The war on Iran led to petrol shortages in early 2026. Some people panicked and stockpiled fuel. We look at the structural issues and biases that impact this behaviour, and how the social science theories, social norms, and morality messages may stop consumer hoarding in future.
Continue reading “How to Stop Panic Buying”
Social science can help marketers, decision-makers, and businesses to effectively use social norms to change behaviour. Below are two case studies on the environment and health.
Continue reading “Measuring Public Information Campaigns”
Employment services often struggle to appeal to their intended clientele. Sending effective messages can increase sign-up. Messages should emphasise the ease, benefits, and comparative outcome of services.
Continue reading “Promoting Employment Services”
Organisations can improve their record-keeping by adopting a systematic approach, and using techniques developed through social science research. Discover tips for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations on how to document important decisions, understanding legal obligations, and keeping records safe.
Continue reading “How to Improve Record-Keeping”
Sociologist Philomena Essed shows how everyday interactions feed into structural racism, such as during workplace interactions. Essed demonstrates how workplaces can proactively create an environment of justice and dignity. She advocates that leaders must do proactive reflection to better understand how culture impacts workplace relationships and respect.
Continue reading “Social Justice and Dignity at Work”
I reflect on how to tell a good story that takes into consideration different social groups, inequity, and power relations. I also provide tips about how to measure the impact of a good story.
Continue reading “Reaching Your Audience”
How can you encourage your customers to take up free support services? We look at how to get employers and workers to complete a survey sent via SMS, and sign-up for emergency disaster relief.
Social science can be used to encourage employers to follow workplace regulations. This post covers how to increase compliance by appealing to social norms, providing practical examples of how to implement new requirements, and by sending timely messages that encourage change.
Continue reading “Workplace Compliance”
Social science can encourage businesses to comply with safety regulations. This is a case study showing how to encourage community organisations to submit event safety planning information in a timely manner. We cover how to encourage early planning, showing the benefits of complying with safety information requests, targeting messages, and using trusted messengers.
Continue reading “Safety Planning”
This post covers how organisations can get more people to apply to their programs. We break down a case study of how to entice students to apply for an education achievement award. We show how to design an effective message to attract applicants, as well as how to improve the application form and customer experience.
