The Perfection Trap | Book Launch

Tuesday 20 June 2023 
LSE Cheng Kin Ku Building

When did 'good enough' become the same as 'perfect'? Why does society increasingly promote ideals that are completely unrealistic? And what does it mean for all of us that perfectionism is on the rise? From the personal to the impact on the economy and grounded in over a decade of research, this event, which featured Dr Thomas Curran and Natasha Devon and was chaired by Dr Sandra Jovchelovitch, considered how our quest for perfection impacts our health and mental well-being.

The Power of "Good Enough" | LSE Festival

Wednesday 14 June 2023
LSE Marshall Building 

Over the past 30 years, there has been a substantial increase in the percentage of people who feel they need to be perfect. The pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect and the expectations we feel from others and society-at-large can lead to depression, burnout and other mental illnesses, particularly amongst younger generations. The panel, which included Dr Thomas Curran and was chaired by Dr Grace Lordan, discussed how we can escape this perfection trap and embrace the idea of “good enough”. 

Why is Change so Hard? | LSE Festival

Tuesday 13 June 2023 
LSE Marshall Building

Whilst we celebrate the power of people to bring about change in society, we must also acknowledge what a tortuous and slow path meaningful change can take. At this event, an esteemed panel, which included Dr Jens Koed Madsen and was chaired by Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington, considered the legal, social, political and psychological reasons why change is so hard.

Science Slam at LSE 

Wednesday 31 May 2023
LSE Marshall Building

At this event, PBS and LSE PhD students brought their research to life in bitesize talks. Topics ranged from what makes for a long life to why being yourself could cost you money.

Starting from the Bottom: Critical Perspectives on Mental Health and Social Justice

Tuesday 28 February 2023 
LSE New Academic Building

The global burden of mental distress continues to grow, shaped by gaps in services. In low-middle income countries (LMICs), 90% of the population lacks access to any form of mental health care. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges as intersecting social realities deepen distress, increase the incidence of mental health disorders, and overburden health systems. In this event, chaired by Professor Sandra Jovchelovic, a panel of experts reflected on the connections between mental health and social justice building on academic, activist and community perspectives.

Stereotypes, History and Social Psychology: Collective Reflections

Wednesday 16 November 2022
LSE Marshall Building

Speaker: Professor Koji Yamamoto (Associate Professor of Business History at the University of Tokyo, Japan)
Discussants: Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch, Professor Alex Gillespie. Introduction by Professor Liam Delaney.

What can we learn from the early modern past without being anachronistic? What does progress stand for if stereotypes and their impacts have proven so persistent across time? Koji Yamamoto discssed the new volume of Stereotypes and Stereotyping in Early Modern England.

Behavioural Transformations in the 21st Century: Frontiers in Behavioural Public Policy

Thursday 7 July 2022

Experts in the field of behavioural economics came together for a one-day workshop discussing the new developments in behavioural public policy.

Speakers from PBS: Dr Matteo Galizzi, Dr Kate Laffan, Dr Ganga Shreedhar.

Hosted by the Department of Geography and Environment. Supported by the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science. 

SPSSI-EASP Small Group Meeting 2022: Society in the classroom: Integrating perspectives on how socioeconomic disparities unfold in educational settings

30 June to 2 July 2022

Each year, SPSSI partners with the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) to sponsor a scholarly conference. Conferences alternate between venues in Europe and North America.

Co-organised by Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington (LSE) and the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), it aimed to explore the shift toward higher levels of analysis in the study of the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and educational outcomes. 

Keynotes include: Hazel Rose Markus (Stanford University) for the public event: 

Notes from the Field: Experiments toward a psychology of society held on Thursday 30 June 2022.

LSE Festival 2022

13 to 18 June 2022

How do we get to a post-COVID world? The LSE Festival, held from 13-18 June 2022, explored the practical steps we could be taking to shape a better world. Catch up with content from Festival week. 

Academics, researchers, alumni and PhD students from the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science took part in a number of events including the LSE Research Showcase, Rethinking our Disposable Society, How to Future Proof Your Career, and Researchers of the Future which took place in the LSE Behavioural Lab for Teaching and Research.

A full list of the events that took place and recordings can be found via the LSE Festival 2022 website.

Too much information

Co-hosted with the Department of Geography and Environment.

Monday 6 June 2022
4.00pm to 5.00pm
Old Theatre, Old Building & online

In 'Too Much Information', Cass Sunstein examines the effects of information on our lives. Policymakers emphasize “the right to know,” but Sunstein takes a different perspective, arguing that the focus should be on human well-being and what information contributes to it. 

Speakers:

• Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard.
• Peter John, Head of the School of Politics and Economics and Professor of Public Policy at King's College London.
• Susana Mourato (Chair), Pro-Director for Research at LSE, and Professor of Environmental Economics at Department of Geography and Environment, LSE.

Hidden Games: how game theory explains irrational behaviour

11 May 2022, online

In their book, Hidden Games, MIT economists Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli find a surprising middle ground between the hyperrationality of classical economics and the hyper-irrationality of behavioural economics. They call it hidden games. Join us as they talk about this new publication.

Chaired by Dr Michael Muthukrishna (LSE).

Leveraging Moments of Change for Pro-Environmental Behavioural Transformation

Wednesday 9 February, online 

Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), shared new research looking at leveraging 'moments of change' to influence pro-environmental behavioural changes, including the pandemic, and more personal events such as parenthood.

Chaired by Dr Ganga Shreedhar (LSE).

Nudge: the final edition

Tuesday 7 December 2021

Originally published over a decade ago, Nudge by Nobel Laureate Richard H. Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein is available in its final edition, with six new chapters. In this conversation with PBS Head of Department, Professor Liam Delaney, co-author Richard H. Thaler discussed the motivation behind Nudge and what implications this work has today and for the future.

Wider World Seminar Series: Panel Session on Behavioural Data Science

Tuesday 30 November 2021 

This special panel event, organised as part of the Behavioural Science and the Wider World series, focussed on the emerging field of behavioural data science, chaired by Paul Adams with Jeroen Nieboer (Behavioural Data Science and Research lead at Commonwealth Bank Australia), Ganna Pogrebna (behavioural data scientist and Professor of Behavioral Business Analytics and Data Science at the University of Sydney) and Briana Brownell (founder and CEO of PureStrategy.ai).

BehaviouralHack 2021: #ItsNotOK: BehaviouralHack on Collaborative Solutions to Transform Social Norms around Intimate Partner Violence

17 November 2021

The BehaviouralHack 2021 brought together local citizens, academic experts and policy institutions to discuss the challenge of intimate partner violence in Lithuania, and explore ways in which behavioural science can inform sustainable solutions to transform the social norms that are prevalent in this topic.

Co-hosted by the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science (LSE) and the Behavioural Lab LT.

Science & You Conference 2021 (hosted by the University of Lorraine)

16 to 19 November 2021

"Science & You" is an international event of scientific and technical culture organised by the University of Lorraine. Sessions will be led by researchers in the field of science communication and is chaired by Professor Martin Bauer (Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, LSE).

Find out more about "Science & You" 2021 here.

Virtual Graduate Open event from the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, hosted by LSE Student Marketing & Recruitment

16 November 2021

Our teaching and programme teams for Master's and Research programmes in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science presented at the LSE Virtual Graduate Open event. A recording from this event is now available on the LSE website here.

Workshop on Behaviour, Wellbeing and the Environment

4 & 5 November 2021

Two-day workshop on Behaviour, Wellbeing and the Environment. Co-hosted by members of the Behavioural Science and Policy group at University College Dublin (Dr Kate Laffan and Dr Leonhard Lades) and the Psychological and Behavioural Science Department at the LSE (Dr Ganga Shreedhar, Dr Cristian Krekel and Daniele Pollicino). 

Reconciliation Processes in Post-Conflict Societies: Colombia and beyond

Tuesday 5 October 2021

Despite advances in the Colombian 2016 Peace Accords, central challenges remain, particularly in territories of the country heavily hit by violence. This online event looked at the context of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation processes in Colombia and beyond, sharing international experiences from other post-conflict societies.

Speakers:

• Professor Lord Alderdice
• Dr Fabio Idrobo
• Professor Nicola Lacey 
• Federico Rodríguez
• Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch (Chair)

The Authority Gap (hosted by The Inclusion Initiative)

Monday 13 September 2021

Mary Ann Sieghart (BBC Radio 4 and Visiting Professor at King’s College London) spoke about her new book The Authority Gap.

Speakers:

• Mary Ann Sieghart 
• Dr Grace Lordan (Chair)

Celebrating Pride: the behavioural science behind the inclusive social movement (hosted by The Inclusion Initiative)

Thursday 9 September 2021

Speakers:

• Antonia Belcher
• Pips Bunce
• Belton Flournoy
• Jane Hill 
• Arlene McDermott
• Dr Grace Lordan (Chair)

How Boards Work

Wednesday 30 June 2021

Speakers: 

• Dr Dambisa Moyo.
• Dr Grace Lordan (Chair)

Duck-Rabbit: What Drives Our Polarised Culture?

Monday 28 June 2021

Speakers: 

• Professor Paul Dolan
• Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington
• Dr Lasana Harris
• Professor Anil Seth
• Dr Tiffany Watt Smith
• Professor Simon Hix (Chair)

A Decade of Behavioural Science at LSE - Part 2

Wednesday 19 May 2021

Speakers:

• Professor Paul Dolan
• Dr Grace Lordan (Chair)

The Technological Revolution in Financial Services

Monday 19 April 2021

Speakers:

• Ghela Boskovich
• Michael R. King
• Vineet Malhotra
• Richard Nesbitt
• Brenda Trenowden.
• Baroness Shafik (Chair)

The Psychology of Intergroup Inequality

Wednesday 31 March 2021

Professor Jim Sidanius (John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in memory of William James and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University) presents some of his latest ideas on the psychological foundations of intergroup inequality, followed by a conversation on their relevance to twenty-first century struggles for social justice.

Speakers:

• Professor Jim Sidanius
• Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington (Chair)

Think Big | Book launch

Thursday 25 March 2021

Dr Grace Lordan will talk to Professor Paul Dolan about her book, Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want.

Speakers:

• Dr Grace Lordan
• Professor Paul Dolan

LSE Festival (1-6 March 2021)

We are all in this together: Has COVID-19 taught us how to save the world? Chaired by Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington with Ganga Shreedhar, Sanchayan Banerjee, Nick Chater and Adam Oliver.

How can policy makers use behavioural science? Chaired by Tony Travers with Grace Lordan, Paul Dolan, Teresa Almeida, Julian Le Grand.

LSE Festival short | Safety Culture: what can the post-COVID world learn from high-risk industries? With Tom Reader.

LSE Festival short | What work disappeared? COVID-19 and labour market outcomes for under-25s with Ganga Shreedhar and Teresa Almeida

Let's Talk Careers in a Post-Covid World

Tuesday 16 February 2021

Dr Grace Lordan (PBS and TII) chaired a panel discussion on lessons from social science to take forward in discussions about careers and skills, post-COVID-19.

Speakers: Dorie Clark, Dowshan Humzah, Professor Connson Locke, Simon Ong and Helen Tupper

Experimental Insights from Behavioral Economics on Covid-19 

Friday 12 and Friday 19 February 2021

A special online event focussing on research from behavioural economics related to COVID-19, in collaboration with John Hopkins University.

A Decade of Behavioural Science at LSE

Wednesday 20 January 2021

Professor Paul Dolan in discussion with Dr Grace Lordan on that last 10 years of behavioural science at LSE, focussing on Dolan's research on happiness, wellbeing, narratives, biases and COVID-19. 

Why Aren't Policy-makers and the Public Demand That More Emphasis is Placed on Happiness?

Wednesday 9 December

Lord Gus O'Donnell and Professor Paul Dolan in a discussion about the role of happiness in public policy.

#LSEHappiness

Lives, Livelihoods and Lockdowns: debating COVID-19 policy trade-offs

Wednesday 2 December

Speakers: Professor Dame Sally Davies, Professor Paul Dolan, Professor Sunetra Gupta, Professor Carl Heneghan, Professor David Hunter. Chaired by Professor Julia Black.

The Value of Inclusion for a Post-COVID-19 World

Wednesday 25 November 2020

Dr Grace Lordan (PBS and TII) spoke with Ann Cairns, Ruth Cairnie, Wanda Hope, Lance Uggla and Nate Yohannes for a discussion on the future of inclusion in a post-COVID-19 workplace. Part of the LSE Shaping the post-Covid World initiative.

Origins of Human Cooperation

Thursday 19 November 2020

Professor Michael Tomasello (Duke University) presented on the cultural life of humans, something we are biologically adapted for, but other primates are not. With Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch.

#LSEHumanCooperation

Couples that Work | Book launch

Tuesday 17 November 2020, 12.30 to 1.30pm

Dr Ilka Gleibs hosted a conversation with Dr Jennifer Petriglieri, exploring how dual-career couples (where both partners are highly educated and have a demanding career) navigate love and work, and identity.

Behavioural Science and a Post-Covid World

Wednesday 4 November, 2.00 to 3.30pm

Professor Simon Hix chaired a discussion with Professor Paul Dolan, Professor Nick Chater, Dr Grace Lordan, Professor Tali Sharot and Rori Sutherland on the key behavioural insights we can learn from COVID-19 policy responses, and how these could shape future ones for the LSE Shaping the post-Covid World initiative.

Re-thinking Human Behaviour: critical perspectives on the psychology of Covid-19

Wednesday 7 October 2020, 4.30pm to 6.00pm

Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch in a discussion on the social and community based aspects of human behaviour and health, and the importance of going beyond a purely individual or top-down paternalistic approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. This event is part of the LSE Shaping the post-Covid World initiative.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19: from mortality to misery? Part of the LSE COVID-19 online event series

21 May 2020

Speakers: Professor Paul Dolan, Dr Daisy Fancourt, Lord O'Donnell and Professor Carol Propper

Behavioural Science in the context of great uncertainty. Part of the LSE COVID-19 online event series

13 May 2020

Speakers: Professor Paul Dolan, Dr Grace Lordan, Professor Liam Delaney, Dr Nick Chater, Dr Ulrike Hahn. Chaired by Professor Julia Black.

Using Behavioural Insights for Inclusion in the City | Part of LSE Festival 2020: Shape the World

5 March 2020

Speakers: Dr Grace Lordan, Karina Robinson, Brenda Trenowden, Irshaad Ahmad, Richard Nesbitt and Teresa Parker

A panel discussion on ‘Inclusion in the City’, a report that gives practical insights from behavioural science research to the problems and solutions posed by people who understand the financial and services industry the best: its own talent. This event also launched The Inclusion Initiative (TII).

Find out more about TII

Can Behavioural Insights Shape Public Policy-making all over the world?

Part of LSE Festival 2020: Shape the World

4 March 2020

Speakers: Professor Liam Delaney, Dr Jet G. Sanders, Dr Barbara Fasolo, Dr Adam Oliver

Writers Rebel (hosted by LSE) | Part of LSE Festival 2020: Shape the World

19 February 2020

Speakers: Chloe Aridjis, A.L. Kennedy, Daljit Nagra and Dr Ganga Shreedhar

On 11 October 2019, a group of writers congregated in Trafalgar Square to protest against climate change as part of Extinction Rebellion’s October Uprising. In a four-hour marathon of readings from novelists, poets, screenwriters and academics, writers insisted on the responsibility of artists to address our climate crisis. But can their protest make a difference? How do writers regard their role in leading social change? And does literature have to be about climate change to alter political and social action to save our environment?

How Change Happens

Part of LSE Festival 2020: Shape the World

14 January 2020

Speakers: Professor Cass R. Sunstein, Professor Paul Dolan

How does social change happen? Why is it so hard to anticipate? A key reason is the existence of hidden preferences, which may or may not be unleashed.

LSE Research Showcase 

19 November 2019

LSE's annual research showcase is a free, drop-in event featuring photography and film, activities and games and a chance to speak with faculty and researchers about their work. This year, Pathways to Reconciliation a UKRI project led by Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch, investigating the impact of Schools for Forgiveness and Reconciliation (ES.PE.RE) in Colombia will feature as part of the Global Health Initiative. 

Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase here. 

I am Echoborg

29 October 2019

Would you know if you were speaking to an Echoborg? An Echoborg is a human, whose actions are entirely dictated by an Artificial Intelligence, or AI. They are a friendly, human interface for a machine. 

I am Echoborg is an interactive theatre performance based on academic research by London School of Economics (LSE) psychologists Kevin Corti and Alex Gillespie, who developed the Echoborg concept in 2015. 

Messengers: who we listen to, who we don't, and why

1 October 2019

Speakers: Joseph Marks, Steve Martin

Chair: Professor Paul Dolan

Why are self-confident ignoramuses so often believed? Why are thoughtful experts so often given the cold shoulder? And why do apparently irrelevant details such as a person’s height, their relative wealth, or their Facebook photo influence whether or not we trust what they are saying? These are just some of the questions that behavioural experts Steve Martin and Joseph Marks tackle in their new book Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don’t, and Why which they will discuss in this talk.

Social Butterflies: reclaiming the positive power of social networks

9 May 2019

Speakers: Michael Sanders & Susannah Hume

Chair: Dr Grace Lordan

Michael Sanders and Susannah Hume presented research from their new publication "Social Butterflies", an examination of our social selves.

LSE Festival: New World Order 2035

2 March 2019

What will the world look like in the not too distant future? By 2035 how could the way we live, work, interact with each other and understand ourselves have changed?

Speakers: Dr Ilka Gleibs, Dr Liam Kofi Bright, Dr Rebecca Elliott, Dr Barbara Fasolo, Dr Seeta Peña Gangadharan.

LSE Festival: Conspiracy Theory as Truth

2 March 2019

Psychologists and anthropologists explore how only some “conspiracy theories” fail tests of reason, and discuss the problems and potential of  “conspiracy theory” for social movements.

Why Minds Go Awry: Evolutionary Explanations for Mental Illness 

14 February 2019

Speaker: Randolph M. Nesse, Arizona State University

We live in one of the wealthiest, most peaceful and most technologically advanced societies in the world. And yet in the last week alone, one in six of us experienced anxiety, depression or another common emotional health problem. What can science tell us about the root causes of this troubling development? And what can we do to help – as sufferers, carers, and a society?

Happy Ever After | Book launch

24 January 2019 

Professor Paul Dolan in conversation with Professor Tali Sharot on the launch of his book, Happy Ever After.

The Coddling of the American Mind | Book launch

23 November 2018

A timely investigation into the new safety culture in universities and the dangers it poses to free speech, mental health, education, andultimately democracy.