Book publication: The Psychology of Social Influence

22 July 2021

'The Psychology of Social Influence: Modes and Modalities of Shifting Common Sense' by Dr Gordon Sammut (University of Malta, LSE Visiting Fellow) and Professor Martin W. Bauer (LSE) brings together the full range of modalities of social influence - from crowding, leadership, and norm formation to resistance and mass mediation - to set out a challenge-and-response 'cyclone' model. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Find out more about 'The Psychology of Social Influence' here.

A new framework highlights dual role of genetics and culture in inheritance

13 July 2021

The framework, set out in a forthcoming paper by Ryutaro Uchiyama, Rachel Spicer and Michael Muthukrishna (all of the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, LSE), uses a dual inheritance approach to predict how cultural factors – such as technological innovation – can affect heritability. 

Read the press release by LSE here.

Access the paper 'Cultural Evolution of Genetic Heritability', forthcoming in Behavioral and Brain Sciences here.

Research on the vital role of grandmothers to support maternal mental health 

13 July 2021

Grandmothers provide vital scaffolding that helps support maternal mental health, nutrition and infant feeding practices, particularly in low-income families, according to new research conducted in Colombia, led by Natalia Concha and Sandra Jovchelovitch (LSE). Read the article in Maternal and Child Nutrition here.

Michael Muthukrishna hosts Science in the Time of Cancel Culture for BBC Radio 4

12 July 2021

Listen to Science in the Time of Cancel Culture for Analysis on BBC Radio 4.

Grace Lordan speaks to the BBC World Service about the impact of automation on the workplace

9 July 2021

Lordan addresses the fourth industrial revolution and says that access to education will be key to enable more people to navigate it. 

Listen to The Real Story on the BBC World Service here.

New research on patient safety

8 July 2021

Patient complaints should be integrated with staff incident reporting data to give a more holistic analysis of critical safety incidents and provide greater insight on the many potential factors that may give rise to unsafe care, according to a study out now in the Journal of Health Services and Research Policy.

Jackie Van Dael, Alex Gillespie and Tom Reader used five years of patient complaints and staff incident reporting data at a large multi-site hospital in London.

Read the article Getting the whole story: Integrating patient complaints and staff reports of unsafe care here.

New research takes a closer look at the origins of moralising religions

8 July 2021

The adoption of moralising religious beliefs may have originated earlier in history and by much smaller populations than a previous study has shown, reveals a fresh analysis of the original data, published in Nature, co-authored by Dr Michael Muthukrishna and Dr Rachel Spicer (LSE). Read the press release.

Dr Bradley Franks speaks to LSE IQ about research on conspiracy theories

7 July 2021

Listen and download 'Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?' by LSE IQ here.

Dr Grace Lordan discusses research on equality for Bloomberg TV

1 July 2021

Lordan discusses recent research on the limited success for women in the finance sector. Watch the video on Bloomberg TV here.

Delay lifting Covid-19 restrictions may inflict disproportionate harm on the younger generation, small businesses and the creative industries in the UK

30 June 2021

Professor Paul Dolan (LSE) and Professor Sunetra Gupta (University of Oxford) write for the LSE Covid-19 blog. Read Locked-in syndrome: why this must all end on 19 July here.

New episodes of the Duck-Rabbit podcast released

28 June 2021

New episodes of the Duck-Rabbit podcast, presented by Professor Paul Dolan, have been released. The new episodes continue on the topic of polarised views and cover issues such as ageing and gender. Start listening to all the episodes on Acast here.

Dr Miram Tresh receives LSE Class Teacher Award

23 June 2021

Dr Miriam Tresh has been awarded an LSE Class Teacher Award in recognition of her contribution to teaching in 2020-2021. 

Dr Frederic Basso and Dr Matteo Galizzi were highly commended for their teaching. See the full list of awards for 2021 on the LSE Class Teacher Awards website.

To find out more about our programmes across undergraduate, postgraduate, executive and doctoral study, visit the PBS Study pages.

Michael Muthukrishna speaks to BBC Radio 4 about the nature of originality

23 June 2021

Michael spoke to Matthew Syed about originality, drawing on research into cultural evolution and the "collective brain". Listen to the episode 'Originality Armaggedon' on Sideways from BBC Radio 4, from 00.12.05 here.

Behavioural science teams must engage more with the public and media about their role in policy

17 June 2021

New research, led by the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE, recommends that behavioural science teams working with governments on pandemic responses should increase their efforts to engage with the public and media narratives on the role of science and its role in policy.

Lessons From the UK's Lockdown: Discourse on Behavioural Science in Times of COVID-19 is out now in Frontiers in Psychology. Access the article here.

The GOOD FINANCE Framework 

16 June 2021

The GOOD FINANCE Framework, a unique, action-focused framework that aims to create a better work environment for the financial and professional sectors, has been published by Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF), LSE's The Inclusion Initiative (TII) and The Wisdom Council. 

The report aims to help companies in the financial and professional services retain and develop their most talented employees, including women. 

Read The GOOD FINANCE Framework.

Job opportunity: LSE Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science

10 June 2021

The Fellow will be part of the team that delivers the BSc in Psychological and Behavioural Science, and will teach and mark across several courses, including research methods. Find out more about the role of LSE Fellow via the LSE Jobs.

Applications close: 14 July 2021.

PBS PhD student awarded research grant 

3 June 2021

Dallas O'Dell, PhD student in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, and PBS alumna Denise Baron, have been awarded a Summer Research Grant by the LSE Phelan United States Centre. The grant will go towards research on topics related to the Centre’s overall mission of promoting internationally-oriented scholarship on America's changing role in the world.

Visit the LSE Phelan United States website.

Volunteering in the NHS: Covid-19 Volunteer Responders Programme significantly increased volunteers’ overall life satisfaction

31 May 2021

Levels of wellbeing increased significantly for individuals who participated in the NHS Volunteer Responders (NHSVR) programme, with effects lasting months after the volunteering period had ended, suggests new research from PBS academics, published by the Centre for Economic Performance. Continue reading.

Dr Michael Muthukrishna joins the CIFAR Azriele Global Scholars programme

26 May 2021

Muthukrishna joins nineteen outstanding early-career researchers, and has been selected to be part of the Boundaries, Membership & Belonging research programme.

About the programme, Muthukrishna said:

“My research identifies psychological and social levers of innovation and cultural transmission, using a two-pronged approach combining mathematical and computational modeling, and experimental and data science methods that draw on evolutionary biology, anthropology, psychology, and economics.”

The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars programme supports outstanding early-career researchers through mentorship, a global network, professional skills, and $100,000 in unrestricted research support for two years. Find out more about the programme on CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars website here.

LSE research on behavioural genetics and cultural evolution

24 May 2021

New research uses the dual inheritance framework to understand the interaction between genes and culture. The authors use this to predict the ways in which heritability should differ between societies, socioeconomic levels and other groupings within some societies but not others, over the life course.

Read 'Cultural Evolution of Genetic Heritability' in Behavioral and Brain Sciences here.

Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington joins board of Associate Editors for the British Journal of Psychology

4 May 2021

The British Journal of Psychology, from the British Psychological Society (BPS), publishes original research on all aspects of general psychology. Visit the British Journal of Psychology website.

London School of Economics and Political Science Recognised in Templeton World Charity Foundation’s $60 Million Commitment for Innovations to Human Flourishing

29 April 2021

Dr Michael Muthukrishna has been selected as one of 11 teams in the Templeton World Charity Foundation’s Grand Challenges for Human Flourishing request for ideas. Keep reading.

Paul Dolan launches new podcast

26 April 2021

Duck-Rabbit: taking sides, hosted by PBS's Professor Paul Dolan, has been published as part of the LSE's Shaping the Post-Covid World series. Each day until Friday 30 April 2021, a new episode will be published, focussing on a different topic relating to polarisation, from Covid to healthy lifestyles. 

Start listening to the Duck-Rabbit podcast here.

The Impacts of Commands on Covid-19 Compliant Behaviours

21 April 2021

New research from the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE suggests strong commands made by government officials during the Covid-19 pandemic may have increased people’s intentions to comply with public health orders.

Access the LSE news story Did the UK Government's Direct Messaging During the Early Stages of the Pandemic Work? 

Read the article You Must Stay at Home! The Impact of Commands on Behaviors During COVID-19, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

The Database of Religious History (DRH) awarded $4.8 million grant

20 April 2021

The Database of Religious History (DRH), a collaboration between the University of British Colombia (UBC) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has received a grant of $4.8 million from the John Templeton Foundation in the United States.

Religion remains a large driver of human behaviours in society. For social scientists and policymakers this database could help uncover the religious roots of how different communities engage with the world today, including attitudes towards vaccinations and other healthcare interventions. Read more.

The psychological impacts of Covid-19 differ for citizens living under pre-existing threat 

12 April 2021

Experiences of Covid-19 are not uniform around the world and, in countries such as Western Libya where armed conflict exists, perceptions of the virus and the psychological impact of preventative measures differ greatly from global averages, suggests a study of over 700 people in Tripoli, Western Libya by Dr Miriam Tresh.

Read the article here.

Paul Dolan interviewed on lobbying for wellbeing in policy-making decisions

5 April 2021

Professor Paul Dolan spoke to the Telegraph on lobbying for a wellbeing factor in future pandemic policy-making decisions.

Read the article in the Telegraph here.

Political beliefs shape whether we notice social inequality

30 March 2021

Those on the political left in the US and UK are more likely than those on the right to notice social inequality, but only when it affects typically disadvantaged groups, suggests new research co-authored by Dr Jennifer Sheehy Skeffington.

Read the press release in full here.

Access the paper in full on PNAS here.

Michael Muthukrishna Awarded APS Rising Star Award

9 March 2021

Dr Michael Muthukrishna, Associate Professor of Economic Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, has been awarded the Association for Psychological Science 'Rising Star' award, in recognition for innovative work in the field. Find out more about Michael's work here.

Visit the APS website to find out more about the Rising Star award here. 

International Women's Day 2021

8 March 2021

To mark International Women's Day (IWD) 2021, PBS faculty, researchers, alumni and students were invited to contribute work that addresses issues affecting gender inequality today. Our page highlights work on women in tech, flexibile working, the gender pay gap, biases, and includes comment from Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington and Dr Natalia Concha.

Visit the PBS International Women's Day page here. 

How a focus on wellbeing can help us make better policy decisions

5 March 2021

The government should create a wellbeing impacts agency and a wellbeing commission to enable policymakers to consider citizens’ wellbeing and quality of life in future, state a leading group of LSE academics:

• Professor Paul Dolan (PBS, LSE)
• Lord (Richard) Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics, LSE
• Lord (Gus) O’Donnell, Chair of Frontier Economics and Visiting Professor, LSE.
• Professor Liam Delaney (PBS, LSE)
• Dr Jet. G Sanders (PBS, LSE)
• Dr Celia Blanco-Jimenez (PBS, LSE)
• Dr Kate Laffan, Fellow in Behavioural Science, University College Dublin
• Dr Georgios Kavetsos, Associate Professor in Behavioural Science, QMC London
• Dr Laura Kudrna, Fellow in Behavioural Science, University of Birmingham.

Read the LSE news story here.

Read the white paper in full here (PDF).

Will Tokyo 2020 be a worthwhile investment?

In this article for Centre Piece, Dr Chris Krekel (PBS and CEP at LSE) considers whether the wellbeing benefits of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be worth the investment. If the same spillover wellbeing effects seen in the London 2021 Olympics could be matched, the investment would be worth it.

Read Is Tokyo 2020 Worth It? in Centre Piece here.

Read The Host with the Most? The Effects of the Olympic Games on Happiness (2016) Dolan, Kavetsos, Krekel, Mavridis, Senik, Szymanski and Ziebarth here.

Major rise in public support for COVID vaccine

24 February 2021

More than three quarters of people in the UK now say they are ’very likely’ to have the vaccine says new report from University of Oxford and London School of Economics and Political Science, including Professor Martin Bauer (PBS).

Read the full report here.

Realistic Masks in the Real World: book chapter by Dr Jet G. Sanders

8 February 2021

Dr Jet G. Sanders contributes the book chapter Realistic Masks in the Real World, for the newly released book titled Forensic Face Matching from Markus Bindemann.

Find out more about the book on the Oxford University Press website.

Grace Lordan on disruptive decision-making

8 February 2021

There are no optimal decision-making strategies we can learn in the classroom, we need to view it as a work in progress. Dr Grace Lordan (PBS, The Inclusion Initiative) recently spoke at the 11th virtual India Investment Conference on disrupting decision-making. News story via Big News Network here.

Dr Tom Curran contributes expertise to new Aardman mental wellbeing campaign

8 February 2021

Aardman Animations have released have a new campaign "What's Up With Everyone?" aimed at encouraging young people to become more aware of their mental wellbeing. PBS' Dr Tom Curran has been part of the research team behind the animation, providing expertise on perfectionism. Read the news story in full on the Aardman website.

Professor Ben Voyer joins new research chair "Turning Points" with luxury brand Cartier

3 February 2021

PBS Visiting Fellow Professor Ben Voyer joins new research chair "Turning Points" to advance research on emerging business and societal challenges, for the global luxury brand Carier. Read the press release in full here (PDF).

COVID-19 policies might result in more life-years lost than saved

2 February 2021

The life-years saved from Covid-19 deaths that have been averted as a result of lockdown measures may be fewer than the life-years that will be lost from deaths resulting from curable diseases, according to a new research paper published in the European Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Read more on this paper.

Behavioural science: lessons from lockdown

January 2021

New research led by PBS's Dr Jet Sanders has set to capture public discourse and representation of behavioural science during a time of fast-track and high stakes national policy making: COVID-19.

Read the pre-print of Lessons from lockdown: Media discourse on the role of behavioural science in the UK COVID-19 response here.

'Eco-guilt' prevents people taking action against climate change

23 January 2021

“Guilt [can lead to people] avoiding the topic of climate change altogether because you’re made to feel like a bad person anytime you’re exposed to any issue about the environment,” says Dr Ganga Shreedhar, speaking to British Vogue.

Read the article in full on the British Vogue website.

LSE launches new online magazine

18 January 2021

LSE has launched a new online magazine: Research for the World, featuring articles from PBS academics on perfectionism (by Dr Tom Curran) and workplace inclusion (by Dr Grace Lordan).

Read The Problem With Perfection here.

Read Behavioural Science and the City here.

Micro-targeted campaign strategies effective at navigating complex voters

8 January 2021

New research co-authored by PBS's Dr Jens Koed Madsen, out now in the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, suggests that micro-targeting will become more prevalent in future elections. Understanding their effectiveness is imperative for fair & democratic elections. Read the research in full on the JASSS website.

Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch joins new partnership project to improve mental health services in Colombia

7 January 2021

STARS-C, a new partnership, jointly funded by Minciencias (Colombia) and ESRC/UKRI (UK), aims to build effective mental health provision in Colombian communities heavily affected by armed conflict and help build new roads to peace, using a bottom up, participatory approach.

The project will commence in February 2021.

Continue reading.

New Years resolutions, the behavioural science behind why we succeed and fail

4 January 2021

Professor Paul Dolan spoke to Euronews about the stories people tell that often lead them to give up on their New Years resolutions. Watch the interview with Euronews here.

"The solutions to common problems are sometimes stored in separate disciplines, sometimes spread across the brains of many people."

18 December 2021

Dr Michael Muthukrishna writes about cultural evolution and the paradox of diversity for the National Academy of Engineering. Read the issue here.

Nudge good, Sludge bad? 

2 December 2020

In this article for Behavioural Public Policy, Dr Stuart Mills advances current theory on 'nudge' and 'sludge' theory, and argues that even greater emphasis should be made in the role of transparency in choice architecture, particularly those in policymaking roles.

Read the article in full in Cambridge University Press.

PBS expert contributes to BPS's 'The Foundations for the Best Start in Life' report

30 November 2020

A new report, published by the British Psychological Society and the Poverty to Flourishing campaign, shows how psychology can help to inform policies to support children and families. PBS's Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington is a member of the campaign and has explored the impact of poverty on people’s sense of control through her research.

Read an article on the report in the January 2021 issue of The Psychologist.

Phone addiction not driven by notifcations 

23 November 2020

A new study, led by PBS's Maxi Heitmayer and Professor Saadi Lahlou, finds that 89% of mobile phone use is initiated by the user, and only 11% by notifications. Out now in Computers in Human Behaviour & reported in BBC News here.

Remote working shift offers silver lining in finance gender gap

23 November 2020

Remote working has encouraged a shift in perception of what roles can be done flexibly, says a report commissioned by the Women in Banking & Finance network and PBS's Dr Grace Lordan. Read the article in Bloomberg here.

New research shows that people are less likely to support global emergencies when the aftermaths are less clear

14 November 2020

Read the full story.

Dr Grace Lordan appointed to UK government advisory board for skills and productivity

13 November 2020

Dr Grace Lordan has been appointed to the Department for Education’s (DfE) Skills and Productivity Board to advise on enhancing skills and inclusion for a post-COVID-19 economy. Read the story in full here.

LSE Behavioural Lab joins the European Commission’s €10million funded PERISCOPE consortium to study the effectiveness of COVID-19 policy messages on compliance behaviours.

20 October 2020

Read the story in full here.

LSE IQ podcast on perfectionism with Dr Tom Curran

6 October 2020

Jess Winterstein speaks to Dr Thomas Curran, Associate Professor at PBS, about the potential pitfalls of wanting to be perfect. Our society values perfection, but is the concept of perfect really that good for us? The latest episode of LSE IQ explores perfectionism.

Listen the podcast on LSE Player here.

Find out more about Tom's research on perfectionism here.

Happier people were more compliant with lockdown restrictions

24 September 2020

Dr Christian Krekel has led research showing that happier people were more compliant with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, while unhappy people were less likely to comply. This research has been co-authored into a blog for LSE, available here.

PBS alumni write about the downside of making decisions in a group for Harvard Business Review

22 September 2020

Torben Emmerling and Duncan Rooders, both alumni of Executive MSc Behavioural Science, write about behavioural science strategies that can improve group decision making for Harvard Business Review. Read the article '7 Strategies for Better Group Decision Making' here.

The impact of conservation videos on charitable donations: PBS research captured in illustration

17 September 2020

A comic strip visualisation of the 2020 article 'Experimental evidence on the impact of biodiversity conservation videos on charitable donations' by Ganga Shreedhar and Susana Mourato from the journal Ecological Economics has been created by artist Joe Decie and published by LSE Library.

View and download the cartoon at LSE Research Online.

PBS research to feature at UK NEE event

16 September 2020

Research co-authored by PBS and the Department of Georgraphy & the Environment at LSE will be presented at an event held by the UK Network of Environmental Economists on 16 September 2020, 12.15pm (BST). Details here.

The research, co-authored by Dr Ganga Shreedhar, suggests that support for wildlife conservation is boosted when COVID-19 is linked to destruction of nature. Read the full research paper, published in Environmental and Resource Economics here.

PBS alumni help launch world's first independent organisation for applied behavioural scientists

2 September 2020

Executive MSc Behavioural Science alumni and faculty from PBS including Liam Delaney and Paul Dolan, along with global leaders in the field have launched the first independent organisation for applied behavioural scientists.

The aim of GAABS (Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists) is to represent the interests of applied behavioural scientists, primarily working in the private sector. More on GAABS here.

Dr Claire Papaix and Dr Daniel Fujiwara join PBS as Visiting Fellows

1 September 2020

We are delighted to welcome Dr Claire Papaix & Dr Daniel Fujiwara to PBS as Visiting Fellows.

Claire is Senior Lecturer of Transport & Business Logistics at the Business Faculty of the University of Greenwich. Her research interests focus on the links between urban mobility and wellbeing. Find out more about Claire.

Daniel is CEO of Simetrica-Jacobs and specialises in the measurement, ethics and quantification of wellbeing. Read about Daniel's work and research interests.

Grace Lordan to launch new book in 2021

28 August 2020

Dr Grace Lordan, Associate Professor in Behavioural Science, is set to release Think Big, utilizing behavioural insights to help people improve their careers, in 2021 with Penguin.

Lowering the use of antibiotics: effective behavioural interventions

11 August 2020

Commitment posters have been used in the US to reduce the number of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. A randomised trial in the UK showed these were ineffective & that an automated message pre-appointment showed more promise. Research led by the Public Health England Behavioural Insights (PHEBI) and co-authored by Dr Jet Sanders (LSE). Read the research in Antibiotics.

Happier People are More Likely to Comply with Lockown Conditions

7 August 2020

Happier people are more likely to comply with social distancing and shielding at home orders to help suppress the spread of COVID-19. This is the key finding from a new working paper from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University of Oxford, and University College London (UCL). Read the news article here.

Social attitudes of unemployed people are linked to political and media framing

23 July 2020

National attitudes to welfare recipients are related to political and media spheres, suggests a study of UK political speeches from 1996 to 2016 and 168,000 media reports. Read the research here.

This research was led by Celestin Okoroji as part of his PhD thesis. 

Patient compliment letters can improve patient care and staff wellbeing

22 July 2020

Patient compliment letters reveal the value of ‘extra-role’ behaviours and if properly utilised can improve patient safety and staff well-being, a new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) suggests. Read the story.

COVID-19 & the environment: a narrative that could help shape pro-wildlife policy

15 July 2020

Linking the human destruction of the environment to the spread of Covid-19 increases support for pro-wildlife conservation policy, new research from Dr Ganga Shreedhar and Professor Susana Mourato shows. Read the research in Environmental and Resource Economics.

Professor Martin W. Bauer speaks on the relationship between the public and science 

6 July 2020

On the 2 July 2020, Martin Bauer discussed the relationship between science and the general public in the context of Covid-19, organised by UFRGS in Brazil.

Four questions were raised: 

1. COV-19 is putting science into the public spotlight; how will this episode affect the history of the Science-Society relationship?

2. Much is talked about STEM subjects in this context (science, technology, engineering and mathematics); in what way is this 'boundary work'?

3. Social media are centrally involved in the COV-19 crisis; does this damage the sciences?  

4. What can we do to improve the relations between the sciences and society? 

You can watch the discussion (in Portuguese) on YouTube here (subtitles available).

The discussion was held in light of the 2019 publication The Cultural Authority of Science: Comparing across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas available via Routledge here.

Access the presentation slides (in English) below:

Martin Bauer for UFRGS 2020 supporting information

Patient reports on unsafe clinical behaviours are an untapped tool for improvments in patient care

21 June 2020

Tom Reader & Alex Gillespie recently published a paper in the Journal of Applied Psychology showing that patient care could be improved if patient reports on unsafe clinical behaviours are systematically used as a metric of hospital safety. Read the paper here.

The impact of personality on adhering to the UK smoking ban

21 June 2020

In a discussion paper for IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Grace Lordan and Cecily Josten investigate the impact of personality on responses to health policy, in this case the UK smoking ban. Read the paper here.

From Poverty to Flourishing

21 June 2020

Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington was selected by the British Psychological Society to join their Poverty Expert Reference Group, charged with working with their Policy Team to carry forward the Society’s priority focus on ‘From Poverty to Flourishing’. 

Tribute to Bram Oppenheim

17 June 2020

PBS Honorary Fellow Jan Stockdale writes a tribute to Bram Oppenheim, who sadly died on 27 April 2020, one of the founding members of the Department of Social Psychology (now PBS) for the British Psychological Society. Read the tribute on the BPS website here.

Burnout leads to worse academic achievement in school, college and university

16 June 2020

Students who are suffering from symptoms of burnout, defined as exhaustion, cynicism and reduced efficacy,  achieve worse academic results, according to new research from York St John University and London School of Economics and Political Science, that highlights the need for better strategies to counteract stress. Read more.

LSE tool for studying human behaviour awarded

13 June 2020

A recent paper co-signed by Dr. Fauquet-Alekhine &  Professor Lahlou (SEBE-Lab http://www.sebe-lab.net) has been awarded (laureate level 1) at the XVth International PTSCIENCE CPD Competition for Scientific Works organised by the Panrussian Society for Scientific Development.

The paper was an abstract exposing what can be made with SEBE, quoting SEBE-Lab members' contributions: processes of making decisions in real organisational settings, children care, consumer behaviors,and  improvement of vocational training or educational methods at school. More than just the recognition of the paper, it is the recognition of all the members' work of the SEBE-Lab.

Only a small amount of research actually tests psychological theory

12 June 2020

Only 15% of manuscripts explicitly test results derived from psychological theory, bringing in to question whether researchers are working within a theoretical consensus, claims new research compiled by early career researchers including PBS's Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir. Read the report here.

Blanket approach to increasing compliance with social distancing unhelpful

11 June 2020

A one-size-fits-all approach to encouraging more compliance with social distancing rules, instead of targeting sub-groups, can be ineffective and may even lead to less compliance, a new working paper led by Dr Dario Krpan has found. Read more on LSE news here.

“The pandemic will never be defeated through top-down policies”

10 June 2020

Low-income communities in the United States and Europe can learn from bottom-up development policies - people finding solutions for themselves where the state has faltered - like the grass-roots movements we are seeing in the favelas of Brazil says Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch to the Washington Post. Read more.

Congratulations Dr Amena Amer!

4 June 2020

PhD candidate Amena Amer passed her viva today with no corrections, after the gruelling three hour examination took place online. 

Amena's research examines the racialisation of Islam and its effects on the construction, negotiation and performativity of identity on white Muslims in Britain. More news soon. 

PBS alumna writes for leading academic journal Nature on mental health and COVID-19

27 May 2020

COVID-19 mental-health responses neglect social realities writes PBS alumna (MSc Health, Community and Development & PhD Social Psychology) Rochelle Burgess who says "labelling a condition doesn’t make the social challenges around it disappear."

Read the full article in Nature here.

PBS awarded at LSE's Teaching Excellence Awards

20 May 2020

Nineteen Faculty and Professional Services Staff were recognised at the LSE Student Union (LSESU) Teaching Excellence Awards in May. The nominations, made by students, highlighted the commitment that each makes to teaching and the student learning experience. 

A full list of the nominees and the winners are below:

• Barry Rogers
• Ben Shenoy
• Bradley Franks
• Cathy Nicholson + Sandra Obradovic
• Celestin Okoroji

• Christian Krekel (winner)

• Dario Krpan
• Frederic Basso
• Ganga Shreedhar
• Ilka Gleibs
• Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington
• Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo
• Michael Muthukrishna
• Miriam Tresh
• Sandra Jovchelovitch
• Sandra Obradovic
• Tom Reader

• Will Stubbs (winner)

COVID-19 and the City

5 May 2020

A new report from LSE's The Inclusion Initiative (TII), led by PBS Associate Professor Dr Grace Lordan, identifies best practice for virtual inclusion in City of London firms during the pandemic. 

Read the full report on the TII website.

Read a blog post on the report on LSE Business Review.

UK Government’s COVID-19 policy shift estimated to prevent around 189,000 incremental deaths, valued at £378 billion

20 April 2020

The UK government’s policy to suppress the COVID-19 epidemic was expected to prevent around 189,000 incremental deaths, with a monetary value of £380 billion — around 17% of GDP — according to new research from Paul Dolan and Pinar Jenkins. Read more on this story and access the report here.

What is the true cost of the coronavirus lockdown?

9 April 2020

Professor Paul Dolan writes for The Spectator about the social and economic costs, as well as the health costs, involved in the coronavirus lockdown measures. Read the full article on The Spectator here.

Humans are terrible at social distancing. Here's why and what to do about it

2 April 2020

In this article for CNN International, Dr Michael Muthukrishna comments on the reasons why people may find physical distancing hard based on our complex societal structures. Read the article here.

Why 'physical distancing' is better than 'social distancing' 

30 March 2020

Professor Martin Bauer speaks to Aljazeera about the World Health Organisation's decision to use 'physical distancing' rather than 'social distancing' is better for our mental health. Read the article here.

Is corruption inevitable? LSEIQ interview with Michael Muthukrishna

March 2020

In this podcast interview for LSEIQ, Michael Muthukrishna about corruption and the many forms it can come in, from bribery, extortion, cronyism, to nepotism – with varying levels of legality. Listen on SoundCloud.

New LSE initiative to improve inclusion in City firms

6 March 2020

A new LSE initiative will use behavioural science insights to recognise and improve inclusion within City of London firms that will also benefit the bottom line. The Inclusion Initiative (TII), co-founded by Grace Lordan, Associate Professor in Behavioural Science, and Karina Robinson, Master of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers, will tackle inclusion from within the firm itself, offering practical interventions based on academic research that aims to understand why people make the choices they do.

Visit the TII website here.

Liam Delaney joins PBS as new Head of Department

10 February 2020

Professor Liam Delaney will join PBS as Head of Department for the Deaprtment of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE from the new academic year in 2020, taking over from Professor Paul Dolan.

Read on here.

Barry Rogers awarded a gold award for excellence

7 February 2020

Barry Rogers, Visiting Senior Fellow in PBS, was awarded a gold award for excellency in the 2019 Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management [HCM] Awards for Excellence in Miami, Florida.

The award, in the Best Results of a Learning Program category, was a joint submission with a leading European multinational company. It is based around Barry’s research on developing a context-based visualization tool for practicing post-program learning commitments in the workplace. 

Barry Rogers said:

 

I am thrilled with this. My teaching at the LSE has always focused on bridging the gap between theory and practice. The award recognizes how we can take novel ideas from the classroom and creatively make a difference to people’s lives in the workplace.  It validates what real-world impact looks like on a day-to-day basis

LSE Fellow Sandra Obradovic joins LSE Electoral Psychology Observatory

February 2020

The LSE Electoral Psychology Observatory formally launched in February 2020, aiming to understand the psychology of voters. Dr Sandra Obradovic (who will remain a PBS Fellow) has joined the team, bringing her expertise in political psychology. Read more here on LSE News.

Article on patient-centred insights is most cited in recent publication's history

6 February 2020

Dr Tom W. Reader and Dr Alex Gillespie's article Patient‐Centered Insights: Using Health Care Complaints to Reveal Hot Spots and Blind Spots in Quality and Safety has been recognised as the most highly cited in The Milbank Quarerly's recent publication history.

The article describes the Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool (HCAT), a tool to analyse patient complaints that can provide an end‐to‐end account of care that includes concrete details not captured in incident reports or case reviews.

The article was published 11 September 2018 and is available to read on Wiley Online Library here.

PBS awarded for our dedicated Professional Services Staff

30 January 2020

Will Stubbs, Programme Manager for MSc programmes in PBS has been awarded for his dedication at the LSE Values in Practice Awards. 

PBS Alumna Nominated for an Academy Award

14 January 2020

Director Petra Costa, who studied MSc Health, Community and Development in 2008 in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science (formerly Department of Social Psychology), has been nominated for Best Documentary for The Edge of Democracy at the 92nd Academy Awards. 

Dr Ilka Gleibs interviewed for LSE news

5 December 2019

Dr Ilka Gleibs has been interviewed by LSE about her recent research (co-authored with Prof Daniel Frings & Dr Anne M. Ridley of LSEBU) into the challenge of managing different identities and how it can lower undergraduate performance.

Read the full interview on the LSE website here.

Cultural evolutionary public policy

5 December 2019

Dr Michael Muthukrishna has written his views on cultural evolutionary public policy, including public policy interventions that aim to tackle harmful traditions such as FGC, for Nature Human Behaviour.

Read the article on Nature Human Behaviour here.

PBS faculty awarded for excellence in teaching

22 November 2019

On Thursday 21 November, LSE hosted the Excellence in Education Awards, honouring those who have demonstrated outstanding teaching contribution and educational leadership in their departments, with a large number coming from PBS.

• Dr Sandra Obradovic
• Dr Matteo Galizzi
• Dr Frederic Basso
• Dr Dario Krpan
• Dr Kate Laffan

Dr Frederic Basso said:

"When I teach, I always keep in mind that students are not looking for an expert of the next obsolete intellectual domain but rather for knowledge that can be meaningful in their everyday life."

Dr Matteo Galizzi said:

"There is always one more link, one more example, one more intuition that I can use to illustrate a concept or tool: every year I learn from the students how to teach the same course in different and diverse ways"

Dr Dario Krpan said:

“When I was a student myself, I was frequently bored during lectures, and this personal experience always motivates me to create the lectures that excite the students and make them engaged, the lectures that I would not fall asleep at if I were a student.”

More information about the LSE Excellence in Education Awards and the full list of winners can be found on the LSE website.

Some hyper-realistic face masks more believable than human faces, study suggests

21 November 2019

A new study, released in the open-access journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, has found a higher than anticipated error rate amongst participants asked to identify a real face from a hyper-realistic face mask when two photographs are side-by-side. 

Read more in our news article.

Does re-framing health messaging lead to higher patient uptake?

18 November 2019

"Make the most of your life!" "Don't miss out!"

Which message will get you to a health check-up? A new trial, co-authored by Dr Jet. G. Sanders, compared the effectiveness of the NHS Health Check invitation letter with gain- and loss-framed messaging to see how they impacted patient uptake. 

Read the full article in BMC Public Health: Applying behavioural science to increase uptake of the NHS Health Check: a randomised controlled trial of gain- and loss-framed messaging in the national patient information leaflet here.

What moderates the attainment gap? A new study into social identity in higher education

Dr Ilka Gleibs has co-authored an article for Social Psychology of Education looking at the issue of attainment gaps in higher education and specifically the effects of social identity incompatibility and practical incompatibility on the performance of students who are or are not Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME).

Read the full article in Springer Link here.

Are bankers really that bad? A new study from PBS alumni

A new article out now in Nature has addressed the issue of reproductibility, and the increasing issue of replicating findings in 'inaccessible' environments.

This article, authored by Zoe Rahwan (lead author), Dr Barbara Fasolo (Programme Director Executive MSc Behavioural Science) & Erez Yoeli follows on from a 2014 study and takes a look at banking culture and the supposed 'dishonesty' in the profession, across three continents (as opposed to one continent in the original study) to find that, actually, bankers aren't so bad after all.

Zoe Rahwan studied on the Executive MSc Behavioural Science when it launched in 2014.

Read the full article in Nature here.

Why plant-based diets are probably not a fad

To mark World Vegan Day (1 November 2019) LSE news have interviewed experts including PBS's Dr Ben Voyer and PhD student Heidi Zamzow who discuss why plant-based diets are not just a flash in the pan, but have strong links to identity. Read the article on LSE news here.

New research on identity among white British Muslims

New research out now in the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) from PBS PhD student Amena Amer, explores the experiences of identity (mis/non)recognition and strategies of identity performance among white British Muslims. Read the paper in full on Wiley Online Library here.

Understanding behavioural intervention strategies

Tackling environmental and social sustainability challenges cannot be done without changes in the everyday behaviours of people. Attempts to, for example, reduce energy consumption at home, increase recycling rates, reduce alcohol and prevent bullying, have popularly (an cost-effectively) been addressed by addressing social norms, such as media campaigns to help direct more positive behaviours. 

 

The closest to the actual action, and the closest to the social pressure, the better

PBS researchers have now collected over 90 studies where behavioural intervention strategies have been tested to understand the types and contexts of these interventions & to suggest elements that should be taken into account to design more integral and sustainable interventions. 

Read the article in full here in Sustainability. 

Expressing religious identity at work is good for staff wellbeing

A report published in Human Resource Management Journal shows that when employees are provided with a supportive environment to express their religious identity in the workplace they experience increased wellbeing and work more efficiently. The report comprises a literature review of 53 publications on religious beliefs and the workplace and is co-authored by Dr. Ilka Gleibs.

Read the full report on Wiley Online Library here.

You can also read about the report in an interview with Dr. Ilka Gleibs on LSE News and in a piece for People Management.

Targeted writing exercises can help reduce educational attainment gap

In this interview for LSE news, Exec MSc Behavioural Science alumni Ian Hadden (lead author) explains how a short series of precisely targeted writing exercises can significantly improve the academic attainment of school students from low-income families, in this new study by a joint research team from PBS and the University of Sussex.

Read the interview on LSE news.

Healthy Minds

Dr Grace Lordan has contributed an analysis of Healthy Minds, a research project by the London School of Economics and Bounce Forward into the ultimate secondary school PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) curriculum, in light of the UK Government's plans to expand these subjects further by 2020. Read this piece in LSE Centre Piece here.

18 July 2019 - you can now read more on this in LSE news.

Healthy Minds was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and trialled in 34 schools over 5 years. 

New events from Prof. Saadi Lahlou

Prof. Saadi Lahlou will give a keynote speech on the Psychosocial Pact, How we Construct a Common Reality at the 10th International Conference of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (4 - 6 July 2019). More here.

Prof. Saadi Lahlou has also been invited to be a "grand witness" and give an analysis of the European Controversies event which looks at the state of affairs in agriculture and food. Saadi will be speaking on Wednesday 15 July in Bergerac, France. More information here.

Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington awarded funding for international project

The Emirates Foundation has awarded Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington funding for the project, “Global identity in an uncertain world: A longitudinal study of the development of cosmopolitan social attitudes at an international elite university setting in the Middle East”.

The money will fund a longitudinal study of social attitudes in the student population of NYU-Abu Dhabi, to be run in collaboration with PJ Henry at NYU-Abu Dhabi (Psychology) and Christian Haerpfer at United Arab Emirates University (Sociology), commencing in January 2020.

"The identity paradoxes older entrepreneurs face"

Dr Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo recently spoke at the conference Identity, Creativity and Innovation jointly organised by the Departments of Management and Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. The focus of the talk was on how despite entrepreneurship being proposed as a solution to extend working lives in the context of an increasingly ageing population, older entrepreneurs still face discrimination in society and the workplace.

Read more about Lucia's research here.

Are we giving children mixed messages? New LSE IQ Podcast

18 June 2019

Dr Grace Lordan features in the latest episode of the award winning LSE IQ podcast. On it she talks about her research into gender equality.

Listen on LSE player.

PBS PhD news

• PhD student Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir will present her research entitled "Helping refugees: Identity effects on political support, helping intention, and helping behaviour" in the European Congress of Psychology (2-5 July, Moscow/Russia).
• PhD students Celestin Okoroji (who will chair), Amena Amer, Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir and Andy Stewart, and Dr. Ilka Gleibs (organiser) at a symposium entitled "Religious identities in context: Challenging traditional explorations of religious identity in psychological research" in the Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (12-15 July, Lisbon/Portugal).
• Nihan has also been elected to SPSSI's Graduate Student Committee as Membership Coordinator, Member-at-Large to serve in 2019/2020.

New research on social influence

Forthcoming research in Personality and Social Psychology Review from Dr. Michael Muthukrishna and Dr. Mark Schaller from University of British Columbia uses computational modelling to understand the specific ways in which cross-cultural differences may have long-term consequences for cultural stability and cultural change (coming soon).

Dr. Jet Sanders contributes to new publication on refugee & migrant integration

As part of a new publication Responsibility for Refugee and Migrant Integration, Dr. Jet Sanders (with Elzabeth Castle, Karen Tan and Rob Jenkins) explores how behavioural science can be applied to refugee integration, in this case through education and employment, and how behavioural evidence can be used to facilitate drivers of integration.

Access the publication here.

Prof Sandra Jovchelovitch leads new research project in Colombia

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have announced new research projects to address issues facing Colombia’s transition from conflict to peace. Pathways to Reconciliation, led by Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch investigates the impact of Schools for Forgiveness and Reconciliation -ES.PE.RE - on the psychological and social wellbeing of victims of the Colombian conflict.

Read more on the project on the UKRI website and follow the project on Twitter @reconciliaLSECo 

Professor Paul Dolan to speak at the Cheltenham Science Festival

On 9 June 2019, 11am - 12pm, Professor Paul Dolan will speak about his new book Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myth of the Perfect Life at the Cheltenham Science Festival. Find out more on the Cheltenham Science Festival website.

Follow this event on Twitter #cheltscifest.

PBS PhD student Joel Suss wins photography prize 

At LSE's 2019 Festival Joel Suss won the photography prize for his image of a Hong Kong urbanscape. Joel wanted to capture what it can feel like to live in a big city full of vibrancy and crowds and yet feel loneliness, anxiety and social dislocation – issues which many people in places like Hong Kong and London can experience.

The LSE Festival 2019 theme was 'New World (Dis)Orders'

Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship Awarded

Dr Kate Laffan has been awarded a Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship by the European Commission to study Intention-Behaviour Gaps in Environmentally Significant Consumption Behaviours. 

Kate received her PhD in 2018 from the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, studying issues relating to behaviour, well-being and the environment. Kate continues to carry out research at the intersection of economics and psychology aimed at producing policy-relevant insights which can help to address environmental challenges and promote human wellbeing.  

New study shows a reduction in meat consumption when animals are viewed as "friends"

Dr Frederic Basso and PhD student Feiyang Wang provide evidence that exposure to the metaphor “animals are friends”, generates moral (guilt) feelings in meat consumers, which negatively influences their attitudes toward meat consumption and their behavioral intentions to eat meat.

Anthropomorphizing meat animals through the friendship metaphor could thus facilitate animal protection, reduce meat consumption and, incidentally, promote a more sustainable plant-based diet worldwide. 

Read the article in Appetite here.

Book Release: Happy Ever After

On Thursday 24th January in an event chaired by Professor Julia Black, Professor Paul Dolan discussed themes from his new book Happy Ever After.  View the webcast from the event here. 

If you missed the event, an intimate Q&A and book signing session has been scheduled for the 11th of February, 2019. 

UK and Colombian Researchers Working Together for Sustainable Peace

Ten new research projects to address issues facing Colombia’s transition from conflict to peace, including one from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), have been announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Pathways to Reconciliation will be led by Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch and Dr Fabio Idrobo, Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation (FSFB). It will investigate the impact of Schools for Forgiveness and Reconciliation -ES.PE.RE - on the psychological and social wellbeing of victims of the Colombian conflict. 

Read more here. 

Gender Pay Gap Could Get Worse

New research by Dr Grace Lordan shows that girls born in the year 2000 are aspiring to do jobs that are paid 31 per cent lower than males. Boys born in 2000, on the other hand, have higher aspirations than previous male generations in terms of income, to the point where the gender pay gap could actually become larger than it is at present if these aspirations are fulfilled.

Read more here