When a new year rolls around, many of us ponder resolutions to improve our work habits. Maybe we wish to behave a little better with colleagues, become more organized, or actually take breaks during the day. But can we really change our own ingrained behavior? The good news is that social science research not only confirms change is possible, but outlines ways to make new behaviors stick.
Here is research out of Harvard Business School that explores the latest thinking in behavioral research and how big changes can start with something as simple as a nudge.
How to Get People Addicted to a Good Habit
Psychological nudges can be a cost-effective way for governments to get citizens to do the right thing.Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful
Research at Harvard Business School takes a unique approach to understanding behaviors and skills associated with successful entrepreneurs.Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior
Psychological nudges can be a cost-effective way for governments to get citizens to do the right thing.
5 Weight Loss Tips From Behavioral Economists
Behavioral economists study what motivates people to buy, save, donate, and any other number of actions that build society. The following studies reveal proven methods of encouraging healthy eating and exercise.
A Simple Way for Restaurant Inspectors to Improve Food Safety
Basic tweaks to the schedules of food safety inspectors could prevent millions of foodborne illnesses.
Behavioral Economists Can Make You a Healthier Consumer and Smarter Marketer
What’s behind the decisions we make, especially when it comes to eating well and losing weight? Can companies motivate employees to make healthier decisions?
Unethical Amnesia: Why We Tend to Forget Our Own Bad Behavior
Engaging in bad behavior causes memories of those acts to gradually become less clear—a phenomenon they call “unethical amnesia.”
Research Papers
Habit Formation and Rational Addiction: A Field Experiment in Handwashing
This study in rural West Bengal considers the role of habituation in an essential but unpopular preventive health behavior: handwashing with soap. The study finds that frontloading both financial and social incentives facilitates habituation.
Incentives, Peer Pressure, and Behavior Persistence
This research explores whether and how incentivized behaviors at a California hospital persist beyond the duration of the initiative.
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