Behavior Change for Good Initiative

Next Monday: UChicago economist John List joins us to discuss how field experiments are shaping high-stakes legal decisions, drawing on his experience as an expert witness.

📅 Mon, March 16 | 12PM
📍 Huntsman Hall, 8th Floor

Team scientist podcast roundup:

Greg Walton on @hiddenbrain.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4rQeClS

@zekeemanuel.bsky.social on @freakonomics.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4tLu0Ss

Leslie John on @hiddenbrain.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4qD5U9t

Learn more about Neil Lewis Jr., a Professor of Communication, Medicine, and Public Policy at Cornell and Team Scientist whose work explores the ways social interventions and policies shape motivational processes, behavior, and equitable outcomes.

Visit his website:
https://neillewisjr.com/

🚨New Book Alert: Revealing by Team Scientist Leslie John🚨

Leslie John examines how sharing more about yourself can deepen relationships and improve well-being.

https://bit.ly/4aslfDK

Does One Size Fit All for Behavioral Interventions? Large field experiments show how past uptake of an encouraged behavior can determine which nudges have the best chance at success

Does one size fit all for behavioral interventions?

Read about BCFG’s new research in our February newsletter: bcfg.substack.com/p/does-one-s...

‼️Event Alert‼️ Join us for a special seminar by UChicago economist John List.

📅 Mon, March 16 | 12PM
📍 Huntsman Hall, 8th Floor

He will discuss how field experiments are shaping high-stakes legal decisions, drawing on his experience as an expert witness.

Post-Doctoral opportunity in Team Scientist @susanathey.bsky.social's lab at Stanford:

The Golub Capital Social Impact Lab is hiring for two AI-focused postdoc positions—one on applied AI in education & workforce, the other on AI methods for causal inference.

www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-rese...

Dr. Emily Oster on science communication: Make your audience feel smart - Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) CHIBE and the Behavior Change for Good Initiative recently co-hosted a keynote conversation with Emily Oster, PhD.

"Effective communication requires that the person you’re communicating to leaves not thinking that *you’re* smart; you want them to leave thinking that *they* are smart and that you are trustworthy." - Emily Oster
@bcfginitiative.bsky.social
chibe.upenn.edu/blog/dr-emil...

In a @hbr.org article, Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social, Team Scientist Lyle Ungar, and collaborators ask:

How does Gen Z use AI, and what are the implications for education and the workplace?

hbr.org/2026/01/how-...

@pennchibe.bsky.social

How to Communicate About Science | Q&A with Emily Oster YouTube video by Behavior Change For Good Initiative

Missed our keynote conversation with Emily Oster?

The Q&A, co-hosted by @katymilkman.bsky.social and @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social, explored best practices for communicating about science.

Watch the recording: youtu.be/owqZ6BCBAr4

🚨New Book Alert: Eat Your Ice Cream by Team Scientist @zekeemanuel.bsky.social🚨

Ezekiel Emanuel highlights the behaviors that matter most for health and longevity, while debunking trends that aren’t supported by evidence.

bookshop.org/p/books/eat-...

Today at 12pm ET: Emily Oster talks with @katymilkman.bsky.social and @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social on best practices for communicating science.

Register to join the conversation: upenn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

This Wednesday 1/28 @ 12pm ET: Join @katymilkman.bsky.social and @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social for a virtual keynote Q&A with Emily Oster.

Register: bit.ly/4qqmF8l

Behind the Scenes is an online seminar series on how research papers are made, co-organized by Team Scientist Séverine Toussaert.

The next speakers are Nihar Shah (peer review, Feb 4) and Andrew Gelman (causal inference, Feb 24).

Join their mailing list: forms.office.com/e/XDDyCvs8G6

Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler’s New Take on the Classic ‘Winner’s Curse’ Behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Alex Imas talk about their new book, an update to Thaler's 1991 classic 'The Winner’s Curse.'

“We often do things in the moment that we later regret. They can be big or small. Economists assume we don’t have this problem, but we do,” — @rthaler.bsky.social with @aleximas.bsky.social at BCFG’s October event.

Read the feature: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/nobe...

How can researchers, policymakers, and clinicians best share scientific evidence?

Join us next Wednesday 1/28 @ 12 PM ET for a virtual Q&A with Emily Oster, moderated by @katymilkman.bsky.social & Kevin Volpp, on how to communicate behavioral and health science.

Register: bit.ly/4qqmF8l

Congratulations to BCFG Team Scientist Hengchen Dai on winning the Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences! @fabbs.org

fabbs.org/about/early-...

Congratulations to Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social on being named #1 most influential scholar in the field of education by the 2026 @edweek.org RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings!

www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

🚨New BCFG paper alert 🚨

One size may not fit all for behavioral interventions.

Led by @ilanabrody.bsky.social, our research shows that people’s past behavior helps predict which interventions are most effective at changing current behavior.

Read more: bit.ly/4pCsa2Q

BCFG’s annual report is available now! Check out our latest efforts in advancing positive behavior change at scale: whr.tn/45chIIb

Automated reminders reduce incarceration for missed court dates: Evidence from a text message experiment Automated text message reminders reduce pretrial incarceration for missed court dates among public defender clients.

A field experiment by Team Scientist Todd Rogers and collaborators showed that automated text reminders for mandatory court appearances reduced warrants for missed court dates by 20.4% and lowered incarceration stemming from missed hearings by 21.4%.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Read Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social's @nytimes.com op-ed on situational agency — the power of shaping one’s environment to support goal achievement, rather than relying solely on willpower.

nyti.ms/4pwfY3J

Mark your calendar: BCFG, @katymilkman.bsky.social and @pennchibe.bsky.social will host a virtual keynote talk with Emily Oster on Wed 1/28 at 12 PM ET.

Register here: bit.ly/4qqmF8l.

Here’s how to make resolutions stick, according to a behavior change scientist Researcher Katy Milkman explains science-backed ways to commit to your goals, including a hack called “temptation bundling.”

Kick off the new year with insights on how to reach your goals–featuring Co-Director @katymilkman.bsky.social in a recent @washingtonpost.com article by @gretchenxreynolds.bsky.social: wapo.st/4qHDDiL.

Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom ...

Join us Wed 1/28 @ 12PM ET for a virtual keynote Q&A with Emily Oster, hosted by BCFG & @pennchibe.bsky.social.

Register here:
bit.ly/4qqmF8l

Facts and Fallacies: Rethinking US Healthcare | Amy Finkelstein BCFG co-hosted this talk as part of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) Research Seminar Series on behavioral science and health. The event featured MIT Professor Amy Finkelstein and was facilitated by BCFG Co-Director Katy Milkman and CHIBE Director Kevin Volpp.

2. Amy Finkelstein on U.S. healthcare facts & fallacies bit.ly/4j8JXNs

3. Co-Directors @angeladuckworth.bsky.social and @katymilkman.bsky.social on the science of self-control bit.ly/3MOpP7m

Missed these videos from BCFG? Now is a great time to catch up!

1. @rthaler.bsky.social and @aleximas.bsky.social on the anomalies that changed behavioral economics bit.ly/4auOnfn

“Moms have known it for generations: Nagging works.” —Co-Director @katymilkman.bsky.social discusses BCFG’s latest megastudy with Knowledge at Wharton, showing how simple reminder emails can boost savings deposits.

Read the feature: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/can-...

Co-Directors Katy Milkman and Angela Duckworth sat down to unpack what behavioral science reveals about self-control—why willpower often fails and how shaping one's environment can support better choices.

Watch the special video edition of Choiceology here: youtu.be/Yz4YxuoWIp8?...