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”
A letter signed by 419 researchers rejects the use of generative artificial intelligence for reflexive thematic research. I discuss issues of phenomenology, epistemology, and ethics.
Continue reading “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Qualitative Research”
Social norms are the unwritten rules of acceptable behaviour that motivate us to follow social expectations. Social science shows how norms can be used to positively change behaviour.
Continue reading “Using Social Norms to Change Behaviour”
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”
This post provides tips for improving public health communications. I show examples from studies that encouraged doctors to comply with health guidelines. I discuss a case study of a health organisation that sought to increase patient referrals to a free treatment program.
Continue reading “Encouraging Referrals”
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.
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.
Social science offers helpful techniques and insights for sole traders, not-for-profits, and small businesses. Social science can inform social media policymaking, as well as providing methods to improve the impact of messages and encourage audiences to take positive action. This post covers tips about how to post and test messages.
Social science research from the UK has examined ‘tenancy sustainment’ (the support provided to at-risk tenants to keep their social housing and avoid homelessness). The study identifies various challenges in delivering help to tenants. The report provides guidance to help social housing landlords to improve their policies and practices.
Continue reading “Supporting Social Housing Tenants”
Social ventures, such as using technology to improve social problems, are hard to scale and measure. An impact accelerator program is using social science to track social impact.
Continue reading “Using Social Science to Increase Impact”
