An article by Anna Dreber and Team Scientist Séverine Toussaert argues that more transparency around study design, implementation, and analysis would improve the replicability, credibility, and generalizability of findings. https://bit.ly/4aLX8Bh

Team Scientist Judd Kessler explains the "hidden market" in Fortune Magazine: when official prices are below what some fans will pay, the gap gets filled by bots, resellers, and fees—unless the rules of the resale market are designed to prevent markups. https://bit.ly/4ghE0i5

Telling potential donors "the last 5 people in a row donated" may be more effective than mentioning "80% of people donated". New research by Team Scientist Michael Norton finds "collective streaks" outperform traditional social norm messages at encouraging giving. https://bit.ly/4v49sEJ

Is targeting the most well-connected people in a network always the best strategy for spreading behavior change? Not necessarily, according to new research by Yuan Hsiao and Team Scientist @nachristakis.bsky.social. https://bit.ly/4ehy4CK

The June edition of our newsletter is out now, featuring the latest from BCFG and a Q&A with Team Scientist Leslie John on the power of oversharing. bit.ly/4vwNQBv

A randomized controlled trial by Team Scientist Eugenia South and collaborators tested whether street cleaning reduces gun violence in Philadelphia. Cleanups reduced visible litter, but did not significantly reduce gun violence or serious crime. https://bit.ly/4nNMgbm

In a @jamanetworkopen.com commentary, Team Scientist Mitesh Patel and Joshua Liao argue that health systems should align patient outreach with how people actually communicate today—mobile and asynchronous. https://bit.ly/4dAPlXl

Learn more about Tatiana Homonoff, an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Service at NYU Wagner and Team Scientist whose research applies behavioral economics to public policy challenges in poverty, taxation, and consumer finance. Visit her website: https://bit.ly/4dL8eIy

When does punishing free riders help groups cooperate, and when does it backfire? A Science Magazine paper by Team Scientists @dgrand.bsky.social, Duncan Watts, Abdullah Almaatouq & co-author suggests the answer depends heavily on context. https://bit.ly/4uqUZm0

A new article by Team Scientists Hengchen Dai, Silvia Saccardo, Kevin Volpp & collaborators synthesizes research on improving health outcomes by redesigning patient & clinician decision environments. https://bit.ly/4tTHbQ7

A new @nature.com paper co-led by Team Scientist @szaszibarnabas.bsky.social had 457 researchers reanalyze 100 social and behavioral science studies. Most reanalyses reached the original conclusion — but reanalysts fully agreed with each other on only 34% of studies. https://bit.ly/4fABu5X

A new @pnas.org paper by Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social, team Scientists Dr. Robert Cialdini & Christophe Van den Bulte, and collaborators finds that across 126,000 conversations, persuasion principles increased LLM compliance with objectionable requests. https://bit.ly/4uqTk00

Team Scientist podcast roundup: Greg Walton on Hidden Brain: www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/do-y... Abby Sussman on Speaking of Psychology www.apa.org/news/podcast... @rthaler.bsky.social on Choiceology www.schwab.com/learn/story/...

Learn more about Paschal Sheeran, a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill and Team Scientist whose research explores how people translate intentions into action and what helps them achieve health behavior change. Visit his website: https://psheeran.web.unc.edu/

A megastudy by Team Scientist Jan G. Voelkel and collaborators tested 12 brief digital mental health programs in 7,505 adults with depression. Nearly all improved how people felt immediately, and 2 significantly reduced depression a month later. https://go.nature.com/4bV10AJ

New research by Team Scientist @ayeletfishbach.bsky.social and collaborators finds that giving to fewer people, rather than more, signals stronger social connection to each recipient, and makes gifts more valued and more likely to be reciprocated. https://bit.ly/4sUNwuI

Research in Science by Team Scientist @dgrand.bsky.social and collaborators found that Large Language Models are more persuasive when they pack their replies with facts. However, LLMs optimized for persuasion were less accurate. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea3884

In a Nature study, Team Scientists @szaszibarnabas.bsky.social, Gideon Nave, Michael Inzlicht and collaborators attempted replications of 274 findings from social and behavioral science journals. 55.1% were successfully replicated. https://go.nature.com/3Q4YxuW

A megastudy by Team Scientists Jan G. Voekel, Robb Willer, and collaborators tested 10 different persuasive passages about climate change among 13,544 Americans. Emphasizing scientific consensus most strongly increased belief in climate change. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02536-2

Could your environment be the key to success? Learn about Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social’s newly announced book Situated–and what it shows about how shaping your environment can help bring out your best–in our April newsletter: bit.ly/4trUdF5

📅 April 23-24: @nationalacademies.org is hosting a virtual 2-day Workshop on Enhancing Scientific Integrity in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Free & open to the public. Register: www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DBA...

Team Scientist podcast roundup: Cass Sunstein & Laurie Santos on the Happiness Lab https://bit.ly/4sLhzVN @katymilkman.bsky.social's new season of Choiceology https://bit.ly/4do0I6I Leslie John on Hidden Brain https://bit.ly/4sJwrno Steve Levitt on Freakonomics https://bit.ly/47EUVpC

Team Scientist @casssunstein.bsky.social's chapter in the 2026 World Happiness Report on social media discusses the puzzling fact that many would pay to eliminate the use of social media platforms—but won't leave as long as their community keeps using them. www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2026/soci...

A new paper by Team Scientists @dgrand.bsky.social, @tomcostello.bsky.social and collaborators argues that an underexplored possibility for AI is to generate personalized stimuli for each participant in real time. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New research by Team Scientist Lyle Ungar and collaborators asks: can a highly supportive AI chatbot reduce loneliness better than a human stranger? Over 2 weeks, chatting with a human peer significantly reduced loneliness, while chatting with the AI did not. Read more: bit.ly/40ZtJOz

New research by Team Scientist Sandra Matz finds that female governors who emphasized action over caution in COVID health messaging were more effective at increasing social distancing compliance, but received lower approval ratings. Read the full article to learn why: bit.ly/4dFxSP5

A megastudy in @pnasnexus.org by Team Scientists @madalina.bsky.social, @robbwiller.bsky.social, and collaborators tested interventions to increase climate advocacy. doi.org/10.1093/pnas...

We were grateful to co-host University of Chicago Professor John List @johnlist.bsky.social for a fascinating presentation on field experiments as evidence in the courtroom.

TODAY: Join BCFG 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.

Congratulations to Team Scientists @tomcostello.bsky.social and @dgrand.bsky.social and co-author on receiving the AAAS Newcomb-Cleveland Prize for an outstanding paper published in @science.org. www.aaas.org/news/aaas-an...

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? 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...

"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-...

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

“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