Resources

Fresh Start Effect in New Movers A Pilot to Reduce SOV Trips

In 2020, the Center for Advanced Hindsight (CAH) at Duke University was awarded a grant from the Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) to research an innovative way to reduce singleoccupancy vehicle (SOV) trips among individuals that had recently moved (or new movers) to three areas within North Carolina. We aimed to understand the behavioral principle of the “fresh start effect”, which posits that humans are more likely to change behavior at moments that stand out in time, and if this could be applied to transportation habits.

Simple Requests Help Desk-Based Workers Stand Up More: A Meta-Analytic Summary

In a series of eight studies, spanning laboratory and field experiments, we examined the effect of messages describing the present and/or future consequences of prolonged sitting on standing behavior among desk-based workers. Providing a meta-analytic summary of our findings, we show that the exact phrasing of the message to encourage standing doesn’t produce differing results, but simply asking participants to invest in their health results in a standing rate of roughly 71% across studies and a range of demographics. In addition, our studies highlight the significance of friction; not only does the proportion of participants who chose to stand up decrease as the behavior of standing up becomes more burdensome, but also as the required time commitment increases. Lastly, we present insights on the impressions given by the message content, highlighting that while the effect of the messaging on standing may be indistinguishable, how the messages are perceived matters and should be taken into account.

Workplace Interventions Literature Review

Workplace behavior change interventions, or workplace nudges, are strategies used to encourage people to act in their own self-interest. These interventions can be made possible with the help of digital technology, such as mobile applications or email, as well as choice architecture design in the physical environments of the workplace, such as posters, objects or furniture arrangement. To this end, we are going to focus on walking, napping, and eating.

Empowerment in Low-Income Contexts Literature Review

Control in one’s life in order to achieve valued outcomes or meet one’s goals (e.g., success, wellbeing): The key indicators of empowerment (a) believe that change is possible (response efficacy), (b) believe that one can make or contribute to change (self-efficacy), and (c) can identify and seize opportunities to change and overcome obstacles to change (self-regulation).

Games and Gamification Literature Review

Interventions in health and personal finance increasingly make use of games and gamifications. By now there is a substantial literature on the impact of games and gamification.

Habit Change Literature Review

According to David Neal, Wendy Wood, AND Jeffrey Quinn (2006), habits are “response dispositions that are activated automatically
by the context cues that co-occurred with responses during past performance”. Habits are based on links between cues and responses.
For instance, I walk into the bathroom, and I take my toothbrush; I see a red light, and I stop; etcetera. If cues and responses co-occur
regularly, we form a habit. This is how we can program our system 1--the automatic, intuitive processes in our brain--to do tasks that would be too effortful for our system 2--the conscious, reflective processes in our brain--to keep doing.

Little Challenges: Aline Holzwarth

Singing pill boxes, gamification, 'pleasant events' and thoughts on the future of digital health with behavioural scientist, Aline Holzwarth.

Rationally Healthy: Overcoming Ourselves To Feel Our Best

Guest: Julie O’Brien (JO), Principal and Behavioral Scientist at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University

Host: Greg Stielstra (GS), Senior Director of Behavioral Science at Lirio

Summary: Julie O’Brien shares her findings with Lirio. Listen for a brief description of social proof and learn how behavioral science can be applied in real life to help people make healthier decisions—from vaccinations to dieting and beyond.

3 Psychological Tricks to Help You Save Money

We all want to save more money. Here's how to painlessly make the commitment and spend less.

Financial Security

Maura discusses how behavioral science can assist and motivate people to save more and improve their overall financial health and well-being.

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU REALLY NEED IN RETIREMENT?

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU REALLY NEED IN RETIREMENT?

The biggest fear many retirees have is running out of money. I’m joined by Aline Holzworth, a Behavioral Scientist at Duke University, who recently co-authored a Wall Street Journal article on her research to help determine the amount of money you may need in retirement. It’s a surprisingly high percentage of the annual income earned during your working years, and a much larger number than is often used as a rule-of-thumb by many planners. I also explain why it’s necessary to go beyond the numbers to live your best life in retirement.

WEEKLY SPECIAL: Behavioral Science with Aline Michelle Holzwarth

We all carry around our devices everywhere, even grandparents, thus we also carry with us the perfect opportunities for health management. With mobile devices in the right place, behavioral science can help make sure interventions are reaching us at the right times.

Our guest on Radio Sputnik’s Weekly Special is Aline Michelle Holzwarth, MBA, Fuqua Class of 2015, Principal, Center for Advanced Hindsight. Aline is an applied behavioral scientist, primarily focusing on digital health research and scientifically informed product design. She is head of behavioral science at Pattern Health, an evidence-based connected care platform that leverages behavioral science to help patients stick to their care plans.