Like ripples on a pond: behavioral spillovers and their implications for research and policy

Dolan, Paul and Galizzi, Matteo M. ORCID: 0000-0002-7757-5625 (2015) Like ripples on a pond: behavioral spillovers and their implications for research and policy. Journal of Economic Psychology, 47. pp. 1-16. ISSN 0167-4870

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Abstract

No behavior sits in a vacuum, and one behavior can greatly affect what happens next. We propose a conceptual frame within which a broad range of behavioral spillovers can be accounted for when applying behavioral science to policy challenges. We consider behaviors which take place sequentially and are linked, at a conscious or unconscious level, by some underlying motive. The first behavior leads to another behavior which can either work in the same direction as the first (promoting spillover), or push back against it (permitting or purging spillover). Looking through this conceptual lens at the existing evidence, we find pervasive evidence for all kinds of spillover effects across a variety of fields and domains. As a result, behavioral scientists, especially those seeking to inform policy, should try to capture all the ripples from one behavior to the next when a pebble of intervention is thrown in the pond, and not just at the immediate behavioral splash it makes.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01674...
Additional Information:	© 2014 The Authors © CC-BY 4.0
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C93 - Field Experiments
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2015 15:37
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2024 06:33
Projects:	PI Marteau: 086031/Z/08/Z
Funders:	Centre for the Study of Incentives in Health (CSIH), Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Programme
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/60804

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