Behavioural Science - Science topic

Decision-making under uncertainty is one of the most critical challenges in disaster management, where human risk perception is the most important factor that shapes responses to crises. This paper introduces a hybrid risk-based decision model that integrates behavioural science, probabilistic risk assessment, and machine learning in an analysis of...

This study assessed instructional barriers contributing to students' poor English language speaking during their senior essay, practicum, and term-paper presentations at the College of Education and Behavioural Sciences, Haramaya University, Eastern Ethiopia. A descriptive survey research design was employed through stratified random sampling to co...

This paper revisits Michael Hoey’s Lexical Priming Theory (2005) in the light of recent discussions of Large Language Models as forms of machine learning (commonly referred to as AI), which have been the centre of a lot of publicity in the wake of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s BARD/Gemini. Historically, theories of language have faced inh...

This proceedings volume presents a collection of articles from key practitioners from relevant areas with experience in critical infrastructure. The authors acknowledge that the responsibility for critical infrastructure protection is primarily a matter of international importance, hence a high degree of cross-border and cross-sectoral interdepende...

presents a scholarly examination of the intertwining between traditional Iranian storytelling and contemporary educational practices through technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). It articulates the concept of "cloaked philosophy," where deep philosophical insights are embedded within compelling narratives, akin to t...

Effort influences decisions to initiate and sustain physical and cognitive tasks. Although the perception of effort is central to human behaviour, its underlying mechanisms—especially in the cognitive domain—remain poorly understood. Building on knowledge from physical exertion, this article introduces the concepts of effort and effort perception t...

Background There is growing evidence that exposure to unhealthy urban environments increases the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness), with marginalised communities bearing the greatest burden. However, to date, evidence alone has not been sufficient to make health a top prior...

It is not at all unusual for the theorists of behavioural science to commit errors which are precisely analogous to the error of classifying the name with the thing named-or eating the menu card instead of the dinner-an error of logical typing' Bateson (1972, p. 285) 'A Map is not the territory' Korzybski (2010, p. 24) We inhabit a world of abstrac...

Objectives Clinicians and patients have been found to attribute musculoskeletal (MSK) pain to normal age-related changes seen on imaging, which can negatively impact patient outcomes and increase healthcare costs. While some studies have tested interventions to improve how MSK imaging findings are communicated, their impact has been limited. Applyi...

Background and Objectives The Netherlands faces zoonotic disease risks due to its dense human and livestock populations. The 2009 H1N1 outbreak highlighted the pandemic potential of influenza virus reassortment. Effective preparedness requires integrating behavioural and epidemiological models. Human behaviour, shaped by personal, social, and insti...

The rise in inflation in recent years triggered a cost-of-living crisis, in which households’ ability to afford basic necessities declined. The cost-of-living crisis disproportionately affected lower income households, with the proportion in material deprivation (i.e. unable to afford basic necessities) rising by a fifth. This study examines how th...

Interventies via het systeem of het individu? Steeds vaker worden individuele gedragsinterventies, gebaseerd op inzichten uit de gedragswetenschappen, ingezet om gewenst gedrag bij mensen te stimuleren, of ongewenst gedrag af te remmen. Onder andere overheden maken hier gebruik van, bijvoorbeeld bij de aanpak van maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Uit...

This volume critically examines the strategic integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in contemporary business management, focusing on how organisations can leverage IoT to drive operational transformation and facilitate consumer adoption. The book will explore key challenges, strategic frameworks, and marketing innovations that enhance IoT tec...

Orientation: Applied neuroscience makes a unique contribution to the field of coaching and leadership development. It provides an integrated approach to enhancing coaching and leadership theory and practice, by incorporating new insights on human functioning.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to create an integrated neuroscience coachi...

Background and aim: Conventional global food systems pose challenges for all interdependent components of the One Health (OH) framework: people, animals, and the planet. The intensification of animal-source food (ASF) production has provoked negative impacts on animal welfare and planetary health. Increasing productivity fails to provide universal...

Objective: To assess public support of selected nations with regard to various types of nudges introduced by behavioural public policy and the level of trust these nations have in their governments as the creators of these policies. Research Design & Methods: The article is based on literature studies, descriptive and comparative analysis along wit...

https://arcbita.org/ Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of ARC Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (BITA). Research published in this series may discuss policy implications, but BITA does not endorse any specific policy positions. BITA is committed to the highest...

Individuals differ considerably in their social behaviour. Recently, various behavioural sciences have begun to acknowledge the systematic nature and high relevance of this individuality – but approaches from different disciplines are currently isolated from each other. We propose an integrative, interdisciplinary approach for a more comprehensive...

Background Clinical trials provide much of the evidence that guides decision making about treatment and care but are often complicated to deliver. Trials can be thought of as complex systems with interacting individuals, as such behavioural science is a useful lens to investigate how trial processes may be improved. To guide selection of an appropr...

Background Developing behaviour change interventions able to tackle major challenges such as non-communicable diseases or climate change requires effective and efficient use of scientific evidence. The Human Behaviour-Change Project (HBCP) aims to improve evidence synthesis in behavioural science by compiling intervention reports and annotating the...

Traditional approaches to changing health behaviours have primarily focused on education and raising awareness, assuming that increased knowledge leads to better decisions. However, evidence suggests these methods often fail to result in sustained behavioural change. The dual-process theory of decision-making highlights that much of our behaviour i...

This study investigates researcher variability in computational reproduction, an activity for which it is least expected. Eighty-five independent teams attempted numerical replication of results from an original study of policy preferences and immigration. Reproduction teams were randomly grouped into a ‘transparent group’ receiving original study...

Prolonged exposure to public health crises in the post-pandemic era poses significant threats to global mental health. To address this, we developed a conceptual model to analyse the spatiotemporal distribution of public emotions, using Weibo data from the 2022 Beijing bar outbreak (9 June–18 August). The model integrates lexicon-based emotion anal...

O presente artigo aborda o Design para a Neurodiversidade como uma abordagem inovadora para criar produtosinclusivos destinados a indivíduos com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA). Fundamentado na AnáliseComportamental Aplicada (ABA), o estudo propõe diretrizes projetuais que integram aspectos sensoriais, ergonômicose cognitivos, visando promover...

Face washing for trachoma, like most public health improvements, necessitates behaviour change, yet traditional educational interventions frequently fail to achieve this goal. Behavioural science frameworks offer guidance to develop alternative types of interventions, helping to translate formative research and insights about the target population...

Samenvatting Artificiële Intelligentie (AI) wordt alsmaar populairder, ook binnen het onderwijs. Vooral het gebruik van Generatieve Artificiële Intelligentie (GenAI), een technologie die 'menselijke inhoud' kan produceren, groeit dankzij de opkomst van chatbots zoals Gemini, Claude, Bard en ChatGPT. Deze chatbots vinden toepassing in sectoren zoals...

Background/Aims Pregnancy loss is a complex and often stigmatised event with a significant impact on mothers. Understanding maternal perception is crucial for personalised care, but research on this is fragmented. This review synthesises qualitative studies on mothers' perceptions of pregnancy loss. Methods A systematic review with thematic synthe...

Child nutrition has serious long‐term development implications. Evidence‐based frameworks and models are urgently needed to reduce deficits in infants and young children's diets on a large scale. Our paper reviews 32 publications and five impact evaluations of programmes in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria and Vietnam to identify what worked an...

Recent advancements in new‐born screening have reduced the risk of life‐threatening complications associated with inherited metabolic disorders. However, the risk of negative psychosocial effects on families persists. The aim of the present study was to systematically review the literature concerning the psychosocial challenges experienced by young...

O artigo investiga a polarização política no Brasil no século XXI, analisando suas raízes históricas e os aspectos comportamentais que moldam o comportamento eleitoral. A pesquisa combina uma abordagem dialética com fundamentos da ciência política e da ciência comportamental, especificamente o conceito de racionalidade limitada de Herbert Simon. O...

Objectives To review publicly available physical activity (PA) resources for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aims were to find online print and audiovisual resources, review their characteristics and critically examine their quality from medical, exercise and behavioural science perspectives. Design An environmental scan was completed...

Introduction Dentists' empathy for patients is associated with enhanced patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes, and with reduced patient anxiety and dentist burnout. Cognitive empathy has been distinguished from emotional empathy, but how these broad types are expressed within the dentist‐patient relationship has not been explored. The purpose...

Objectives This study aimed to establish a consensus on key factors that influence medication choices for Parkinson’s disease and to identify the behavioural determinants of these factors using behavioural change theory as a theoretical lens. Design This qualitative study used the nominal group technique to conduct structured online focus group me...

Insights from behavioural science can inform a wide range of solutions including policy reforms, infrastructure changes, process reengineering, communications, devices and others. Its application in global health has, however, often focused on narrowly defined issues with linear theories of change that are relatively straightforward to study. Using...

This paper examines the legal implications of the explicit mentioning of automation bias (AB) in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The AIA mandates human oversight for high-risk AI systems and requires providers to enable awareness of AB, i.e., the tendency to over-rely on AI outputs. The paper analyses how this extra-juridical concept is embe...

Background: In the UK, breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women, accounting for 31% of cancers and 15% of cancer-related deaths in women. In 2023, London’s breast screening coverage was 56%, falling below the NHS target of 70%. This survey assesses psychological and behavioural factors impacting screening attendance. Methods: Using the Theoretical Domain...

Technology has unequivocally transformed the dynamics of our interactions, lifestyles, work environments, social connections, and business operations. Playing a pivotal role in society, technology continues to evolve, promising novel advancements that will reshape our lives and professional landscapes. While technology facilitates seamless communic...

Background Ensuring widespread COVID-19 vaccine uptake is a public health priority in Canada and globally, particularly within communities that exhibit lower uptake rates and are at a higher risk of infection. Public health units (PHUs) have leveraged many resources to promote the uptake of recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses. Understanding barriers...

La posible difusión del uso de bolsitas de nicotina (BN) en España es motivo de preocupación, ya que el mercado mundial de estos productos está creciendo de un modo impor-tante. A diferencia de las especialidades farmacéuticas que contienen nicotina, las BN contienen contaminantes como las nitrosaminas que suponen un riesgo adicional a los ya conoc...

Background SIREN is a healthcare worker cohort study aiming to determine COVID-19 incidence, duration of immunity and vaccine effectiveness across 135 NHS organisations in four UK nations. Conducting an intensive prospective cohort study during a pandemic was challenging. We designed an evolving retention programme, informed by emerging evidence on...

The field of psychology has rapidly transformed its open science practices in recent years. Yet there has been limited progress in integrating principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. In this Perspective, we raise the spectre of Questionable Generalisability Practices and the issue of MASKing (Making Assumptions based on Skewed Knowledge), ca...

Aim To increase conceptual clarity regarding the self‐management of school‐age children and adolescents with chronic illnesses in a community context. Design Concept Analysis: Rodgers' evolutionary approach. Data Sources Search conducted in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collectio...

This report delves into the preferences of Indian investors, emphasizing AI-powered strategies grounded in behavioral science to enhance user motivation and engagement. By leveraging advanced AI and gamification approaches, it provides actionable insights to refine mutual fund investment apps, build lasting user loyalty and potentially drive revenu...

Background There is limited literature in paediatric rheumatology describing holistic lived experiences of medical treatment from perspectives of children and young people (CYP) and their parents or carers (PC). This is important as it could have implications for adherence. This study aimed to explore treatment experiences of CYP and PC in a paedia...

As individuals with a cleft lip and palate (CLP) transition into adulthood, they face unique employment challenges related to income, job stability, and fewer career options. This study explored these challenges through two focus group discussions with 19 participants (aged 21–38), primarily women, to understand their employment experiences. Themat...

Many visualisations used in the climate communication field aim to present the scientific models of climate change to the public. However, relatively little research has been conducted on how such data are visually processed, particularly from a behavioural science perspective. This study examines trends in visual attention to climate change predic...

Background The ability to access and navigate online sexual health information and support is increasingly needed in order to engage with wider sexual healthcare. However, people from underserved populations may struggle to pass though this “digital doorway”. Therefore, using a behavioural science approach, we first aimed to identify barriers and f...

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the role of cyberchondria in mediating health anxiety, fears and obsessions among Students of private medical college. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted at department of Psychiatry & behavioural sciences and Medical OPD of Rai Medical College, Sargodha. For this purpose data w...

The study aimed to investigate psychological barriers contributing to students’ poor English language speaking skills at the College of Education and Behavioural Sciences, Haramaya University, Eastern Etiopia. A descriptive survey research design was employed through a stratified random sampling technique to collect primary data from participants (...

Even though Jakob von Uexküll’s umwelt theory has inspired biosemioticians and phenomenologists alike, most contemporary phenomenological methods are applicable only to studies of human phenomena. In this article I discuss how umwelt theory can be made use of in the contexts of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology. This resu...

Cet article propose d’intégrer la méthode du design-fiction, basée sur les imaginaires et les prototypes science-fictionnels, dans l’approche des sciences comportementales. Cette intégration a deux objectifs : (1) rendre compte des mécanismes cognitivo-comportementaux qui fondent cette méthode de plus en plus prisée par les organisations, et (2) en...

Contextuality is a distinguishing feature of quantum mechanics and there is growing evidence that it is a necessary condition for quantum advantage. In order to make use of it, researchers have been asking whether similar phenomena arise in other domains. The answer has been yes, e.g. in behavioural sciences. However, one has to move to frameworks...

Replications are important for assessing the reliability of published findings. However, they are costly, and it is infeasible to replicate everything. Accurate, fast, lower-cost alternatives such as eliciting predictions could accelerate assessment for rapid policy implementation in a crisis and help guide a more efficient allocation of scarce rep...

Background Social isolation and loneliness (SIL) are complex issues that impact mental and physical wellbeing and are significant public health concerns. People from minority ethnic backgrounds living in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states may be particularly vulnerable to experiencing SIL. This is due to vari...

Viewed from the perspective of public policy, behavioural public policy (BPP) faces challenges in four main areas: Systems, Impatience, Nudging, and Scaling. To address these challenges, several suggestions are proposed. First, understanding how BPP interventions unfold in complex systems requires better diagnostics and the development of predictiv...

White Paper on the phenomenon of Clip Thinking, published December 2024 by Zentrum für Medienpsychologie und Verhaltensforschung

This chapter explores the critical role of individual behaviour in sustainability transitions, a field that has traditionally focused more on macro-meso-level processes. While systemic changes in technology and policy are essential, the actions of individuals and small groups significantly influence the adoption of sustainable practices and the sha...

Compliance with hand hygiene is an effective way of reducing the incidence of healthcare acquired infections (HCAI). At one London National Health Service (NHS) Trust, improving hand hygiene compliance (HHC) was a patient safety priority in response to non-compliance and ongoing occurrences of HCAI. The objective of this study was to co-design a be...

Background The importance of replication in the social and behavioural sciences has been emphasized for decades. Various frequentist and Bayesian approaches have been proposed to qualify a replication study as successful or unsuccessful. One of them is meta-analysis. The focus of the present study is on the way meta-analysis functions as a replicat...

Despite a long history of research on democratic backsliding, the process itself − in which the executive branch amasses power and undermines democratic processes and institutions − remains poorly understood. We seek to shed light on the underlying mechanisms by studying democratic near misses: cases in which a period of autocratic governance is qu...

Background : There is growing evidence that exposure to unhealthy urban environments increases the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness), with marginalised communities bearing the greatest burden. However, to date, evidence alone has not been sufficient to make health a top pri...

Our everyday decisions around food, transportation, or energy use create carbon emissions that impact the climate and therefore other people’s lives. Likewise, other people's choices and emissions impact our ability to enjoy a liveable climate. The best collective outcome is achieved if we all reduce our emissions. However, in many climate contexts...

In recent decades, there has been increased policy attention and research interest in post-conflict environments across the humanities, arts, and social science disciplines. Our article aims to provide a methodological procedure that offers a nuanced understanding of recent peacebuilding scholarships and methodological challenges from a transdiscip...

The purpose of the article is to model the economic growth of the region in the global environment, taking into account not only its the potential competitiveness and innovative activity, but also its Sustainable Development and economic security factors. Scientific economists have developed various methods for assessing the potential of a region,...

Autonomous driving is an exciting research field that has received growing attention in recent years. One of the most challenging and safety‐critical driving situations is highway on‐ramp merging. Most decision‐making strategies that perform highway on‐ramp merging are designed, firstly, to reduce the risk of crashes and improve the safety metrics....

Introduction Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition associated with impaired glucose tolerance and a high prevalence of comorbidity, polypharmacy and medication safety incidents. Little is known about the patient work associated with using diabetes management technologies by patients and their informal caregivers at home. This study aims to apply a...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public administration can reduce cigarette butt littering in public areas. Cigarette butt littering is a problem for every local government unit; however, policy solutions are either very difficult to implement or expensive. This paper demonstrates the potential of behavioural science, namely nudges e...

The mental health of university students in Kenya is a pressing concern, with a rising prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and other psychological challenges impacting their academic performance, personal development, and overall well-being. This study aims to establish inclusive peer communication coping methods for promoting free peer-to-p...

Background Clinical trials provide much of the evidence that guides decision making about treatment and care but are often complicated to deliver. Trials can be thought of as complex systems with interacting individuals, as such behavioural science is a useful lens to investigate how trial processes may be improved. To guide selection of an appropr...

Background HPV test-based primary cervical screening is replacing cytology in Canada. In other countries, women's unpreparedness and concerns hindered the transition and post-implementation screening uptake. We investigated psychosocial correlates of intentions of screening in eligible individuals to participate in HPV-based primary cervical screen...

Since the emergence of psychological and behavioural science, one of its foundational goals has been to explain human behaviour. Although the discipline has been highly successful in this endeavour, there is an elephant in the room. Psychological and behavioural science has neglected studying the most challenging aspect of human behaviour−transform...

Educators have come to rely on the use of technology enhanced learning pedagogies as a means of achieving better student learning. As such, the application of TEL pedagogies has grown to address a range of teaching and learning challenges, despite a mixed body of evidence documenting its effectiveness. A behaviour-centred approach can improve the l...

Background:Air pollution (AP) is a global environmental health threat. Day-to-day behaviours contribute to poor air quality (AQ) but limited public understanding of AQ warrants effective communication strategies to promote awareness and empower positive behavioural change.Objective:Through the integration of behavioural, science communication, and...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immunisation programs worldwide, reversing gains that had brought vaccine-preventable diseases largely under control. This study explored the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of routine child immunisation services in South Africa. Methods We conducted qualitative research using in-depth interviews with 51...

Marine protected areas like periodic closures are increasingly used to improve both fisheries management and biodiversity conservation, and often secondarily, human well‐being. Yet rule breaking, whether formal regulations, or community‐agreed norms, continues to negate expected management and conservation outcomes, remaining a major challenge. Alt...

There is growing evidence of a link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health and economic outcomes. Previous systematic reviews synthesised evidence of the relationships between ACEs and various health and some economic outcomes such as healthcare costs and educational attainment. The primary aim of this systematic review is to synth...

Somatic symptom disorders (SSDs) present a complex interplay of physical and psychological factors, necessitating an integrative approach to diagnosis and management. This article explores the collaborative efforts between family medicine and psychiatry in addressing SSDs, emphasizing the importance of a multidisciplinary strategy for comprehensive...

The administration and use of health data to improve the quality of healthcare is the main goal of the multidisciplinary discipline of health informatics (HI). This study set out to assess graduates' opinions of the elements of the Biomedical and Health Informatics (BMHI) curriculum. A cross-sectional survey and document analysis were two of the mi...

The article presents a practical analysis of career choice among future higher education students. In particular, it highlights the trends in cognitive-creative aspects during the career selection process. The attitudes of prospective students at higher education institutions towards contemporary professions from 2019 to 2023 were analysed using a...

Understanding the differential strength of effects in the presence of a third variable, known as a moderation effect, is a common research goal in many psychological and behavioural science fields. If structural equation modelling is applied to test effects of interest, the investigation of differential strength of effects will typically ask how pa...

The analysis of people's daily activities has played a crucial role in various applications, such as urban geography, activity prediction, and homogeneous population detection. However, limited studies have explored changes in the residents’ activity patterns in a particular region across various periods. To explore the changes, a methodological fr...

IntroductionHomesickness commonly affects students moving to college for the first time, causing physical, psychological, and emotional disturbances. Medical students are particularly vulnerable to distressing feelings due to the already high prevalence of mental illness and burnout within this population. Aims & Objectives This review aims to crit...

This article serves as a commentary on Michael Hallsworth's 2023 piece, ‘A manifesto for applying behavioural science,’ featured in Nature Human Behaviour . The manifesto was prompted by methodological, practical and normative critiques directed at behavioural science and its role in public policy. In this commentary, I argue that the manifesto pre...

This paper examines Daniel Kahneman's concept of experienced utility and its roots in Bentham's hedonic utilitarianism. It focuses on Kahneman's call for a ‘separate value judgement’ to determine when experienced utility can be used to evaluate temporally extended outcomes (TEOs). Two potential judgements are proposed: comprehensiveness and persona...

The capacity to deliver programmes that prevent and control infectious diseases is a key public health function. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) aims to support and strengthen this capacity in European Union/ European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries as part of its 2021–27 strategy which includes explicit attention to...

Drug use during college can have substantial harm on students' lives and impacts the institutions' functioning and local communities. Yet existing interventions for drug use at college poorly address the concurrent dynamic influences of the experiences in earlier developmental periods of young adults and the proximal contextual triggers of college...

Background The path of a complaint and patient satisfaction with complaint resolution is often dependent on the responses of healthcare professionals (HCPs). It is therefore important to understand the influences shaping HCP behaviour. This systematic review aimed to (1) identify the key actors, behaviours and factors influencing HCPs’ responses to...

Sankaradeva was not only a religious leader or social reformer but also the finest educationist, history has ever produced. In his efforts to reform medieval Assamese society and to remove social evils like caste-class distinction, gender inequality, religious exploitation, animal-human sacrifices in the name of religion etc, he took the responsibi...

The Prisoner’s Dilemma is one of the most classic formats for exploring the principle of direct reciprocity. Although numerous theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted, little attention has been paid to the divergence between theoretical predictions and actual human behaviour. In addition, there are two additional essential challeng...

Objectives We described the range and types of objective measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young people (CYP) reported in research that can be applied in naturalistic settings. Design Scoping review using best practice methods. Data Sources MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, Embase, (via OVID); British Education Inde...

Significance: This Commentary draws upon news and other published information primarily from the last few years. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate that the water sector is complex, and that it sits at the interface of politics, science, engineering, social and behavioural science, economics, and public health. The lack of attention paid...