emergence of inequalities in wealth 55 .

Find targeted changes to features of a system that create the conditions for wide-ranging shifts in behaviour to occur. For example, a core driver of social media behaviours is the ease with which information can be shared 46 . Even minor changes to this parameter can drive widespread changes—some have argued that such a change is what created the conditions leading to the Arab Spring, for example 56 .

This approach also suggests that a broader change in perspective is needed. We need to realize the flaws in launching interventions in isolation and then moving on when a narrowly defined goal has been achieved. Instead, we need to see the longer-term impact on a system of a collection of different policies with varying goals 57 . The best approach may be “system stewardship”, which focuses on creating the conditions for behaviours and indirectly steering adaptation towards overall goals 58 .

Of course, not every problem will involve a complex adaptive system; for simple issues, standard approaches to applying behavioural science work well. Behavioural scientists should therefore develop the skills to recognize the type of system that they are facing (see the system) and then choose their approach accordingly. These skills can be developed through agent-based simulations 59 , immersive technologies 60 or just basic checklists 61 .

Put randomized controlled trials in their place

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been a core part of applied behavioural science, and they work well in relatively simple and stable contexts. But they can fare worse in complex adaptive systems, whose many shifting connections can make it difficult to keep a control group isolated and where a narrow focus on predetermined outcomes may neglect others that are important but difficult to predict 43 , 62 .

We can strengthen RCTs to deal better with complexity. We can try to gain a better understanding of the system interactions and anticipate how they may play out, perhaps through “dark logic” exercises that try to trace potential harms rather than just benefits 63 . For example, we might anticipate that sending parents text messages encouraging them to talk to their children about the school science curriculum may achieve this outcome at the expense of other school-supporting behaviours—as turned out to be the case 64 . Engaging the people who will implement and participate in an intervention will be a key part of this effort.

Another option is to set up RCTs to measure diffusion and contagion in networks, either by creating separate online environments or by randomizing real-world clusters, such as separate villages 65 , 66 . Finally, we can build feedback and adaptation into the design of the RCT and the intervention, allowing adjustments to changing conditions 67 , 68 . Options include using two-stage trial protocols 69 , evolutionary RCTs 70 , sequential multiple assignment randomized trials 71 and ‘bandit’ algorithms that identify high-performing interventions and allocate more people to them 72 .

Behavioural science can also be used to enhance alternative ways of measuring impacts—in particular, agent-based modelling, which tries to simulate the interactions between the different actors in a system 73 . The agents in these models are mostly assumed to be operating on rational choice principles 74 , 75 . There is therefore an opportunity to build in more evidence about the drivers of behaviour—for example, habits and social comparisons 49 .

Replication, variation and adaptation

The ‘replication crisis’ of the past decade has seen intense debate and concern about the reliability of behavioural science findings. Poor research practices were a major cause of the replication crisis; the good news is that many have improved as a result 76 , 77 . Now there are sharper incentives to preregister analysis plans, greater expectations that data and code will be freely shared, and wider acceptance of post-publication review of findings 78 .

Behavioural scientists need to secure and build on these advances to move towards a future where appropriately scoped meta-analyses of high-quality studies (including deliberate replications) are used to identify the most reliable interventions, develop an accurate sense of the likely size of their effects and avoid the weaker options. We have a responsibility to discard ideas if solid evidence now shows that they are shaky, and to offer a realistic view of what behavioural science can accomplish 18 .

That responsibility also requires us to have a hard conversation about heterogeneity in results: the complexity of human behaviour creates so much statistical noise that it is often hard to detect consistent signals and patterns 79 . The main drivers of heterogeneity are that contexts influence results and that the effect of an intervention may vary greatly between groups within a population 80 , 81 . For example, choices of how to set up experiments vary greatly between studies and researchers, in ways that often go unnoticed 82 . A recent study ran an experiment to measure the impact of these contextual factors. Participants were randomly allocated to studies designed by different research teams to test the same hypothesis. For four of the five research questions, studies actually produced effects in opposing directions. These “radically dispersed” results indicate that “idiosyncratic choices in stimulus design have a very large effect on observed results” 83 . These factors complicate the idea of replication itself: a ‘failed’ replication may not show that a finding was false but rather show how it exists under some conditions and not others 84 .

These challenges mean that applied behavioural scientists need to set a much higher bar for claiming that an effect holds true across many unspecified settings 85 . There is a growing sense that interventions should be talked about as hypotheses that were true in one place and that may need adapting to be true elsewhere 18 , 86 .

Narrative changes need to be complemented by specific proposals. The first concerns data collection: behavioural scientists should expand studies to include (and thus examine) a wider range of contexts and participants and gather richer data about them. To date, only a small minority of behavioural studies have provided enough information to see how effects vary 87 . Moreover, the gaps in data coverage may result from and create systemic issues in society: certain groups may be excluded or may have their data recorded differently from others 88 . Coordinated multi-site studies will be needed to collect enough data to explore heterogeneity systematically; crowdsourced studies offer particular promise for testing context and methods 83 . Realistically, this work is going to require a major investment in research infrastructure to set up standing panels of participants, coordinate between institutions, and reduce barriers to data collection and transfer 80 . These efforts cannot be limited to just a few countries.

Behavioural scientists also need to get better at judging how strongly an intervention’s results were linked to its context and therefore how much adaptation it needs 81 . We should use and modify frameworks from implementation science to develop such judgement 89 . Finally, we need to codify and cultivate the practical skills that successfully adapt interventions to new contexts; expertise in behavioural science should not be seen as simply knowing about concepts and findings in the abstract. It is therefore particularly valuable to learn from practitioners how they adapted specific interventions to new contexts. These accounts are starting to emerge, but they are still rare 18 , since researchers are incentivized to claim universality for their results rather than report and value contextual details 82 .

Beyond lists of biases

The heterogeneity in behavioural science findings also means that our underlying theories need to improve: we are lacking good explanations for why findings vary so much 84 . This need for better theories can be seen as part of a wider ‘theory crisis’ in psychology, which has thrown up two big concerns for behavioural science 90 , 91 .

The first stems from the fact that theories of behaviour often try to explain phenomena that are complex and wide-ranging 92 . If you are trying to show how emotion and cognition interact (for example), this involves many causes and interactions. Trying to cover this variability can produce descriptions of relationships and definitions of constructs that are abstract and imprecise 85 . The result is theories that are vague and weak, since they can be used to generate many different hypotheses—some of which may actually contradict each other 90 . That makes theories hard to disprove, and so weak theories stumble on, unimproved 93 .

The other concern is that theories can make specific predictions, but they are disconnected from each other—and from a deeper, general framework that can provide broader explanations (such as evolutionary theory) 94 . The main way this issue affects behavioural science is through heuristics and biases. Examples of individual biases are accessible, popular and how many people first encounter behavioural science. These ideas are incredibly useful, but they have often been presented as lists of standalone curiosities in a way that is incoherent, reductive and deadening. Presenting lists of biases does not help us to distinguish or organize them 95 , 96 , 97 . Such lists can also create overconfident thinking that targeting a specific bias (in isolation) will achieve a certain outcome 98 .

Perhaps most importantly, focusing on lists of biases distracts us from answering core underlying questions. When does one or another bias apply? Which are widely applicable, and which are highly specific? How does culture or life experience affect whether a bias influences behaviour or not 99 , 100 ? These are highly practical questions when one is faced with tasks such as taking an intervention to new places.

The concern for behavioural science is that it uses both these high-level frameworks (such as dual-process theories) and jumbled collections of heuristics and biases, with little in the middle to draw both levels together 94 . Recent years have seen valuable advances in connecting and systematizing theories 101 , 102 . At the same time, there are various ongoing attempts to create strong theories: “coherent and useful conceptual frameworks into which existing knowledge can be integrated” 93 (see also refs. 91 , 103 , 104 ). Naturally, such work should continue, but I think that applied behavioural science will benefit particularly from theories that are practical. By this I mean:

They fill the gap between day-to-day working hypotheses and comprehensive and systematic attempts to find universal underlying explanations.

They are based on data rather than being derived from pure theorizing 105 .

They can generate testable hypotheses, so they can be disproved 106 .

They specify the conditions under which a prediction applies or does not 85 .

They are geared towards realistic adaptation by practitioners and offer “actionable steps toward solving a problem that currently exists in a particular context in the real world” 107 .

Resource rationality may be a good example of a practical theory. It starts from the basis that people make rational use of their limited cognitive resources 108 . Given that there is a cost to thinking, people will look for solutions that balance choice quality with effort. Resource rationality can offer a “unifying framework for a wide range of successful models of seemingly unrelated phenomena and cognitive biases” that can be used to build models for how people act 108 .

A recent study has shown how these models not only can predict how people will respond to different kinds of nudges in certain contexts but also can be integrated with machine learning to create an automated method for constructing “optimal nudges” 109 . Such an approach could reveal new kinds of nudges and make creating them much more efficient. More reliable ways of developing personalized nudges are also possible. These are all highly practical benefits coming from applying a particular theory.

Predict and adjust

Hindsight bias is what happens when we feel ‘I knew it all along’, even if we did not 110 . When the results of an experiment come in, hindsight bias may mean that behavioural scientists are more likely to think that they had predicted them or quickly find ways of explaining why they occurred. Hindsight bias is a big problem because it breeds overconfidence, impedes learning, dissuades innovation and prevents us from understanding what is truly unexpected 111 , 112 .

In response, behavioural scientists should establish a standard practice of predicting the results of experiments and then receiving feedback on how their predictions performed. Hindsight bias can flourish if we do not systematically capture expectations or priors about what the results of a study will be 113 . Making predictions provides regular, clear feedback of the kind that is more likely to trigger surprise and reassessment rather than hindsight bias 114 . Establishing the average expert prediction—which may be different from the null hypothesis in an experiment—clearly reveals when results challenge the consensus 115 .

There are existing practices to build on here, such as the practice of preregistering hypotheses and trial protocols and the use of a Bayesian approach to make priors explicit. Indeed, more and more studies are explicitly integrating predictions 116 , 117 . However, barriers lie in the way of further progress. People may not welcome the ensuing challenge to their self-image, predicting may seem like one thing too many on the to-do list, and the benefits lie in the future. Some responses to these challenges are to make predicting easy by incorporating it into standard processes; minimize threats to predictors’ self-image (for example, by making and feeding back predictions anonymously) 118 ; give concrete prompts for learning and reflection, to disrupt the move from surprise to hindsight bias 119 ; and build learning from prediction within and between institutions.

Be humble, explore and enable

This proposal is made up of three connected ideas. First, behavioural scientists need to become more aware of the limits of their knowledge and to avoid fitting behaviours into pre-existing ideas around biases or irrationality. Second, they should broaden the exploratory work they conduct, in terms of gaining new types of qualitative data and recognizing how experiences vary by group and geography. Finally, they should develop new approaches to enable people to apply behavioural science themselves—and adopt new criteria for judging when these approaches are appropriate.

Humility is important because behavioural scientists (like other experts) may overconfidently rely on decontextualized principles that do not match the real-world setting for a behaviour 29 . Deeper inquiry can reveal reasonable explanations for what seem to be behavioural biases 120 . In response, those applying behavioural science should avoid using the term ‘irrationality’, which can limit attempts to understand actions in context; acknowledge that diagnoses of behaviour are provisional and incomplete (epistemic humility) 121 ; and design processes and institutions to counteract overconfidence 122 .

How do we conduct these deeper inquiries? Three areas demand particular focus in the future. First, pay greater attention to people’s goals and strategies and their own interpretations of their beliefs, feelings and behaviours 123 . Second, reach a wider range of experiences, including marginalized voices and communities, understanding how structural inequalities can lead to expectations and experiences varying greatly by group and geography 124 . Third, recognize how apparently universal cognitive processes are shaped by specific contexts, thereby unlocking new ways for behavioural science to engage with values and culture 125 , 126 . For example, one influential view of culture is that it influences action “not by providing the ultimate values toward which action is oriented but by shaping a repertoire or ‘toolkit’ of habits, skills, and styles” 127 . There are similarities here to the heuristics-and-biases toolkit perspective on behaviour: behavioural scientists could start explaining how and when certain parts of the toolkit become more or less salient.

More can and should be done to broaden ownership of behavioural science approaches. Many (but far from all) behavioural science applications have been top-down, with a choice architect enabling certain outcomes 8 , 128 . One route is to enable people to become more involved in designing interventions that affect them—and “nudge plus” 129 , “self-nudges” 130 and “boosts” 131 have been proposed as ways of doing this. Reliable criteria are needed to decide when enabling approaches may be appropriate, including whether the opportunity to use an enabling approach exists; ability and motivation; preferences; learning and setup costs; equity impacts; and effectiveness, recognizing that evidence on this point is still emerging 132 , 133 .

But these new approaches should not be seen simplistically as enabling alternatives to disempowering nudges 134 . Instead, we need to consider how far the person performing the behaviour is involved in shaping the initiative itself, as well as the level and nature of any capacity created by the intervention. People may be heavily engaged in selecting and developing a nudge intervention that nonetheless does not trigger any reflection or build any skills 135 . Alternatively, a policymaker may have paternalistically assumed that people want to build up their capacity to perform an action, when in fact they do not. This is the real choice to be made.

A final piece missing from current thinking is that enabling people can lead to a major decentring of the use of behavioural science. If more people are enabled to use behavioural science, they may decide to introduce interventions that influence others 136 . Rather than just creating self-nudges through altering their immediate environments, they may decide that wider system changes are needed instead. A range of people could be enabled to create nudges that generate positive societal change (with no central actors involved). This points towards a future where policy or product designers act less like (choice) architects and more like facilitators, brokers and partnership builders 137 .

Data science for equity

Recent years have seen growing interest in using new data science techniques to reliably analyse the heterogeneity of large datasets 138 , 139 . Machine learning is claimed to offer more sophisticated, reliable and data-driven ways of detecting meaningful patterns in datasets 140 , 141 . For example, a machine learning approach has been shown to be more effective than conventional segmentation approaches at analysing patterns of US household energy usage to reduce peak consumption 142 .

A popular idea is to use such techniques to better understand what works best for certain groups and thereby tailor an offering to them 143 . Scaling an intervention stops being about a uniform roll-out and instead becomes about presenting recipients with the aspects that are most effective for them 144 .

This vision is often presented as straightforward and obviously desirable, but it runs almost immediately into ethical quandaries and value judgements. People are unlikely to know what data have been used to target them and how; the specificity of the data involved may make manipulation more likely, since it may exploit sensitive personal vulnerabilities; and expectations of universality and non-discrimination in public services may be violated 143 , 145 .

Closely related to manipulation concerns is the fear that data science will open up new opportunities to exploit, rather than to help, the vulnerable 146 . One aspect is algorithmic bias. Models using data that reflect historical patterns of discrimination can produce results that reinforce these outcomes 147 . Since disadvantaged groups are more likely to be subject to the decisions of algorithms, there is a particular risk that inequalities will be perpetuated—although some studies argue that algorithms are actually less likely to be biased than human judgement 148 , 149 .

There is also emerging evidence that people often object to personalization. While they support some personalized services, they consistently oppose advertising that is customized on the basis of sensitive information—and they are generally against the collection of the information that personalization relies on 150 . To navigate this landscape, behavioural scientists need to examine four factors:

Who does the personalization target, and using what criteria? Many places have laws or norms to ensure equal treatment based on personal characteristics. When does personalization violate those principles?

How is the intervention constructed? To what extent do the recipients have awareness of the personalization, choice over whether it occurs, control over its level or nature, and the opportunity to give feedback on it 151 ?

When is it directed? Is it at a time when the participant is vulnerable? Would they probably regret it later, if they had time to reflect?

Why is personalization happening? Does it aim to exploit and harm or to support and protect, recognizing that those terms are often contested?

Taking these factors into account, I propose that the main opportunity is for data science to identify the ways in which an intervention or situation appears to increase inequalities, and reduce them 152 . For example, groups that are particularly likely to miss a filing requirement could be offered pre-emptive help. Algorithms can be used to better explain the causes of increased knee pain experienced in disadvantaged communities, thereby giving physicians better information to act on 153 .

I call this idea data science for equity. It addresses the ‘why’ factor by using data science to support, not exploit. ‘Data science for equity’ may seem like a platitude, but it is a very real choice: the combination of behavioural and data science is powerful and has been used to create harm in the past. Moreover, it needs to be complemented by attempts to increase agency (the ‘how’ factors), as in a recent study that showed how boosts can be used to help people to detect micro-targeting of advertising 154 , and studies that obtain more data on which uses of personalization people find acceptable.

No “view from nowhere”

The final proposal is one of the most wide-ranging, challenging and important. For the philosopher Thomas Nagel, the “view from nowhere” was an objective stance that allowed us to “transcend our particular viewpoint” 155 . Taking such a stance may not be possible for behavioural scientists. We bring certain assumptions and ways of seeing to what we do; we are always situated in, embedded in and entangled with ideas and situations 124 . We cannot assume that there is some set-aside position from which to observe the behaviour of others; no objective observation deck outside society exists 156 .

Behavioural scientists are defined by having knowledge, skills and education; many of them can use these resources to shape public and private actions. They are therefore in a privileged position, but they may not see the extent to which they hold elite positions that stop them from understanding people who think differently (for example, those who are sceptical of education) 157 . The danger is that elites place their group values and preferences on others, while thinking that they are adopting a view from nowhere 158 , 159 . This does not mean that they can never act or opine, but rather that they need to carefully understand their own positionality and those of others before doing so.

There have been repeated concerns that the field is still highly homogeneous in other ways as well. Gender, race, physical abilities, sexuality and geography also influence the viewpoints, practices and theories of behavioural scientists 160 , 161 . Only a quarter of the behavioural insights teams catalogued in a 2020 survey were based in the Global South 162 . An over-reliance on using English in cognitive science has led to the impact of language on thought being underestimated 163 . The past decade has shown how behaviours can vary greatly from culture to culture, even as psychology has tended to generalize from relatively small and unrepresentative samples 164 . Behavioural science studies often present data from Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic samples as more generalizable to humans as a whole 165 . So, rather than claiming that science is value-free, we need to find realistic ways of acknowledging and improving this reality 166 .

A starting point is for behavioural scientists to cultivate self-scrutiny by querying how their identities and experiences contribute to their stance on a topic. Hypothesis generation could particularly benefit from this exercise, since arguably it is closely informed by the researcher’s personal priorities and preferences 167 . Behavioural scientists could be actively reflecting on interventions in progress, including what factors are contributing to power dynamics 168 . Self-scrutiny may not be enough. We should also find more ways for people to judge researchers and decide whether they want to participate in research—going beyond consent forms. If they do participate, there are many opportunities to combine behavioural science with co-design 128 .

Finally, we should take actions to increase diversity (of several kinds) among behavioural scientists, teams, collaborations and institutions. Doing this requires addressing barriers such as the lack of professional networks connecting the Global North and Global South, and the time needed to build understanding of the tactics required to write successful grant applications from funders 169 . In many countries, much more could be done to increase the ethnic and racial diversity of the behavioural science field—for example, through support for starting and completing PhDs or through reducing the substantial racial gaps present in much public funding of research 170 , 171 .

Applied behavioural science has seen rapid growth and meaningful achievements over the past decade. Although the popularity of nudging provided its initial impetus, an ambition soon formed to apply a broader range of techniques to a wider range of goals. However, a set of credible critiques have emerged as levels of activity have grown. As Fig. 1 indicates, there are proposals that can address these critiques (and progress is already being made on some of them). When considered together, these proposals present a coherent vision for the scope, methods and values of applied behavioural science.

This vision is not limited to technical enhancements for the field; it also covers questions of epistemology, identity, politics and praxis. A common theme throughout the ten proposals is the need for self-reflective practice that is aware of how its knowledge and approaches have originated and how they are situated. In other words, a main priority for behavioural scientists is to recognize the various ways that their own behaviour is being shaped by structural, institutional, environmental and cognitive factors.

Realizing these proposals will require sustained work and experiencing the discomfort of disrupting what may have become familiar and comfortable practices. That is a particular problem because incentives for change are often weak or absent. Improving applied behavioural science has some characteristics of a social dilemma: the benefits are diffused across the field as a whole, while the costs fall on any individual party who chooses to act (or act first). Practitioners are often in competition. Academics often want to establish a distinctive research agenda. Commissioners are often rewarded for risk aversion. Impaired coordination is particularly problematic because coordination forms the basis for several necessary actions, such as the multi-site studies to measure heterogeneity.

Solving these problems will be hard. Funders need to find mechanisms that adequately reward coordination and collaboration by recognizing the true costs involved. Practitioners need to perceive the competitive advantages of adopting new practices and be able to communicate them to clients. Clients themselves need to have a realistic sense of what can be achieved but still be motivated to commit resources. Stepping back, the starting point for addressing these barriers needs to be a change in the narrative about what the field does and could do—a new set of ambitions to aim for. This manifesto aims to help to shape such a narrative.

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IJzerman, H. et al. Use caution when applying behavioural science to policy. Nat. Hum. Behav. 4 , 1092–1094 (2020).

Grüne-Yanoff, T. Old wine in new casks: libertarian paternalism still violates liberal principles. Soc. Choice Welf. 38 , 635–645 (2012).

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Acknowledgements

I thank L. Tublin for her editorial support. I also thank S. Banerjee, E. Berkman, A. Buttenheim, F. Callaway, J. Collins, J. Doctor, A. Gyani, D. Halpern, P. John, T. Marteau, M. Muthukrishna, D. Perera, D. Perrott, K. Ruggeri, R. Schmidt, D. Soman, H. Strassheim, C. Sunstein and members of the Behavioural Insights Team for their feedback on previous drafts.

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Hallsworth, M. A manifesto for applying behavioural science. Nat Hum Behav 7 , 310–322 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01555-3

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Behavioural and social science research opportunities

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Incorporating behavioural insights into health policies, interventions and systems has helped reduce injury-related mortality, improve adherence to medications and reduce tobacco use. 1 Nevertheless, health practitioners and policy-makers sometimes overlook behaviourally informed and focused approaches. For instance, early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention efforts in the United States of America relied on best-case modelling scenarios, which assumed widespread adoption of preventive behaviours like face-mask use. Despite compulsory face-mask mandates, behavioural adoption was slow; once vaccines were available, officials then focused on vaccine uptake. Adequate vaccine uptake, in turn, depends on incorporating behavioural insights to address vaccine hesitancy. Indeed, vaccine administration, and not vaccines alone, is needed to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Voluntary vaccine uptake requires creating an enabling environment based on trust, working with social influencers and respected opinion leaders to model vaccine uptake, and providing appropriate motivation such as vaccine passports that facilitate travel, among other actions. While incorporation of behavioural insights into health policies, interventions and systems is gaining momentum, challenges remain. Here we describe three challenges in behavioural and social science research that hamper the integration of behavioural insights and we highlight opportunities for addressing them.

Methodological challenges

Social and behavioural issues are complex and adaptive, and fully understanding their impact requires the use of similarly dynamic, multidimensional approaches. For example, random assignment is a unique challenge for social behaviour change trials, particularly for national media-based interventions where random assignment to intervention arms is infeasible. This difficulty leads researchers to turn to more complex study designs and statistical approaches to provide unbiased estimates of treatment effects. 2 However, such approaches are resource-intensive, and ensuring their appropriate interpretation down the research pipeline can be challenging.

Behavioural science researchers also face the challenge of measuring key psychosocial, contextual and structural factors that influence health. While progress has been made, existing measures of these factors require constant adaptation and refinement based on context. Furthermore, many health behaviour measures are self-reported and subject to social desirability and recall biases. List experimentation techniques and negatively framed questions in one recent population-based survey, for example, were shown to significantly reduce self-reported compliance with recommended public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3 Where possible, behavioural studies should integrate additional, more objective indicators (for example biomarkers, attendance records and health clinic registers) and apply techniques to minimize bias in self-reported data, such as self-interviewing and unmatched counting. Similarly, indicators used to assess social behaviour change programme coverage and impact, such as number of media communications received and condom use at last sex, are often unstable, that is, subject to change easily with small environmental adjustments or bias. Recognizing these indicators’ weaknesses can ensure appropriate interpretation of results and the potential development of more stable measures. Elicitation techniques like media recall items, where survey respondents are asked to finish a slogan from a mass media communication, are more nuanced measures for appraising social behaviour change communication intervention coverage. Assessing programme impact is further complicated by the scarcity of modelling studies linking social behaviour change interventions with impact measures such as number of deaths averted. Modelling can provide important information related to the population-level impact of behaviourally informed or focused investments to ensure equitable resource allocation and support advocacy efforts.

Despite these challenges, rigorous behavioural research and evaluations in non-controlled settings are ongoing. Ecological momentary assessments have shown promise for capturing psychosocial, behavioural and intervention outcomes using real-time data capture. 4 Natural experiments have provided causal evidence around the impact of mass media interventions on fertility. 5 Experimental research in mass media and communications has identified intervention effects by comparing outcomes among listener groups who received targeted social and behaviour mass media campaigns, compared to controls who received typical mass media messages. 6 , 7 Donors and peer-reviewed journals should support the use and development of these and other promising new methods for data analysis through funding and publication opportunities, even in cases of null findings.

Limited data availability and use

The integration of behavioural insights into interventions and health policies has been hampered by a lack of data availability and use. Many behavioural science studies are not designed nor used to their maximum potential. Full descriptions of interventions, curriculums or protocols are typically not readily available for replication, thereby reducing opportunities for standardization across programmes and contexts. Similarly, no systematic reporting of costing or cost–effectiveness data exists, preventing cost comparisons and complicating the ability to determine scale-up or replication costs. Limited availability and use of data are also a barrier to determining and analysing opportunities for improved impact in cases where an intervention did not achieve intended results.

While qualitative and quantitative data from behavioural science studies could be used to conduct secondary analyses, these analyses are rare because such data are not openly shared. Oftentimes, systems are not in place to share data with interested stakeholders and researchers in a way that protects the anonymity of research participants. However, making data available is critical for transparency and accountability. Furthermore, widely accessible data can enable local researchers to include indigenous perspectives in addressing local concerns and providing opportunities for knowledge sharing and strengthened data analysis skills, as well as enhancing the presentation and utilization of evidence. In this area, international donors can have an important impact by requiring researchers to make protocols, data collection instruments and de-identified data (that is, that cannot be traced to the study participant) publicly available in a timely manner. Donors can also invest in online data-sharing platforms that outlive project lifecycles. Additionally, international donors and multilateral organizations should encourage research collaboration with local researchers and fund local data analysis and capacity-strengthening activities.

Researchers, policy-makers and practitioners are often unable to cite evidence-based strategies promoting behaviour change and leading to improved health outcomes. Part of the challenge rests with researchers’ tendency to seek simple intervention main effects when the more informative analytical approach would be to identify factors in the pathway between behavioural approaches and health outcomes. In other words, evaluations tend to ask whether interventions achieve desired outcomes, without focusing on explaining why and how these interventions work or not. Additionally, interventions do not affect everyone uniformly; rather, some people are affected under some conditions but not others. Therefore, the contextual factors affecting the intervention’s impact must also be considered. Furthermore, researchers do not typically unpack the contribution of each behavioural strategy employed in multicomponent interventions to measured health outcomes. A recent analysis of behavioural interventions in family planning, for example, aggregated multicomponent interventions into a packages category and estimated their effects on modern contraceptive uptake, since the aggregated studies were not designed to provide individual component effects. 8 To build a strong evidence base and develop strategies for translating behavioural insights across contexts, studies guided by theories of change that examine psychosocial pathways and moderators are key to building the evidence base and strategies for translating behavioural insights across contexts. Funders should prioritize these types of studies.

While the number of high-quality evaluations testing behavioural pathways has grown in the last decade, their dissemination in practitioner and policy-maker circles remains limited. Delegates attending the first International Social and Behaviour Change Communication Summit in Addis Ababa (2016) reached similar conclusions. 9 Furthermore, a stakeholder analysis to inform this field for adolescent sexual and reproductive health programmes highlights that practitioners experience challenges integrating science into practice and that general guidance, tools and strategy standardization are needed. 10 Thus, enhanced research utilization efforts are needed.

The High Impact Practices in Family Planning, an authoritative evidence synthesis, summarize some of the social and behaviour change literature in succinct briefs, using nontechnical language, for decision-makers and implementers. 11 However, the High-Impact Practices Technical Advisory Group has recognized that the current briefs, focused on channels of communication, are too broad to inform family planning investments. Thus, new high impact practices briefs are being developed with evidence syntheses on strategies for advancing intermediate outcomes, such as couples communication, social norms, beliefs and attitudes associated with various family planning outcomes (for example, achieving fertility intentions, full and informed method choice and modern contraceptive uptake). Another example focusing on analysing pathways to change is the work completed under the ACCELERATE project, which identified priority behaviours (or intermediate outcomes) in the pathway leading to ultimate desired health outcomes in maternal and child health. The ThinkBig website, initially developed by ACCELERATE, offers numerous resources for practitioners to integrate behavioural insights into public health programmes. 12 The High Impact Practices and ACCELERATE are examples of strategies to facilitate behavioural insights integration and knowledge utilization, by synthesizing evidence using accessible language that explains complex behavioural pathways. Practitioners and policy-makers should use these and similar tools to integrate behavioural and social science evidence into public health policies and programmes. Donors should prioritize investments to help translate behavioural and social science evidence into practice by integrating research utilization into programme and research design.

Acknowledgements

We thank Rajiv Rimal and Victor Orozco.

Competing interests:

None declared.

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50+ Research Topics for Psychology Papers

How to Find Psychology Research Topics for Your Student Paper

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

• Specific Branches of Psychology
• Topics Involving a Disorder or Type of Therapy
• Human Cognition
• Human Development
• Critique of Publications
• Famous Experiments
• Historical Figures
• Specific Careers
• Case Studies
• Literature Reviews
• Your Own Study/Experiment

Are you searching for a great topic for your psychology paper ? Sometimes it seems like coming up with topics of psychology research is more challenging than the actual research and writing. Fortunately, there are plenty of great places to find inspiration and the following list contains just a few ideas to help get you started.

Finding a solid topic is one of the most important steps when writing any type of paper. It can be particularly important when you are writing a psychology research paper or essay. Psychology is such a broad topic, so you want to find a topic that allows you to adequately cover the subject without becoming overwhelmed with information.

I can always tell when a student really cares about the topic they chose; it comes through in the writing. My advice is to choose a topic that genuinely interests you, so you’ll be more motivated to do thorough research.

In some cases, such as in a general psychology class, you might have the option to select any topic from within psychology's broad reach. Other instances, such as in an  abnormal psychology  course, might require you to write your paper on a specific subject such as a psychological disorder.

As you begin your search for a topic for your psychology paper, it is first important to consider the guidelines established by your instructor.

Research Topics Within Specific Branches of Psychology

The key to selecting a good topic for your psychology paper is to select something that is narrow enough to allow you to really focus on the subject, but not so narrow that it is difficult to find sources or information to write about.

One approach is to narrow your focus down to a subject within a specific branch of psychology. For example, you might start by deciding that you want to write a paper on some sort of social psychology topic. Next, you might narrow your focus down to how persuasion can be used to influence behavior .

Other social psychology topics you might consider include:

• Prejudice and discrimination (i.e., homophobia, sexism, racism)
• Social cognition
• Person perception
• Social control and cults
• Persuasion, propaganda, and marketing
• Attraction, romance, and love
• Nonverbal communication
• Prosocial behavior

Psychology Research Topics Involving a Disorder or Type of Therapy

Exploring a psychological disorder or a specific treatment modality can also be a good topic for a psychology paper. Some potential abnormal psychology topics include specific psychological disorders or particular treatment modalities, including:

• Eating disorders
• Borderline personality disorder
• Seasonal affective disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Antisocial personality disorder
• Profile a  type of therapy  (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, psychoanalytic therapy)

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Human Cognition

Some of the possible topics you might explore in this area include thinking, language, intelligence, and decision-making. Other ideas might include:

• False memories
• Speech disorders
• Problem-solving

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Human Development

In this area, you might opt to focus on issues pertinent to  early childhood  such as language development, social learning, or childhood attachment or you might instead opt to concentrate on issues that affect older adults such as dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

Some other topics you might consider include:

• Language acquisition
• Media violence and children
• Learning disabilities
• Gender roles
• Child abuse
• Prenatal development
• Parenting styles
• Aspects of the aging process

Do a Critique of Publications Involving Psychology Research Topics

One option is to consider writing a critique paper of a published psychology book or academic journal article. For example, you might write a critical analysis of Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams or you might evaluate a more recent book such as Philip Zimbardo's  The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil .

Professional and academic journals are also great places to find materials for a critique paper. Browse through the collection at your university library to find titles devoted to the subject that you are most interested in, then look through recent articles until you find one that grabs your attention.

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Famous Experiments

There have been many fascinating and groundbreaking experiments throughout the history of psychology, providing ample material for students looking for an interesting term paper topic. In your paper, you might choose to summarize the experiment, analyze the ethics of the research, or evaluate the implications of the study. Possible experiments that you might consider include:

• The Milgram Obedience Experiment
• The Stanford Prison Experiment
• The Little Albert Experiment
• Pavlov's Conditioning Experiments
• The Asch Conformity Experiment
• Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments

Topics of Psychology Research About Historical Figures

One of the simplest ways to find a great topic is to choose an interesting person in the  history of psychology  and write a paper about them. Your paper might focus on many different elements of the individual's life, such as their biography, professional history, theories, or influence on psychology.

While this type of paper may be historical in nature, there is no need for this assignment to be dry or boring. Psychology is full of fascinating figures rife with intriguing stories and anecdotes. Consider such famous individuals as Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, Harry Harlow, or one of the many other  eminent psychologists .

Psychology Research Topics About a Specific Career

​Another possible topic, depending on the course in which you are enrolled, is to write about specific career paths within the  field of psychology . This type of paper is especially appropriate if you are exploring different subtopics or considering which area interests you the most.

In your paper, you might opt to explore the typical duties of a psychologist, how much people working in these fields typically earn, and the different employment options that are available.

Topics of Psychology Research Involving Case Studies

One potentially interesting idea is to write a  psychology case study  of a particular individual or group of people. In this type of paper, you will provide an in-depth analysis of your subject, including a thorough biography.

Generally, you will also assess the person, often using a major psychological theory such as  Piaget's stages of cognitive development  or  Erikson's eight-stage theory of human development . It is also important to note that your paper doesn't necessarily have to be about someone you know personally.

In fact, many professors encourage students to write case studies on historical figures or fictional characters from books, television programs, or films.

Psychology Research Topics Involving Literature Reviews

Another possibility that would work well for a number of psychology courses is to do a literature review of a specific topic within psychology. A literature review involves finding a variety of sources on a particular subject, then summarizing and reporting on what these sources have to say about the topic.

Literature reviews are generally found in the  introduction  of journal articles and other  psychology papers , but this type of analysis also works well for a full-scale psychology term paper.

Topics of Psychology Research Based on Your Own Study or Experiment

Many psychology courses require students to design an actual psychological study or perform some type of experiment. In some cases, students simply devise the study and then imagine the possible results that might occur. In other situations, you may actually have the opportunity to collect data, analyze your findings, and write up your results.

Finding a topic for your study can be difficult, but there are plenty of great ways to come up with intriguing ideas. Start by considering your own interests as well as subjects you have studied in the past.

Online sources, newspaper articles, books , journal articles, and even your own class textbook are all great places to start searching for topics for your experiments and psychology term papers. Before you begin, learn more about  how to conduct a psychology experiment .

What This Means For You

After looking at this brief list of possible topics for psychology papers, it is easy to see that psychology is a very broad and diverse subject. While this variety makes it possible to find a topic that really catches your interest, it can sometimes make it very difficult for some students to select a good topic.

If you are still stumped by your assignment, ask your instructor for suggestions and consider a few from this list for inspiration.

• Hockenbury, SE & Nolan, SA. Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers; 2014.
• Santrock, JW. A Topical Approach to Lifespan Development. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2016.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction Preface

How science has revolutionized the understanding of drug addiction.

For much of the past century, scientists studying drugs and drug use labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When scientists began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people with an addiction were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower. Those views shaped society’s responses to drug use, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on punishment rather than prevention and treatment.

Today, thanks to science, our views and our responses to addiction and the broader spectrum of substance use disorders have changed dramatically. Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of compulsive drug use, enabling us to respond effectively to the problem.

As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a medical disorder that affects the brain and changes behavior. We have identified many of the biological and environmental risk factors and are beginning to search for the genetic variations that contribute to the development and progression of the disorder. Scientists use this knowledge to develop effective prevention and treatment approaches that reduce the toll drug use takes on individuals, families, and communities.

Despite these advances, we still do not fully understand why some people develop an addiction to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug use. This booklet aims to fill that knowledge gap by providing scientific information about the disorder of drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug use and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat substance use disorders.

At the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), we believe that increased understanding of the basics of addiction will empower people to make informed choices in their own lives, adopt science-based policies and programs that reduce drug use and addiction in their communities, and support scientific research that improves the Nation’s well-being.

Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Director National Institute on Drug Abuse

Professor Karl Hill receives 2024 SPR International Collaborative Prevention Research Award

CU Boulder Professor and Institute of Behavioral Science Faculty Research Fellow, Karl Hill, has received the 2024 International Collaborative Prevention Research Award from the Society of Prevention Research (SPR). This award is presented to an individual or team of individuals for contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of international collaboration.

Karl G. Hill

Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU Boulder Faculty, Research Fellow at the Institute of Behavioral Science

I’m excited about this award because, while the U.S. has a more extensive prevention science network, Europe and beyond are ahead of us in critical areas we need to work on: cultural sensitivity, adaptation, and building a prevention infrastructure. The more we can get our different worlds connecting the more we learn from each other! 

Hill is the current director of the Prevention Science Program at IBS, Co-Principal Investigator of the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development registry, and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. Spanning over 30 years, Hill’s career has centered on understanding two pivotal questions: what are optimal family, peer, school and community environments that encourage healthy youth and adult development? And how do we work with communities to make this happen?

Hill will be presented with his award at the Annual Awards Presentation on Thursday, May 30 at the 32nd SPR Annual Meeting held in Washington, DC. The Annual SPR Meeting is the premiere conference for prevention science professionals. Hill and the Blueprints team received an Abstract of Distinction Award at the 30th Annual SPR Meeting in 2022 for their symposium, “ Common Flaws in Designing and Analyzing Preventive Interventions and How to Avoid Them “.

Hill will be participating in two presentations at the SPR Meeting. Below is a list of all presentations featuring CU Boulder: 

How Can Clearinghouses Help the Field Re-Envision, Re-Tool and Improve upon the Measurement Tools, Methodologies, and Dissemination Processes of Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions to Promote Equitable Health for Children, Families and Communities?

Featuring: Pamela Buckley, Christine Steeger, Karl Hill, Abby Fagan, Frances Gardner, and Velma McBride Murry

Designing and Implementing Randomized Controlled Trials of Preventive Interventions for Youth within Diverse Communities and Systems

Featuring: Christine Steeger, Karl Hill, Katie Massey Combs, and Pamela Buckley

Adaptations and Lessons Learned Implementing Communities That Care across Two Urban Locations

Featuring: Beverly Kingston, David Bechhoefer and Troy Grimes

Racial and Ethnic Representation in Preventive Intervention Research: A Methodological Study

Featuring: Charleen Gust

SPR Standards of Evidence III Task Force

Featuring: Pamela Buckley

War magnifies politicians’ gendered behavior, public biases, research finds

Women’s participation in politics is essential to advancing women’s rights and contributes to countries’ overall stability and economic prosperity. According to a 2023 report by UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union , one-fourth of parliamentary positions worldwide are held by women. Although current representation is still far from equal, it represents a significant increase over the last 20 years .

However, a new paper from Washington University in St. Louis — published in the journal International Organization — shows that the progress women have made in politics is threatened when conflict strikes.

A team of WashU researchers led by Margit Tavits, the Dr. William Taussig Professor in Arts & Sciences, conducted an analysis of Ukrainian politicians’ engagement on social media in the months leading up to and after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine — a rare opportunity to observe the effect conflict has on politicians’ behavior in real time.

Their research provides evidence that violent conflict pushes politicians to conform more strongly with traditional gender stereotypes, so that men become more politically engaged than women, and politicians gravitate toward their respective gendered communication styles and issue spaces. They also show that gender biases among the public are magnified during war.

“Our findings suggest that women leaders’ voices may be drowned out by their male counterparts during conflict, which is troubling,” Tavits said. “We know that who engages, and how, in response to conflict can have significant consequences for how the conflict unfolds, how long it lasts, whose concerns are heard and represented and so on.”

About the research

Tavits, along with WashU political science graduate students Taylor J. Damann and Dahjin Kim, analyzed more than 136,000 Facebook posts made by 469 politicians over a seven-month period to study the effect that conflict had on politicians’ public engagement. Although the data were limited to a specific type of behavior — politicians’ engagement with the public on social media — the researchers said this allowed them to observe how each politician engaged with the public on a daily basis.  

Prior to the invasion, men and women Ukrainian politicians had similar levels of engagement on social media, the analysis showed. Although both increased their level of public engagement on social media with the onset of the conflict, women’s engagement did not increase as much as men’s. On average, men politicians were publishing one-half of a post more per day than women politicians in the early days of the conflict.  

It wasn’t just the quantity of posts that differed; the content was also different. The analysis showed women politicians were more likely to take on a more nurturing role, display positive sentiment in their messages and focus on traditionally feminine topics, while men politicians discussed the security issues more directly and depicted themselves as strong, protective leaders.  

Finally, the analysis showed that the public’s reaction to these posts changed, too. Prior to the invasion, social media posts made by men and women politicians received about the same number of reactions from voters. Once the conflict began, though, social media posts made by men politicians received significantly more engagement from the public — a measure researchers say reflects increased gender biases among the public.

“There’s a strong association between masculinity and combat,” Tavits said. “Combat and external threats are traditionally seen as ‘men’s issues.’ During times of crisis, individuals are more likely to prefer men — who are expected to be aggressive and decisive — in leadership roles. Meanwhile, women are expected to be affectionate and nurturing and are believed to be better suited for communal caregiving tasks.

According to the researchers, these stereotypes lead to biased expectations and preferences among the public, which may further motivate politicians’ gendered behavior.

“It’s not surprising to see individuals gravitating toward male leaders and politicians ‘playing the part’ in response. What is surprising, though, is how quickly we see this change occur in response to the attack,” Tavits said. “The gendered effects of the conflict occurred almost instantaneously, both among the public and politicians.”  

Women’s voices are needed

Women’s voices are always needed in politics, but that is especially true in times of war, Tavits said.

“Our research shows women do engage with their publics during war, only with a different style and about different topics than men,” she said.   

“Women politicians’ version of engagement, such as compassionately recognizing the human cost of conflict, is an important part of successful crisis management. And previous research has shown that women’s leadership in post-conflict recovery decreases violence and helps usher postwar reconstruction.

We need to amplify women’s voices, not silence them. Margit Tavits

Recognizing that gendered biases may increase during times of conflict is an important first step. Beyond awareness, there also are practical steps that could help achieve or maintain gender equality in wartime, the authors said.  

“It might help to encourage women politicians to continue engaging with the public during war. Overall, providing training and support for women politicians to navigate the challenges of conflict and raising public awareness of the importance of women’s leadership in times of crisis may prevent reversals in trends toward gender equality that accompany war,” the researchers wrote.

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Researchers have located the brain network responsible for stuttering

An international research group led by researchers from the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland has succeeded in identifying the probable origin of stuttering in the brain.

Stuttering is a speech rhythm disorder characterised by involuntary repetitions, prolongations or pauses in speech that prevent typical speech production. Approximately 5-10% of young children stutter, and an estimated 1% continue to stutter into adulthood. A severe stutter can have a profound negative impact on the life of the individual affected.

"Stuttering was once considered a psychological disorder. However, with further research, it is now understood to be a brain disorder related to the regulation of speech production," says Professor of Neurology Juho Joutsa from the University of Turku.

Stuttering may also be acquired as a result of certain neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease or a stroke. However, the neurobiological mechanisms of stuttering are not yet fully understood, and where it originates in the brain remains uncertain. The findings from brain imaging studies are partly contradictory, and it is challenging to determine which changes are the root cause of stuttering and which are merely associated phenomena.

Stuttering localised in the same brain network regardless of its cause

Researchers from Finland, New Zealand, the United States and Canada developed a new research design that could provide a solution to this problem. The study included individuals who had suffered a stroke, some of whom developed a stutter immediately after it. The researchers discovered that although the strokes were located in different parts of the brain, they all localised to the same brain network, unlike the strokes that did not cause stuttering.

In addition to people who had suffered a stroke, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 20 individuals with developmental stuttering. In these individuals, the stuttering was associated with structural changes in the nodes of the brain network originally identified in relation to causal stroke lesions -- the greater the changes, the more severe the stuttering. This finding suggests that stuttering is caused by a common brain network, regardless of the aetiology (developmental or neurological).

The key nodes of the network identified by the researchers were putamen, amygdala and claustrum located deep within the brain, and the connections between them.

"These findings explain well-known features of stuttering, such as the motor difficulties in speech production and the significant variability in stuttering severity across emotional states. As major nuclei in the brain, the putamen regulates motor function and the amygdala regulates emotions. The claustrum, in turn, acts as a node for several brain networks and relays information between them," explains Joutsa.

The results of the study provide a unique insight into the neurobiological basis of stuttering. Locating stuttering in the brain opens up new possibilities for medical treatment. Researchers hope that in the future, stuttering could be effectively treated, for example, with brain stimulation that can be targeted specifically to the now identified brain network.

• Brain Tumor
• Nervous System
• Psychology Research
• Medical Devices
• Language Acquisition
• Brain Injury
• Child Development
• Brain-Computer Interfaces
• Positron emission tomography
• Child prodigy
• Brain damage
• Vaccination
• Psycholinguistics

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Turku . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal References :

• Catherine Theys, Elina Jaakkola, Tracy R Melzer, Luc F De Nil, Frank H Guenther, Alexander L Cohen, Michael D Fox, Juho Joutsa. Localization of stuttering based on causal brain lesions . Brain , 2024; DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae059

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