What is Behavioral Science anyway?
If you are new here, I'm Robert, and I share, teach, and work on projects where we use behavioral science as a lens.
Many disciplines involve human behavior - and they fall under the umbrella of Behavioural Science.
Behavioral Science is a systematic and evidence-based approach to understanding how we as people behave and make decisions.
It includes various disciplines such as Sociology, Economics, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Anthropology, all of which deal with the subject of people and their actions.
However, let us be very clear here
No one discipline can change behavior!
Mixing disciplines into our work (i.e., taking an interdisciplinary approach) can help us see opportunities from many angles which can give us better outcomes.
Now.. what about the other definitions you might also be familiar with or have heard about?
Well here are some extra ones:
1.
Behavioral Economics
Draws on psychological insights to understand how individuals make economic decisions - E.g., value, risk, cognitive biases
2. Nudge:
A subtle change in the environment or decision-making process that encourages individuals to make better or more desirable choices without restricting their freedom of choice - E.g., leverages cognitive biases and heuristics
3.
Choice Architecture
The design of the decision-making environment in a way that influences people’s decisions - E.g., making certain options more prominent, salient or appealing
I hope these definitions are useful.
What other concepts would you like me to talk about?